NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

I’ve got this great new car that I think you’d like – V-8 engine, leather interior, personal navigational system, Dolby Digital Surround sound, anti-lock breaks, gets 40 mpg, and handles like a dream. Here’s a picture of it:

Like it? That will be $110,000, please.

Wait, you’re not going to buy it? Why not? I’ve given you all of the specs and you’ve seen a picture of it! What else do you need?

Oh, you want a test drive!

Hopefully by now, you’ve caught on the where I’m going with this. High school student-athletes (and their familes, for that matter) often wonder why they’re not being looked at by more colleges and why they’re not getting scholarships to play at the ones that are looking at them, even though they have a profile and a picture of themselves.

Here’s the kicker though. They don’t have a highlight video. What that means is that coaches can’t take a “test drive.”

Before coaches shovel out scholarship dollars in your direction, they need to make sure you’re worth the investment by seeing you play. And because schools don’t have unlimited recruiting budgets, they unfortunately can’t travel to all 20,000 high schools across the nation for that to happen. So, the highlight video is the coach’s best friend. 

It’s one thing if you can run a 4.5 forty. It’s another thing entirely if the coach can see you use that speed to break away from tacklers. You can bench 250, but can you use that strength to bring down the charging tight end? The fastball hit 85 mph on the gun. The question is, did it hit where the catcher’s mitt was?

It’s one thing to see the car and its specs. It’s something totally different to get in and take it for a spin.

(And I don’t have a Maserati … sorry.)

It’s the hottest trend in college recruiting: Committing early to play at a college.

How early?  In some cases, as early as the 8th grade.  In most cases, high school athletes are giving verbal commitments in their sophomore and junior years.  A month or so ago, phenom high school quarterback Tom Savage committed early to Rutgers before he even was done with his Junior year.  Getting noticed early has terrific benefits, but it also begs the question: How early is too early?  And, what are the pros and cons of jumping on that band wagon?

Since we’re fielding those two questions more and more from both parents and prospects here at NCSA, I wanted to tell you what you need to know about this vitally important decision.  There can be advantages to committing early to a program, but there are also some things you need to be aware of if you’re thinking about taking that route.

• The big advantage to committing early is securing a place to play in college.  That sounds obvious, but those that don’t get the opportunity to commit early - or choose not to do so - accept a certain amount of risk going into their Senior year.  Injuries could happen, they could see a dip in their athletic performance…lots can happen that last year in school.  Committing early takes the risk out of that decision.
• Another advantage when you commit early is reducing the stress and time involved with extending the recruiting process.  By the time athletes enter their Senior year, the stress of figuring out what school to go to is gets tiring.  NCSA athletes who use our matching process to be seen by college coaches tell us that committing early allows them to enjoy their Senior year and focus on finishing strong academically and athletically.
• One of the dangers in committing early?  Making a decision based on something less than solid information.  Tom Savage, who I referred to earlier, will probably have a great career with the Scarlet Knights and chose a solid school.  But in the article I read about him (see the link above), he tells the story of sitting at a Rutgers game and seeing the head coach turn around and wink at him just before kickoff.  At that moment, he says, he knew he wanted to be a Scarlet Knight.  Did he make a good decision?  Only time will tell.  The Rutgers football program, and their staff, is top notch.  I just hope the school, the area and the academic offerings are a good fit for this promising prospect.
• Another danger?  Committing to a school before visiting the school.  You shouldn’t choose the place where you are going to spend the next four to five years of your life based upon how many times you’ve seen them on ESPN.  Programs can’t pay for an official visit until your Senior year, but if you are thinking of committing early I highly recommend that you pay for your own trip to the school.  Spend time there, talk to the team, and get a feel for the campus.  Make sure you are making the right decision.

Which course of action is the best one for you?  There is no one “best” answer to that question.  It has to be something that prospects and parents both have to agree upon.

If I had a high school athlete that had the chance to commit early, I would just make sure that he or she knew everything they could about the coach, the program, the players and what the school offered academically.  If everything lines up accordingly, I don’t see a problem with securing your athletic and academic future as early as possible.

One thing I do know: Early commitments will continue to happen, and they will probably continue to happen earlier and earlier in a high school athlete’s career.  With that in mind, early exposure to the most coaches possible is more important than ever to prospects who hope to play at the next level.

P.S.  If you have questions about the process, or getting the attention of college coaches, we have a team of former college athletes and recruiting experts that will answer your questions for free.  All you have to do is call.  You can reach us toll free at 1-888-333-6846.  We’d love the chance to help you understand the whole process better.