NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

The recruiting process moves extremely quickly.  If you blink an eye your chance at playing in college could blow by before you even get a chance to get started.  So recruits need to prepare early in their high school careers so that they can act quickly when the times comes.

 However, sometimes recruits can move too quickly. and make a decision they will later regret.  Boston College Linebacker Mark Herzlich sat down with The New york Times to discuss his recruiting story. 

I guess my recruiting story was a little different than most people. I came out of high school and was decently recruited by some A.C.C. and Big 10 schools. It really came down at the end to Virginia and Boston College. And UVA was my first choice. I committed to there the summer before my senior year in June. I loved the campus, it was a great place and I could see myself fitting in there. They also run a 3-4 and the outside linebacker spot would be ideal for me there. To be honest, most other schools had recruited me as a defensive end. Boston College was another one who said we’re going to give you a shot at linebacker. In high school I weighed 260 and I was more projected as a defensive end.

The recruiting process was done and I didn’t take any visits before I committed. I had unofficially seen schools. My commitment to UVA happened and the season started. I was watching them and came down for a game and didn’t feel as at home as I had during the recruiting process. This is right at the time that Al Golden and Ron Prince had left. I was a little different. I would say that my relationship with the coaches hadn’t grown to the extent where it really affected my decision too much. It was more the fact that when I was down there and I was down there around the program, it didn’t seem to be a good fit for me. With these questions in my mind, I talked to my parents about it. I said that I made a big decision and a big commitment and I don’t know if it was right one. I did have a great relationship with the Boston College coaches, who are now down at N.C. State, so I called up Jason Swepson and asked him if I would be able to come up and take a visit because I wasn’t sure about my decision to go to UVA. He said, yeah sure, you can take an unofficial visit up here and we’ll keep it under the radar. You can tell UVA if you would like, not tell them if you don’t like. He said I need to give you a call back because I need to check with Coach O’Brien to see if your scholarship is still available. He called back and an hour later and said that it was. I came up a week later. It was between their last game and their bowl game, before they went out to Boise. I stayed with a player and then spent the night with my family and basically just realized that this was the place. It was the atmosphere, the coaching, the type of player that I loved. Basically I left, called UVA and told them that I had taken a visit. They weren’t very receptive to it. Basically from then on it was B.C. all the way.

Luckily, Mark took the time to visit schools early on in the process.  If he had not been so pro-active early on he wouldn’t have a relationship with Boston College to fall back on.   That being said, choosing a school is such an important decision that you shouldn’t commit until you feel ready.

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.