Recruiting Timeline

Create your Twitter (X) account during the summer before 9th grade begins.

Schedule a meeting with your coach before the football season starts. Discuss your expectations and what you hope to achieve from playing football, particularly if you’re considering playing in college.

Include the following information in this order:

1. High School
2. Graduation Year
3. Position
4. Height
5. Weight
6. GPA
7. Multi-Sport Participation (if applicable)
8. Email
9. Coach’s Name(s)

Focus on increasing your followers, especially college coaches. It’s more important to have them following you than to follow many others.

At the end of the season, compile a 3-minute highlight video using only varsity game footage. If you don’t have a varsity film, post content on your Twitter that showcases your achievements, such as strong grades, personal records in the weight room, or training sessions.

After the season, send a brief direct message (DM) to all the college coaches following you. Introduce yourself and express your interest in their program.

Once the season is over, concentrate on your grades. Your 9th-grade year is crucial for your future academic and athletic opportunities. Additionally, start a solid weightlifting program or participate in multiple sports.

If you played during 9th grade, seek invitations for spring practices or spring games. If you didn’t play, focus on improving your skills, maintaining academic performance, and engaging in multiple sports if possible.

Before 10th grade, aim to attend at least five prospect showcases so that college coaches can see your abilities.

• Attend 2 mega camps with multiple colleges participating.
• Attend 1 FBS showcase.
• Attend 1 FCS showcase.
• Attend 1 D2/D3 showcase.

Your approach should remain similar to what you practiced during your 9th-grade year, especially if you are making an impact on the varsity team. You should be reaching out to college coaches through direct messages (DMs) and emails during the season, and regularly posting content on your social media profiles.

Make sure to frequently update your Twitter bio with new information, such as your captaincy status, All-Conference honors, NCAA ID number, and coaches’ contact info (there’s no need to include your phone number).

Make sure to frequently update your Twitter bio with new information, such as your captaincy status, All-Conference honors, NCAA ID number, and coaches’ contact info (there’s no need to include your phone number).

After the season, if you have varsity film available, reach out to college coaches to get on their radar for virtual Junior Days, which take place in January and February.

During the spring (from March to May), attend practices, games, and Junior Days so that college coaches can become familiar with you and see your engagement.

The summer before your junior year is crucial for attending college prospect showcases to enhance your exposure. Ideally, you should participate in camps where coaches already recognize you. This summer is critical as you want to stay ahead in the recruiting process. If you didn’t attend showcases during the summer after 9th grade, make sure to do so this summer.

Aiming for 5 to 6 showcases is ideal. However, if you receive individual invites to college camps, attend as many of those as possible, as they are hosted by individual programs and provide better evaluations.

When signing up for camps, consider the following three criteria:

A. Cost: Generally, the price should be under $200 for a showcase and under $300 for a regional camp or game.

B. College Programs in Attendance: Ensure that the listed colleges are genuinely attending and that it’s not just a list of schools that participated in previous years.

C. College Coaches in Attendance: Look for camps where coordinators, assistant head coaches, and position coaches will be present. These are the individuals who ultimately make decisions about adding players to their programs. Avoid camps run by high school coaches, graduate assistants, former players, or volunteers.

By now, you should have your NCAA ID number. Make sure to post it on your profile. Update your bio before the season starts, and pin your updated highlight video (varsity only) to the top of your page. This will make it easier for college coaches to find.

You should be posting more content on your page, including grade reports, community service activities, and individual workouts. Aim to follow 5 to 6 coaches each day. Whenever a coach follows you, be sure to thank them and express your interest in their program so you can receive more information.

It’s important to follow up with every college coach who follows you, regardless of whether you want to attend their school. Opportunities won’t come your way without proactive engagement.

At this stage, you should be getting more game-day invites.

Once the season ends, create a highlight film that is no longer than 3 minutes, showcasing only the varsity footage from that season.

Be sure to attend Virtual Junior Day Invites in December, January, and February.

You should also start receiving invites for spring practices, games, and junior day events due to all the hard work you’ve put in over the past three years.

Offers may start coming in at this point. If they don’t, continue to work hard; they will come!

Game day invitations should be coming in from the primary schools you’re interested in before the season starts, regardless of whether you’ve received an offer.

After receiving a game day invite, follow up in writing with the coaching staff, and share the invite on Twitter to inform others.

Offers will begin to come in, as there are two signing periods for football: one in early December and another in early February. Realistically, you don’t need to decide until the day after the second signing day, unless you are pursuing early decision options or applying to an Ivy League school.

If the season ends and you have not received any offers, reach out in writing to the coaches. It’s also a good idea to schedule a meeting with your coach to discuss possible options. If you are considering attending a post-graduate (PG) school, start researching your options now rather than waiting until January or February, as rosters may already be filled by that time.

Always be polite when communicating with college coaches, as you never know where they will move next, and maintaining a good relationship could lead to future opportunities.