Springtime in College Recruiting – One Cycle Ends as Another Begins

Springtime in college recruiting could not be a more exciting time.  It combines the conclusion of one cycle and the renewal of yet another.

We college scouts, involved in athletic recruiting every day, love it.  There are signing periods, coaches filling next year’s rosters, prospects’ dreams realized (or not), and juniors gearing up for their shots at scholarships.  Everyone is poised for the future.  Cautious optimism reigns.

Coaches and Seniors Share the Spotlight

The NCAA’s final signing period brims with anticipation and drama.  Lofty expectations co-mingle with underlying anxieties.  Coaches aggressively pursue their top recruits.  Yet, they know that any one of them could have a change of heart. Prospects tensely wait for their letters of intent to arrive but understand that coaches could renege.  Meanwhile, the springtime college recruiting spotlight is on them all.

Nervous Coaches

Coaches are caught in tough spots in springtime college recruiting.  Their rosters have been washed-out by graduation, transfers, academic casualties, and drop-outs.  They need to sign what was at the start of the year an unpredictable number of newcomers.

The competition for scholarship-worthy athletes is fierce.  Coaches many times vie for the very same prospects.  Then there’s the relatively unknown, extra element.  Many colleges set firm roster-number standards coaches are mandated to meet.  Administrations want coaches to recruit walk-ons who pay into the system.  These offset at least some of the scholarship dollars given out.  It is a balancing act worthy of Cirque du Soleil.

Anxious Seniors

Seniors have worked for years to be in the position to attract scholarship offers during springtime college recruiting.  The thought of donning a college uniform has been constantly with them, coloring their life views, relentlessly pushing them athletically and academically.  These dreams have shaped them, driven and inspired them.

Unsigned seniors stand on two podiums in springtime college recruiting.  On the first are prospects coaches know.  On the second, those unknown.  Known ones have a shot, a good shot, to land offers. They have developed relationships with coaches, visited campuses and had their profiles distributed to programs everywhere.  The others may as well be encircled by a curtain.  Their chances dwindle with each passing hour.  They have relied on archaeon advice – if they are good enough and play offseason sports, coaches will find them.  As a result, they watch peers sign as they sit unnoticed in the background.

Hopeful Juniors

Then there are high school juniors, their goals in full view.  With the NCAA early signing period but eight months ahead, they are understandably antsy.  If they could time-warp to November 8, they would not hesitate to make it so. But there is more ground to cover, performances to craft and academic records to complete.  They are building resumes.

While a prospect’s senior year is essential, it’s the junior year which must end solidly. Some athletes will give rightful attention to all the details, focus on priorities, and reap the benefits of their efforts.  Others, gazing at the stars, will falter, their aspirations having evaporated, unaware that nothing is a given in recruiting.  One misstep and a dream can be dashed.

The Winners in Springtime College Recruiting

There is no crystal ball.  The hard work has to be done.  No one escapes without it.

The winners will be those who properly prepared, kept their eyes on the ball and followed through with purposeful actions.  Seniors, college coaches and juniors all have shots at glory.  It’s those who finish well that will win. NSR helps all three.