As someone that has coached high school football for a number of years, one thing that I've learned through my involvement in the college recruiting process is that the process is anything but easy to understand. Even more apparent is that many of the student-athletes and their family support structure are walking into an environment that has moved towards putting a lot of emphasis on what I like to call the Bright Lights on Friday Nights...the stuff that shines...while leaving all of those important details that are in many ways encyclopedia-like to the fringes. Let's be honest, that makes sense, the hope of having a five star recruit at your alma mater is much more entertaining to talk about than rules, regulations and the NCAA clearinghouse. I get that, at the same time I also get that when it comes to discussing those not-so-exciting elements of the process, presenting that type of information isn't exactly the priority for the big-business machine of college recruiting. Understood, but that doesn't make the information any less relevant and I would suggest that in reality is even more important.
The college coaching staffs that I've worked with and their support structure spend a lot of time once they begin to recruit a student-athlete in explaining all the details and providing as much information to families as they can handle. But for those that are just starting out the process and thinking about the possibilities of being recruited there is a large void when it comes to knowledge about what is and isn't the reality of the process. It is in this void, fueled by the reality that recruiting from a commercial perspective is big business along with increased media coverage that has given hope to almost every young man that suits up on a Friday night that they might one day find themselves playing college ball, that entities have swooped in to satisfy the hunger for understanding, excitement, hope and answers.
My own personal journey has shown me in large part that the reality is that the void, even with all that is out there to fill it, is still pretty empty when it comes to substance. What I hope to do through this new feature on Bull City Football for Starters is to periodically address topics that I personally feel are important to the process of being The Recruited. Topics that to be perfectly honest would have a hard time of convincing folks to spend $9.95 a month to access that all important information about future recruiting classes, but in the end are about real substance, the stuff that if you or someone you know dreams of being The Recruited, should know, need to know, so you can navigate the process and not be staring at National Signing Day wondering what happened, but instead understand the why of what occurred so that you can move forward appropriately with the power of real knowledge!
