Hi Parents,
We have been involved in athletic recruiting with our older child / different sport /D1 scholarship. Now our younger son 6’5, 230 lbs HS sophomore really wants to play football in college. How does it work with football walk on? Do most football teams have them? Would he be admitted to college as an athlete? We are in really good football school district in TX. His school actually played for the champ in 6A. But he was on JV. He is hoping to make varsity, but might still be on JV. Spring ball is just starting. He was a dual athlete until recently. Any recommendations appreciate it. Thank you
@EUgirl What level is he looking to play at is 1st? HS sophomore this past year or upcoming? Most schools don’t have true walk ons per say but do have preferred walk ons.
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Our son will be 11 grader in HS this fall. What does it mean preferred walk on in football? Thank you.
Ok, now I understand. Our son wants to be preferred walk on not just a walk on.
From what I have seen, for a D1/2 school that offers football scholarships, a preferred walk on means an athlete that was offered a roster spot but without a scholarship . There are other walk on types that essentially mean they show up and try out for the team (not all schools allow this). I don’t know if Ivies/D3 use the same nomenclature.
Knowing the schools that played in this year’s Texas 6A championship, I wouldn’t be surprised if your JV son will still have scholarship opportunities at some D1/2 schools. You may also want to look into leveraging his desire to play football in college to get into Ivies/D3s (no scholarships, but generous financial aid) that he might not otherwise have thought were within his reach.
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I can only speak for my S21’s experience. He will be a football walk-on at a D3 LAC. He did not go through any athletic recruiting. After he was admitted to the school, he asked his AO to help him schedule a meeting with the coach. Once he met with the coach, he was offered a spot on the roster. I am not sure if he will get to play on the field for actual games (I guess that will probably depend on how he measures up compared to others that play his position).
My assumption is that a walk on might be more difficult for D1/D2 schools - but he didn’t pursue those.
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Well 1st it depends on the level. Next there are preferred walk ons and then the rare walk on. Typical D1 FBS teams carry around 115 players. 85 scholarship and usually the rest are PWO. This means that they are given a roster spot IF admitted to the school. Normally as long as the grades and test scores meet the schools criteria, they will “flag” the PWO application. A straight walk on means they have no assistance in getting into the school and can try out for the team with no guaranteed roster spot.
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Ok so here’s how you proceed going forward. He’s late in the game at this point so he needs to get to some camps of schools he may be interested this June-July to be seen by coaches. He will then need to get some game film and fill out recruiting questionnaires. The better his grades and test scores the easier it is for admittance. Your best bet is to concentrate on state schools for sure. If you have any other questions feel free.
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Thank you all! I really appreciate it. He played basketball until last year. This year as a HS sophomore he has started to really focus on football. He put on 30 lbs of muscle. I am from Europe / he is US citizen. But in a city where we live in TX. Football is an obsession:-) Not sure if that’s how it is everywhere in the US.
Yes, so next step is to start make a film during spring football. Start filling up the questionnaires and contacting colleges. He just created a Twitter and few recruiting profiles. I have signed him up for a camp. Will look for others as well. His GPA is 3.6 in very competitive school district. He does have learning disabilities. He is open to all divisions. It’s more about finding the best fit / school where he wants to be. Our older is on girl’s team div 1 on scholarship. She loves the experience.
Thank you! It was a fun champ game father vs son coaches:-)
His coaches will know much more about recruiting from Texas than anyone else.
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I agree with @twoinanddone. I would schedule a meeting with his position coach to talk about what he needs to work on to have the best shot at competing for a varsity position and to start the college recruiting process. If your son can make varsity and get some game tape, colleges will come to him … the school is a magnet for college recruiters. Be humble with the coaches … don’t leave the coaches with the impression that you are one of “those” parents.
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Thank you both! I will reach out to the coaches. I know exactly what you mean with not being “the parents”. Our daughter is on D1 team. Have seen it all…