Gap Year, Football Player Looking to Play D1

Here’s the situation:

  1. I played 4 years of football (first sport ever) in HS, and I packed on 120 pounds in that time. I’m currently 6’4", 230, and I’ve been told I’ve got more growing to do, so who knows? I got screwed over my last two years, the years I was actually playable, by my coaches, so my film isn’t stellar.
  2. I had committed to a D3 school, as I only received one NAIA offer that I got along with my QB, and was only going to consider taking it if he did. He didn’t.
  3. I’m taking a gap year due to financial reasons, but, in terms of football, I think I can pack on about 30-40 pounds, I’ve consistently done 20-30 every year, and get to the size I need to be while getting faster and more athletic. I’m in the best shape of my life right now, and I intend to get better.
  4. My transcripts are great. Very high GPA, 30 on my ACT.

So here’s my question: Beyond e-mail (There’s a bunch of schools I’m going to email every 3 weeks), what can I do? Are there recruiting camps I can go to? Visits I can arrange without too much difficulty? I’m intent on playing division 1 football, even if it means walking on without a PWO. I’m pretty much either working or working out right now. Any advice from anyone? And look, I’ve gotten alot of ‘lower your expectations’ from a lot of people, and I have D2 schools willing to redshirt me THIS year. So any advice, I’d love to hear. Thank you!

@Mornin23 I know some prep schools (Andover, Exeter, Hotchkiss, etc.) offer a PG Year where athletes can beef up for their sport. Cause I know the clock starts ticking once you start in college and if you want to maximize eligibility, a PG Year might be the way to go.

I am making a couple assumptions here, which are 1)that what you mean by D1 football is FBS football, 2)that given what you report about your size you are an in the box player and 3)that when you say you got “screwed over” by your coaches as a junior and senior it means that you didn’t get much playing time on varsity during your high school career. If those things are correct, then you are trying to climb a very steep ladder, and you should go into the process with your eyes wide open.

If you are committed to trying to play at the highest level, a local JUCO may be your best option. I am not generally a huge fan of JUCO for kids who are trying to bump their recruiting profile, because I think JUCOs are really designed for kids who are already at the D1 level athletically but have some issue, usually academic or behavioral, that keeps them from being a scholly player out of high school. JUCO’s don’t really focus on developing players athletically because the good ones aren’t there that long. But if you are truly set on D1 or bust, then a JUCO or pg school (assuming there are pg options in your geographic region that are affordable) is likely the best shot you have.

I am not a fan of walking on, especially as a non PWO, if your intent is to actually compete to play rather than just be out on the practice field. Given the restrictions on practice opportunities and particularly contact opportunities in D1, reps are going to be very hard to come by if you are coming in cold. It is hard enough these days for younger scholly guys to get reps. That is even assuming that there are non PWO options available at the school you choose to attend. There may be more non PWO options at less high profile schools, but even in the FCS there are not a heck of a lot of walk ons who ever get the chance to truly compete. The math is just working hard against you in that circumstance. The lack or available reps may be less important if you are a QB, wide receiver or DB, who can flash during captain’s practices or in extra work, but if you intend to make your bones doing violence to other large men, there is absolutely no substitute for live reps.

You seem to be closed to the idea of playing at a D2 school. For what it is worth, I think that is a huge mistake. First, if you truly are or can be a D1 level player, then going to a D2 school, getting some decent coaching and spending a year or two laying down some good tape can open some options in D1. It happens. Maybe not a lot, but it is probably the best realistic chance you have of getting a real chance to play with the big boys. Second, college ain’t high school, and there is a not insubstantial chance that the D2 upper class men are going to toss you around at first. If they do, then you are at the right level. If you start stoning guys from the jump, then you can take that tape and have something to show coaches in D1 during the transfer period. It seems like a win win to me, tbh.

You are correct on number 1, I play defensive end. In terms of getting screwed over, my junior year, my HC hired his brother, who hated me from the get go for no reason. We had one guy on our OL that the papers wouldn’t stop raving about who could consistently block me, and I definitely could’ve been a situational rusher that year, at a minimum. We had two other guys (in my class) that started later that year. They shouldn’t have started over the guys we had there in the first place, and I blew those two guys (in my class) away on the field. My senior year, I was by far the best edge guy on the team, then got bumped into Nose tackle, and then my coach just wouldn’t let me play defense despite me being the only guy who could make a play on our DL, instead restricting me to offense (we had plenty of 2 way guys, 23 total players on the team) when he’d literally never let me practice with the offense until week 4 of my senior year. I’m 100% open to an FCS school, and you’re probably right about considering a D2 school, but I’m not huge on the idea of having to sit a year out after transferring. Granted, it might just help with size and athleticism.

Thanks for replying! Do you have any suggestions for actually being recruited though? I feel like the window is pretty small, and I’m having trouble getting schools to respond.

You need to minimize the unfairness of high school team and focus on what will get you better film and coaching contacts.

Many players have been able to transfer without having to sit out a year. Most coaches won’t allow it within the same conference, but are happy for their players to go to a school with a better fit. It’s now Aug so assume all of this planning is for next year. What will your major be? What type of schools are you interested in?

Watch Last Chance U on Netflix to get a view of life in JUCO.

@Mornin23: What is your goal ? Are you seeking an athletic scholarship ? If so, do you qualify for financial aid ? If you do qualify for substantial financial aid, then D3 schools might be an option to consider. However, if your dream is to play pro ball, then you need to stich with D1 & some D II schools.

Do you have a preferred geographic region ?

Frankly, I don’t see much of a window to get recruited directly to a D1 school without good high school tape. Making another assumption based on your last post, you have some high school varsity tape on offense? I assume you have been sending that tape around without drawing much interest?

You could probably walk in off the street at some of the Pioneer schools if you appear physically fit enough to survive and they will give you a helmet and pads. There may be some other places at the lower end of the FCS where they will take you to fill out the roster as well, but again you are going to run into the problem of getting reps.

I think the realistic options are take the opportunity to go to a D3/D2 and then try and shop that tape to a D1 the next year or look to a juco. Honestly, if the goal is to get to a D1 and have a real opportunity to earn playing time, the cost may be burning a year or two of eligibility somewhere else in order to get the chance.

I do qualify for financial aid, yes, but at a D3 school, it’s not enough. A 3.77 and 30 ACT leaves me at about 20k per year most places, and that’s just too much. In terms of pro ball, would I love to play? Hell yes. Do I think it’s realistic? No, not particularly.

Okay, so I don’t know too much about JUCO, I’ll look into it, and I’ve already got D2 schools that are interested purely for my size. In terms of garnering D1 attention though, are the camps that colleges and universities hold a good starting point, or are they a waste of money and time?

You need to study the rules about recruiting. If you are looking at FBS schools, once you start talking to the coaches and take OV, you become a preferred walk/counter if you don’t receive a scholarship. That might limit any other financial aid (need based) you receive from that school. Just be very careful about your contacts and visits. Those schools don’t have partial scholarships - all or nothing. The FCS schools have different rules, some (Ivies) have no scholarships, just need based aid while others have all kinds of combinations of merit, need, athletic. Your states are good.

Look at D2 schools. Some of the tech schools would love to see those stats coming through - Colorado School of Mines for example. Look at some of the D2 conferences and see if there are any schools you’d like.

I don’t know how the schools do camps for post grads. You’d have to ask if you can attend.

@Mornin23: JUCO schools are not for you with respect to academics. Yes, playing for a year or two at a JUCO could result in a D1 football offer, but at what cost ?

Bucknell University & Colgate University & the Patriot League seemed to be designed for you–an intelligent football athlete whose athletic talent is still developing and not quite D1 ready.

In life, your college education & degree are going to be much more valuable than will be your time on a football field & any varsity letters earned. You can have both in the Patriot League.

Have you looked at Rice? D1 school with a new coach this year. Great academics.

As far as what initiatives you can take, you can register your interest with certain football teams. Northwestern University has an online form that you can use to inform them of your interest & of your willingness to take a gap year in order to bulk up & increase your speed (although quickness is more important than speed for a defensive lineman).

While a Big10 scholarship is unlikely without 3 star film of your on the field play, you may make a valuable contact (regional recruiter) who might offer some helpful direction.

You have the size, heart & determination & are willing to sacrifice a year to improve further, so why not one of the elites ?

In the Patriot, any aid, whether FA, academic merit or athletic, converts a walk on into a counter. So if you want to walk on in the Patriot you may be able to, but it will have to be as a full pay student.

I would not waste my time cold contacting schools like Northwestern. They have no problem filling their extra twenty five roster slots with PWO’s, because there are plenty of kids who are willing to trade some scholairship dollars at an FCS school for the admissions help at schools like Northwestern, Vandy, Rice, etc.

If it is really D1 or bust, you need to be fishing in the bottom half of conferences like the Mountain West, MAC, Sun belt or AAC in FBS, or the MEAC, CAA or NEC in FCS.

The school camps are going to be of limited if any value to you at this point.

I would contact Northwestern. The most that you could lose is a few minutes of your time. What you could gain is valuable advice from someone with a significant amount of current knowledge & decision maker contacts.

P.S. At 6 foot 4 inches tall, 230 pounds and growing with a strong desire to play among the best, I suspect that several Patriot League coaches would love to count you among their recruits.

P.P.S. Also, although a Big10 offer is unlikely currently, Northwestern is known & respected for developing two & three star players into Big10 competitors.

I disagree. You become a ‘counter’ and the scholarship picture changes.

@twoinanddone, I am not following. Are you suggesting that recruiting contact in and of itself effects the scholarship picture/roster limits?

I think it is a slippery slope. If a recruit contacts a coach, and it’s all very casual, when does the student become a PWO? When he send in film? When he visits the campus? When the coach offers him a walk on spot if he gets in on his own? Once he crosses the line in a D1, he loses all the other types of aid available (but might gain admissions help).

I don’t know enough about football recruiting to know if a paid recruiter would be the best route, but I think so. This guy no longer has a high school coach to help him. In sports where there is big club involvement (lacrosse, soccer, hockey) someone could be making those contacts for him, have friends on the coaching staffs of several teams. It really sounds like this guy is on his own.

In football, as far as the NCAA is concerned, being a preferred walk on doesn’t mean you forgo financial aid or academic merit aid, as long as the recruit meets certain academic thresholds and the aid is available on equal terms to non athletes. As I said up the thread, the Patriot applies that limitation as a conference rule. Other conferences may operate similarly, but I don’t know of any who do off hand.

The OP is hoping to be recruited, but should let all coaches know his situation so they don’t cross over from walk on status to recruit.

II am not sure where the above came from, but NCAA bylaw 15.01.05 states

FWIW, Bylaw 14 has to do with academic eligibility.