Matt Nelson of Cibolo Steele, Texas has put his time in on the gridiron. Day in and day out he perfected his kicking skills which in turn got him a full-ride scholarship to play for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs next fall.
Being recruited isn’t a walk through the park. You think it will be exactly like the movies where every other day there’s a coach at your door step begging for you to grace their university with your talent. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about recruiting and that being one of them.
It’s the hard truth that colleges do not go out of there way to find you, you must, let me emphasize, MUST promote yourself. Starting with, if you do receive any collegiate correspondence, respond to every email, phone call, letter, etc you receive no matter what division or conference they may be. Whether it’s the biggest school or the smallest school, getting your foot in the door anywhere is a good thing. If a certain institution shows any enthusiasm in you, return the favor and thank them for their interest and begin to develop a relationship with that particular coach.
Take it from someone who was never nationally ranked at a combine nor did I ever step foot at any national combines. I simply picked five schools a day to email whether I had seen them on television, read about them in magazines, or had never even heard of them; five emails and fifteen minutes of your day is all it takes. If that coach responded and left their phone number I would take the initiative and pick up the phone and call them. Another key point of advice I can give you is keep your name fresh in coaches’ minds. If someone mentions your position to that coach, you want to be the first person that (s)he thinks of.
From there I then narrowed it down to five schools that I was seriously interested in and vice versa. Next, I attended those school’s kicking camps to show in person my talent and what I possess that could possibly benefit their team and university. When you attend these various college camps, make sure you perform at all cost. Just go in relaxed, confident, and show the coaches what you are capable of. Remember, they are human too and also went through this process as an athlete back when they were our age. Being recruited may not be a walk in the park, but it can be the beginning to the best years of your life!
