Go-to Garlicky Kale

This time of year I find myself craving cooked greens as opposed to large raw salads. And my Go-To Garlicky Kale is one of my favorite recipes for fast, easy and flavorful greens...Read more »

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The days leading up to Signing Day for football recruits are stressful

Because football recruiting is a game and college coaches have to have backup options, if you are an undecided prospects, things will really heat up right before Signing Day. There could be so much going on that you could get multiple calls from a variety of different schools. These schools may have never sent mail letter but may be mentioning the possibility of a scholarship over the phone.

The reason things get so crazy at that time is because college coaches have to have backup options. If a school has seen their top three players at one position commit to other programs, they will be scrambling to find anyone with the ability to play at their level.  They will make as many calls as need be to make sure that options A, B, and C are replenished this late in the football recruiting process.

Here are a few quotes from the drama that a prospect went through right before Signing Day last year.

Tyler committed to (A Division I-AA school) last Monday. A Big Ten school called last Tuesday telling us to send a senior tape because they suffered 2 decommits at defensive back. Ty actually drove it out there himself Saturday after the storm. No offer ever came, and the coaches haven’t returned calls since.

Today was crazy. A Big Ten, a Pac 10, and an ACC school all invited Ty to be a preferred walk-on. All three were coaches he had great relationships with. One of the schools was his top choice all along. However, none of the schools could offer a grayshirt or guarantee a scholarship down the road. Even Ty understood he couldn’t pass up a full ride to walk-on, no matter how tempting.

Then about 9pm a Mountain West school calls to say they had a decommit, only to call back 30 minutes later and say never mind. Not to mention playing phone tag with 2 MAC schools too.

He is completely happy with (The Division I-AA school) He has several friends attending school there and he’ll play with a former teammate. I think any player headed to D1-AA would have listened to the big schools that were calling.

I’m sure many other recruits had similar experiences Monday and Tuesday. I expected a little action, but not to the extent we saw. It made for a long night, with some good debates between Ty and me. He seems to trust my opinion.

This just shows that by committing, you may think the recruiting process is over with. That obviously is not the case. The prospect committed on Monday, received a call from a Big 10 school that wanted video, three walk on offers, and calls from Mountain West and MAC schools.

This type of thing happens all the time because coaches are desperate.  They are trying to work as many angles as they possibly can to make sure they can reload the pipeline at certain positions.  It is tough to tell which schools are really interested in you.  Until a scholarship offer comes in the mail, it may be hard to believe at times.

One of the craziest Signing Day stories happened a few years back (which has been mentioned here before).  An athlete spent the weekend before Signing Day on an official visit at the Division I-AA school in-state.  Because State University (the Division I-A school in-state) had not yet offered a scholarship, the recruit decided to commit while he was on the visit.  Many felt that he was a done deal and would be spending the next four or five years playing at the Division I-AA level.

At State University, a player who had committed at the same position ended up getting an offer from one of the top programs in the country (and one that was the in-state powerhouse as well).  That recruit ended up changing his mind and decided to stay close to home.  State University needed a player at that position, so the night before Signing Day, they came calling to this prospect mentioned above with an offer.  He eventually committed after hours on the phone with the coaches at State University.  Let me stress that the Division I-AA school was not happy at all.

While this is not something you should hope for, it does happen.  When an athlete decommits from a school and picks another program, it creates a chain reaction.  If the top quarterback in this class decided to decommit from his decision, that school would need a quarterback.  If they were able to steal one away from a rival school, then that program would need a quarterback.  They end up having a another commit change his mind.  The chain reaction just keeps going until a school just says we don’t need a quarterback anymore.

Signing Day is right around the corner and for senior recruits out there, this could be a crazy time!

The post The days leading up to Signing Day for football recruits are stressful   appeared first on Recruiting-101.

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Would you seriously consider a school who came in with a last minute scholarship offer during the athletic recruiting process?

Obviously the theme over the last few days on this site has been about Signing Day.  We know football recruits throughout the country have made and will make decisions in order to sign on in February.  But even the best laid out plans sometimes get thrown for loops this late in the process.

If there was an early signing period, maybe the impact of this would be lessoned.  But for those football recruits out there, don’t be surprised if you get some late night calls from colleges that you may not have heard from in the past.  The question is, should this be something that you seriously consider?

I have said it before and I will say it again but the only reason why I believe you should decommit to a school is because of a coaching change or if the school deadlines you.  A college decision is based on relationship building and unless you feel comfortable in a hurry with the new staff, changing your mind is fine.  And if a college deadlines you, then I believe you have every right to say that you are moving on.  If they are going to be questionable and pull something like that, then I feel you can too.

So in order for a last minute scholarship to come and be thought about seriously, assume that the college coaches you committed to did deadline your scholarship.  What should you do if State University comes calling with a scholarship?  First, you must realize that they are offering so late in the process because they are desperate.

Chances are strong that they received a decommit from a player at your position.  These coaches do have to still keep up their recruiting boards in case of something like this happens.  And in this case, you may have been their C recruit but they know they need a safety like yourself.  You have spent most of your life routing for State University but they showed you very little attention during the recruiting process.

Why you should consider State University?
Obviously you have dreamt playing for them.  If they are an in-state school that you grew up following, chances are strong you have been to games and likely your parents have a connection to the school.  It may be late but this opportunity obviously doesn’t come around all that often.  If it is an in-state program, is also means that you will be getting a chance to stay close to home.

Why you should stay committed to the other school?
Like I said before, desperation by a coaching staff does help athletes land scholarships late in the process.  But why didn’t they extend that offer to you four months ago when you were hoping and praying for it?  This is a situation that makes the football recruiting process so tough.  There is always a domino game of recruiting where if State University loses a recruit, they steal one from another school.  And the cycle goes on and on (similar to what colleges do when their coach leaves).

You may have grown up following this school but you have build an incredible relationship with the coaches that landed your commitment.  Now this staff is trying to build a relationship in the matter of a few hours and get you on the merit that they are State University.  When it boils down to it, do you really think they are not going to try and over recruit you (although this does happen everywhere)?  Your Letter of Intent may say you are picking the institution but the relationship you have with the coaches is what I believe to be the most important factor in a decision.  That is why I feel you should stick with your commitment.

What if a bigger school comes calling late?
This is another interesting what if scenario.  Say you are committed to Fresno State and have been for the last two months.  But a new staff at USC gives you a call and wants you to take an official visit.  They found your tape on Scout/Rivals and like what they saw.  Since you are close to their campus, making the trip wouldn’t be flying across the country.  You can also consider this scenario for Division I-AA recruits getting Division I-AA attention late, Division II recruits getting I-AA attention late, and so fourth.

I personally believe turning down a school like USC would be tough if you are headed to Fresno State.  But to me, loyalty is something that you need to put a high premium on in the football recruiting process.  I will talk about it more this week but coaches are shady.  Like every business, there are some very questionable figures who are shaping the future football players of this country.  So definitely look into your options but the loyalty that a staff like Fresno State has shown you should be something you need to think long and hard about.

The post Would you seriously consider a school who came in with a last minute scholarship offer during the athletic recruiting process? appeared first on Recruiting-101.

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10 things to do if you are a senior football recruit and DO NOT have a scholarship offer

The top football recruits across the country will be signing their Letters of Intent shortly.  But not all readers of this site are the lucky seniors who have offers in hand.  So with that in mind, we take a look at ten things that a senior football recruit should be doing if they do not have an offer on the table at this point.

1.) Make 100% sure that you love your sport and want to play in college
This must always be brought up when an athlete does not have a scholarship at this point.  Are you sure you love the game and want a big portion of your college career based around athletics?  Make 100% sure you want to play and that you want to do it for yourself.  If you are playing for your family, then chances are strong you won’t make it.  Playing athletics at all levels involves a lot of time so keep that in mind.

2.) Gauge your interest from scholarship level schools (this includes NAIA programs)
Signing Day will be here soon so there may still be opportunities to land an offer.  Take a look at the recent recruiting attention that scholarship programs have shown you.  Is there any indication that an offer might be coming?  You may want to call the coaches and speak with them about it.  See what opportunities might arise if players don’t sign with them.   Don’t expect anything though.  If they haven’t offered yet, getting a scholarship will be difficult.

3.) Gauge your interest from non-scholarship level schools
Take a long hard look at the programs that are recruiting you from the non-scholarship level (aka Division III).  Have you made visits to these schools?  Have you built relationships with their coaches?  Would you be happy at the Division III level?  Think about these questions and get a feel for your thoughts on these programs.

4.) Go back to the drawing board
If you are happy with where you sit in the recruiting process and the schools recruiting you, then skip this step.  If not, you basically can just hit the reset button and start looking for new schools.  You won’t be able to get time back by hitting reset but it does allow you to update your recruiting profile and start fresh with new schools.

5.) Research, research, research
Figuring out new schools to look into will involve researching the situation.  You want to be able to take a look at what is offered academically, athletically, and socially at all of the schools.  Please keep in mind that you should be mainly considering smaller schools.  Having Division I eyes at this point in the process is a waste of time.

6.) Show interest in the schools you like
After figuring out what new programs could be a good fit for you, show interest in them.  Send them that updated recruiting profile and tell them about yourself.  A Division III school should have a much better response rate in getting back to prospective recruits.

7.) Apply and fill out your FAFSA
Once you hear from the schools and learn more about them, find five to ten that you feel comfortable with and apply to their programs.  On top of that, you may need to fill out a FAFSA to help with aid and getting your overall education lower in costs.

8.) Look into outside scholarships
Relying on just the school to get your education cheaper will be tough.  That is why it is worth looking into outside scholarships that could help you.  The sooner you look into this, the better.

9.) Take some overnight visits
Before coming to a final decision, getting a better feel for life at the school, the dorms, and going out with the players on the team is a must.  Try to make multiple overnight trips in order to compare and contrast all of the experiences at the schools.

10.) Pick the school that fits you best both academically and athletically
In the end, you are a student athlete and academics has to have a major say in your eventual choice.  As much as you love football and that has been your life, academics is what will help you be success beyond sports.

The post 10 things to do if you are a senior football recruit and DO NOT have a scholarship offer appeared first on Recruiting-101.

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Now is not a good time to be open with the football recruiting process

With less than a month to go before Signing Day hits, one thing that I heard more than I expected during late December and early January is about how senior football recruits are still open and don’t have any favorites.  This happens for two reasons.  The first is the athlete doesn’t really want to announce which schools he is favoring at this point.  The second is the athlete is receiving very little interest so if any college coaches get word of this and the fact that he is open, they may start recruiting him.

When an athlete tells me that they are currently open this late in the football recruiting process, it seems that they have not done their homework.  They likely haven’t out together a recruiting profile, haven’t marketed themselves, haven’t researched the schools, and haven’t put together a highlight video.  And if you try doing that and getting a scholarship, unless you are a Reggie Bush type athlete, good luck.

For senior recruits, you should have a great clue as to what schools are extremely serious about you.  If you had followed the advice of this site and gone through The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer, then you likely put yourself in the best situation to be evaluated by college coaches to receive a scholarship.  You should already know how serious schools are about you by having read our levels of interest article that I consistently update over time.

If you are going to be a scholarship football recruit who signs his National Letter of Intent in early February with the rest of your class, then you cannot possibly be open right now.  The main reason is that the NCAA gives you five official visits that you can make.  These can be made to any NCAA school (Division I-A to Division II.  Division III schools do not offer these by the way).

With one month to decide and a limited amount of officials, you really need to know where you will be going and spending a weekend.  These overnight trips are invaluable because it gives you a chance to learn more about the coaches, the players, the facilities, campus life, dorm life, and so many other aspects of college life that are nearly impossible to replicate until you become a student at the school.

If you have yet to make any visits, then January is a great month to do so.  Even if you are busy with basketball or wrestling, if the coaches want you bad enough, they will accommodate you with a Sunday/Monday trip instead of a Saturday/Sunday official visit.

I understand when athletes will tell me that they are looking hard at three schools.  They have setup officials at two of those programs and the third will be getting back to them.  They may say something like if any other bigger programs come in, I would look at the them too.  This is just keeping the door open in case a big school does lose a commitment and comes calling.

But this football recruit already has done his research and knows what programs he is focused on.  If you don’t have anything setup and say that you are still open, you are going down a path that is going to be extremely difficult to land a scholarship offer.  So as soon as you can, get back on track by asking coaches that are calling and mailing information to you about official visits. It is late enough in the process that neither party should be wasting their time at this point.

The post Now is not a good time to be open with the football recruiting process appeared first on Recruiting-101.

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Holiday Nog French Toast Casserole

This Holiday Nog French Toast Casserole is perfect for a cozy December morning. I love this dish because the bread bakes up fluffy and soft, fully marinated in yummy nog flavor. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Holiday cozies. Plus, this dish feeds a crowd while taking minimal effort on your part. Perfect for busy cooks with BIG cozy morning ambitions...Read more »

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Taste Test: New So Delicious Mousse (+ Giveaway!)

This post is sponsored by So Delicious. Today I am sharing my review of new So Delicious Dairy-Free Frozen Mousse! I am also sharing my seven fave feel-good TV shows to binge watch while eating this new treat. And there is an awesome giveaway to enter as well - 5 winners!.. Read more »

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