Parent Meeting dealing with recruiting.

I come here today with a message and do so knowing full well that someone out there will be offended, many may argue with me, and some will even say that I am killing the dreams of kids. None of the three are my intention.
Instead, my hopes are to help shape dreams and to bring alternative avenues into discussions that parents, coaches and players are having all over this state right now.
My message is simple: Very, very few people reading this are future DI football players or the parents of one.
Obviously, I'm incorrect if your name is Vinston Painter or Kevin Whaley or if you are the parent of Kerry Boykins, Marcus Davis or maybe up to fifty other kids in the state. But, for an overwhelming majority of you, I'm right and I'm sorry.
I don't say this to squash anyone's dreams or to take away from what the players have and will accomplish on the football field. Many of you are fine high school football players, some of you are very, very good high school football players, but an even smaller number are Division I college football players.
Rushing for 1,000 yards, catching 50 passes, running a 4.5 forty at a combine, and getting attention from local media whether it be television, radio, newspaper or internet likely means that you are an outstanding player. However, none of the above can get you a DI scholarship offer. Sure, each could help you achieve your dream of playing DI football (though the "pub" part is up for debate), but there are really only two things that will get you on the sidelines at Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, etc... -- playing exceptional football in games or being an absolute physical freak.
If you still believe that a DI offer is in the mail and on its way to you, consider the rest of this article to be your reality test -- few of you will pass.
Who is a DI player?
1. Academic qualifiers. How are your grades? Passing high school is not enough. Have you taken the right classes, earned a minimum core grade point average AND taken the SAT or ACT tests earning satisfactory marks dependent on the NCAA's sliding scale? Have you talked with your coach and/or guidance counselor and filed the forms to the NCAA Clearinghouse? If not, stop reading. You are not a DI player and it doesn't matter if you run for 8,000 yards or throw for 20,000 this season. Colleges have to be able to get you in the door in order for you to play on the team.
2. Size matters. Taking a look at the two DI schools in the state (trust me, the numbers don't change if you add in Maryland, North Carolina and NC State), the Hokies and the Cavs signed 49 players in 2007.
Here is a breakdown of the signings...


School Skill Players
(QB, RB, WR, LB, DB, ATH) Trench Players
(TE, OL, DL) DI from in-state
Virginia 13 12 13
Virginia Tech 14 9 13
** Note that Virginia also signed one special teams player, a kicker
Of those 27 skill kids, 21 of them were over 6-feet tall, none were under 5-foot-8, and their average weight was 196 with only four of them weighing less than 180 pounds. To put it bluntly, if you are under 6-foot tall and weigh less than 180, you chances of inking with either Virginia or Virginia Tech are next to nothing unless you are a phenomenal athlete. Not just good, not just the best player on your team, maybe not even the best player in your district. You have to be special. Extremely special. Division I schools hand out very few offers for undersized kids. I'm talking two or three per year, maximum. If you're not topping 6-feet and 180 pounds, you're in a fight with hundreds of kids from across this state and others for maybe five or six spots. Kevin Whaley has a Virginia Tech offer already, so we know that one of the spots to receive offers is already taken.
If you or your son is a guy who is going to be in the trenches, I've got more disturbing genetic news for you. Of the 21 trench players inked last year, none were shorter than 6-foot-1 (and that player weighs 260) and each weighed at least 211 pounds (and that guy is 6-foot-5). Note, this is their high school measurements, not what they are built like now after a year of college. The average size of a trench players signed was 6-foot-4, 263 pounds. If you are not checking in with those measurables, it might be time to dream about Norfolk State, Hampton, Old Dominion and James Madison among others. If you are significantly under those numbers, you can still find a home at Virginia State, VMI, or maybe Bridgewater or Christopher Newport.
Do you measure up?
3. Speed kills. Or, more accurately, lack of speed kills. The college game is played at a much faster pace than any high school game that you have played in and the college coaches want players who run fast in every direction, not just one. Maybe your forty time is a respectable 4.6 or better, that will at least keep DI guys interested (unless you are a defensive back). However, if you cannot combine that speed with lateral quickness and an ability to play the game at a fast pace, you will again probably be looking for a home at the DI-AA, DII or DIII level.
Lineman, speed matters for you too. You'll be needed out in front of the speedsters and, if you are crossing the line at 5.3, 5.4 or higher, not many DI guys are going to trust you to be leading the offensive charge on Saturdays.
4. Face-to-face. It's almost May 2007. If you are a rising senior and do not have a scholarship offer right now, that doesn't mean that your dream is dead, but you've got some work to do. It's time to have a big senior season because you can play yourself into an offer during your final year, but you are in an uphill battle.
Let me further clarify what I mean by "offer". I do not mean that the coach recruiting you has said, "Son, we'd love to have you come play football at State U." I am talking about a piece of paper which is he trying to get you to sign.
If you do not have that, then hopefully one of the following needs is true...
• Your recruiting coach is walking into your school and asking to see you or talking to your coach about you and referring to you by name?
• Your recruiting coach is trying to get you to come to the campus to meet with the Head Coach or the Head Coach is coming to your high school specifically to see you?
• Your recruiter is in touch with you as often as he can be. For example, if he is allowed to contact you twice a week in May, is he? Remember, his job is not to give you an opportunity to go to college, that's a benefit. His job is to find the very best, the elite of the elite of talent. When a recruiter finds a guy like that, he'll be in contact as much as he possibly can, rather than calling once in a while to say, "What'd you think about our victory over A&M?"
Getting text messages from a college recruiter, getting hand-written notes from Head Coaches and getting invited to one day camps and unofficial visits are nice, don't get me wrong, but quite honestly, those are pretty standard recruiting vehicles. Are you getting face-to-face time with your recruiter which he is initiating?
So, you've made it this far because you have got good grades, your genetically gifted with either size or speed (preferably both) and your college recruiter loves talking to you and does so as often as he can. Congratulations, you are probably a DI recruit. I say 'probably' because State U might only be recruiting one linebacker this year and they have found a bigger and faster one than you in Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, or anywhere across the nation. That might just cost you a spot at your dream school. Sorry. Most, if not all, recruiters want to help you make your dream come true, but they want their dream of winning a national championship to come true too.
I hope that everyone reading this gets to play college football and, those blessed enough get to play DI football. But there are alternatives. There is a college football life awaiting you somewhere, whether it be Old Dominion, Virginia State, Christopher Newport or hundreds of other programs. Go to one of them, get an education (hopefully for free), and play football for another four years.
There are going to be those of you out there who think, "I am the exception" or "my son will over come the odds", and you know what? Probably one or two of you are correct, but you'll have to beat out the hundreds, maybe thousands, of others who just said that to themselves as well.
It's okay to dream big, but realize that there are more paths than just DI football. Take care of your grades and the rest will fall into place as it should.
See other feature articles about recruiting...
The recruiting process - how does it work
A family plan - how a rising senior can plan for college
A realistic look at DI recruiting. Note that only 3% of high school players receive DI scholarships.
Camps versus combines




I SHARE THIS WITH MY PARENTS EVERY YEAR!! THIS CAN BE VERY SOBERING TO HEAR!