From Nobody to Somebody
February 6th, 2009 - byWe get a lot of comments on this blog about star ratings, Rivals.com, and recruiting analysts like NCSA’s good friend Tom Lemming. Recruits and families need to understand that these reports are largely reactionary. In other words a recruit is given a five star rating by Rivals after Urban Meyer offers him a scholarship. Players are not discovered by college coaches because Rivals gives him Five Stars.
Don’t just take my word for it. Check out Bruce Feldman’s amazing book, Meat Market, which details the workings of 
major college football recruiting. Feldman outlines how the best college coaches use a news source like Rivals to follow a top recruit’s actions.
To be clear the usual path for “discovery”:
1) A college coach is alerted to a potential prospect through a variety of credible sources and personal relationships with talent evaluators (like NCSA).
2) A college coach evaluates the player to make a scholarship decision.
3) A scholarship offer is made.
4) Rivals begins reporting on a recruits movement, recent games, visits and any information that could possibly affect their decision.
5) College coaches follow this information closely to try to gain an insight into a recruit’s thinking
Rivals does an incredible job of tracking the top recruits across the country. Fans (like me) happily hand over subscription fees to follow their favorite teams. However, families shouldn’t confuse them with the real gatekeepers of scholarships: college coaches. Coaches do the evaluating. Rivals does the reporting.
One final source to illustrate my point. Take a look at ESPN’s All Nobody Recruiting List. Ever hear of Jay Cutler? Jay didn’t end up at Vandy because Rivals gave him three stars instead of five. Cutler ended up at Vandy because he wasn’t as developed as his peers when coming out of high school.
If you really want to play college football, you need to get seen and evaluated by college coaches. The best way to do that is to contact coaches directly or use a service like NCSA to make sure college coaches see your best.
