<p>Hello. Son is a junior offensive lineman and is generating some interest from a number of Ivys and a smattering of other high academic D1 schools. He has been told by several coaches that he is a fourth band kid at every Ivy. We have done several junior days and other unofficial visits, and based on a feeling I got from a few of the coaches, it appears that if you are not a high priority target, the Ivys recruit from the bottom up, meaning that they fill their bands from the least academically qualified first and then progress through the higher bands. It appears that at this very early stage the kid is a target at one of the Ivys which he likes but that a couple others he is interested in are more deliberate in their communication with him. Trying to figure out if that is a indication of him not being high on the other school's list or an indication of the recruiting philosophy vis the band system. Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi Ohiodad - I’ll take a stab at this. I think coaches are going to prioritize contact with players that may be entertaining D1 scholarship offers to get their hat in the ring before those players are locked up elsewhere. Also, I wouldn’t say they intentionally fill their lower bands first (although it may work out that way), if they can land a true impact player in a high academic band, that’s a double bonus.
I’m sure every coach has his own strategy, but I think the general MO is to reach out to the scholarship-level guys in the so-called ‘skill positions’ and then evaluate the band levels that need to be filled.</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more with Varska’s two points:</p>
<p>1 - From now through summer and early fall the Ivies are focusing on picking off D1 players, and</p>
<p>2 - The impression that the Ivies recruit from the bottom up is likely a consequence of there being far fewer impact recruits in the lower academic bands.</p>
<p>I would caution you against reading too much into the communications you are receiving now. Recruiting coaches for the Ivies have different styles, some are more personable than others, and at least one Ivy is notorious for making almost all recruits feel as if they are being actively recruited until the vary last moment. (If your son has the opportunity to visit some of the NESCAC and other high academic non-Ivies, he will undoubtedly hear from at least one player at each of these schools who was assured by the sheer mass of personal emails and phone calls that he was getting an offer from this one Ivy, only to be told at the last moment that there just wasn’t a spot this year.)</p>
<p>Best bet at this time is to keep all of your options and communications open and communicate very enthusiastically and periodically with all of the schools.</p>
<p>And don’t forget the very high academic non-Ivy schools where football can be a big hook with admissions - the NESCACs, Georgetown, UChicago, WashU, Carnegie Mellon, etc.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight. It is certainly a very strange process, and far different than it used to be when the bulk of recruiting was done during and after the senior season. I have been trying to get him to look at some of the NESCAC and other D3 high academics, but at least so far it seems he is more focused on Duke/Northwestern/Vandy (which would be an athletic reach for him) on the one hand and the Ivys on the other. I would be interested in knowing which Ivy you are referring to my lucky dog if you feel it is appropriate to share.</p>