Look at a Coach’s Track Record
November 18th, 2009 - byNCSA uses a variety of factors to match college coaches with perspective student-athletes. One of the major factors we use is a student’s desire to play early in his college career. Many times coaches are looking to plug-in players as true freshman. Other times they may a recruit with the expectation that they will challenge for a starting job by junior year. A coach’s philosophy may differ each year depending on who is ahead of a recruit on the depth chart. NCSA is constantly monitoring the needs of college coaches to match the desires of both parties to ensure a successful match.
But what about recruits who aren’t plugged into NCSA’s Recruit-Match Database? One way to find about a coach’s policy on playing young recruits is to ask him directly on a visit or on the phone once you have built a solid relationship. Another great way is to look a coach’s track record in the past.
One of the most highly recruited defensive backs in the county, Joshua Shaw, announced yesterday that he will be attending the University of Florida. Playing early was one of his major decision factors.
“I loved the coaching staff and specifically Coach [Urban] Meyer. He was the only head coach who personally recruited me and that made a big difference.
“I love watching Florida play, they have so many athletes and play fast and aggressive. The coaches told me they love my size and speed and with Joe Haden likely coming out this year, I’ll have a chance to step in and play early next fall and that’s a big deal for me.
“They play a lot of true freshman at Florida and Haden and Janoris Jenkins were both freshman starters at corner. Both are probably going to be first-round draft picks, too, so that was a pretty big selling point.”
Josh was one of the most sought after players in the country. This gave him the opportunity to get to know several coaching staffs and find out where he truly fit. Not every recruit has so many options. In fact, except for the very top 1% of recruits no one does. That is why many families choose to use NCSA to help them find the right fit.
