<p>I have a son who is a HS senior offensive guard with great size and strength but very little experience in football. He is 6-3, 310, 350 BP and 550 squat. He was a heavyweight wrestler freshman and sophomore years and did very, very well - regional qualifier at 15 wrestling seniors at 265 lbs. He was on the varsity football team as a sophomore but didn't play much at all because we had an all-senior offensive line whom the coach never substituted. Then he suffered a severe hip fracture wrestling in an off season national tournament before junior year and was told he may never be able to play any sport again. He was bedridden for two months and couldn't play football or wrestle at all junior year. He also gained lots of weight because he couldn't really exercise. So by the time he was cleared for football in May, he was 335 lbs and slow. He soon gained lots of strength, but had no real speed, and as he continued to work on his conditioning, while his hip has held up, he had lots of problems with his knees which have continued to plague him throughout the summer and the beginning of the season. To compound that, the team he is on is horrible - the school's demographics have changed, nobody plays football, the former coach has quit, and the guy there now does nothing to promote my son (no mentions in the paper's hs football preview, etc) even though he is the biggest, strongest kid in the whole district. So I am really worried that my son will never find a college team because nobody really knows who he is. What can/should we do to get him recruited?</p>
<p>I don’t know. But as a back up plan, identify some JUCOs that are known for football. Many Div I schools will then recruit from those schools. </p>
<p>I am guessing that it may be too late for him to get recruited for next year. Coaches pretty much have their sights on who they want. </p>
<p>Simply being big and strong isn’t enough. Does he have a recruiting video? As you mention, his HS isn’t really a football school. Are there any CCs in your area that are known for football? If not, find some that are. </p>
<p>I would repost this in the athletic recruits section</p>
<p><a href=“Athletic Recruits - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/athletic-recruits/</a></p>
<p>He may have missed the boat on getting recruited this year…definitely ask this in the athletic recruits section. Most recruitees have already made contact with coaches, have sent highlight videos, have gone to some camps over the summer so that the coaches could see them, and are being asked for Official Visits soon. But still if you are not looking at the topmost schools then there may still be time.<br>
I would still talk to the head coach and guidance counselor about what to do. Also have him fill out the contact information at colleges he is interested in. Make a highlight video.</p>
<p>Also check out the process in general: <a href=“8 Steps to Getting Recruited | ACTIVE”>http://www.active.com/academic/articles/8-steps-to-getting-recruited</a></p>
<p>My friend has had two sons who played at the college level. He did put together a recruiting video and each son had a resume that he sent along with that video to the schools he thought might be interested in him. I remember that the older son must have mailed out 20 videos. He did get a few offers, played all four years in college and is now a grad assistant at a small D1 school. His younger brother suffered a devastating knee injury as a senior, but has made his D1-AA team as a walk on.</p>
<p>That said, we went through the recruiting thing a year ago for our youngest son, a cross country/track runner. We helped him look for schools with academic/merit money that had programs where he could compete. He got offered the final spot on a D2’s cross country roster, and he has made the most of the opportunity. He has a full tuition scholarship (earned off his SAT/GPA), but he really worked and training this past summer to be in the top 7, which he is. So, sometimes it is better to seek academic money first if a student has a strong SAT/ACT/GPA. That opens the door to some different opportunities.</p>
<p>Would also add that for a kid with some physical problems, the key is to find a school that he would be happy at even without football (or wrestling - can he not wrestle any more?) AND that you can afford with athletic money. Unfortunately, like many other kids, he may not be able to play in college if his body can’t handle it. Or, even if he makes a team, he may end up cut or may end up not wanting to do it any more due to pain or just not liking it. It is hard to see our kids disappointed, but hopefully he can find a school that work for him. </p>
<p>As others have said, post in the Athletic Recruiting forum and good luck</p>
<p>Hip fracture, knee issues, kid isn’t even out of adolescence yet… are you waiting for a serious concussion before you decide that maybe being a student is job one for your son???</p>
<p>Considering the serious hip injury and knee problems, why would you want him to continue playing? </p>
<p>Yes, with those injuries and the excess weight, which can’t be healthy for him, is this in his best interest?</p>
<p>Little experience in football, he’s slow, horrible team, plus the injuries (and new poster) - makes me question OP’s intentions. </p>
<p>We are lucky my son has been healthy. I known that if he broke a major bone, we would likely tell him to shelve his cleats. There are players he knows who came back from broken legs.</p>
<p>I’ll agree that JUCO is probably the only option for your son. What does he want to do?</p>
<p>I’ve heard of people sending tapes out to colleges, but I really think the vast majority of the recruiting has already been done. One of my D’s friends took an extra year at a prep school with a very good football team/coach and then was able to parlay that year into offers from some very good colleges (no scholarships, but he got into better schools (D3) than his stats would indicate to play football).</p>
<p>It was hard for him to get a video because he didn’t have anything to send out. I am hoping for a post grad year at a prep school.</p>
<p>What questions do you have? He wanted to play college football and wrestle before he got hurt. It doesn’t have anything to do with me. If he wanted to stop, he could stop.</p>
<p>He is interested in business, coaching or being an athletic trainer.</p>
<p>“Considering the serious hip injury and knee problems, why would you want him to continue playing?”</p>
<p>Because he wants to. If the doctor had not cleared him, I would have no problem with him hanging up the cleats.</p>
<p>"Hip fracture, knee issues, kid isn’t even out of adolescence yet… are you waiting for a serious concussion before you decide that maybe being a student is job one for your son??? "</p>
<p>He has actually improved his grades since the injury. He just feels that he still has the ability to play and wants to go as far as he can.</p>
<p>Ok, so he wants to play, you are ok with it, and the doctor said it was ok.</p>
<p>Few thoughts - </p>
<p>1) Try to pick a school where he will be happy and academically challenged if his football doesn’t work out.
( his grades are going up when he has more time on his hands).</p>
<p>2) What do you plan to tell the coach? If it is the truth, will they be interested?</p>
<p>3) Just a thought, not a doctor, but if he loses some weight, maybe his knee pain would go away.
Yes, he is a tall guy, but he is carrying around a lot of weight. It has to be a strain on his back, hips, knee and heart. </p>
<p>Best,
Charles</p>
<p>The first question is what is his legitimate skill level? At any level, recognize that the college game is far different than the high school game. Even at D3, the speed and violence of the game is much different than in high school. This is especially true if your son is coming from a less than successful high school program. On that point, if your son is the “biggest and strongest” kid in the district at 6’3" 310, benching 350 and squatting 550, my guess is the competitive level he is playing at right now is not terribly high. His strength numbers are good (particularly the squat, and assuming it is a chair or full squat), but not really out of line for at least D1 recruits on the offensive line. His height meets the minimum threshold (assuming he is a legit 6’3"), although if he is slow at his current level at that height, he is going to have problems trying to play at a competitive level in either D1 or D2 frankly. His weight is what it is. Most college coaches will assume they can fix that if they find him too heavy. Has he played against anyone going to a D1 school next year? How did he do when matched up against that talent?</p>
<p>Second, what level are you shooting for? Unlike bigger programs, most D3 schools have a significant number of walk ons on the roster, many of whom turn into successful players for the school. That is not so much the case in D1. In the bigger programs, most of the kids who walk on will end up getting cut from the roster quickly. Very few walk ons, even “recruited” walk ons, end up playing in D1. D2 is, as you would expect, somewhere in the middle. Many D2 schools have a number of walk ons on their roster, but the vast majority of guys who will play will have been recruited in one form or another. </p>
<p>My guess is that D1 schools are probably out of reach for next year. While many schools are still actively recruiting, they are recruiting from a relatively small group of players that they had identified in the spring and summer, if not earlier. If he is set on trying to play at that level, I would look to maybe a JUCO. A lot of guys who end up at a JUCO think of themselves as D1 level players who either had academic or injury problems. Many use a year or two at a JUCO to get their academics and body right, and then go on to compete successfully in D1. I think PG years in football are a primarily East Coast, high academic college thing. I know a couple dozen kids who have gone on to play in college over the last few years, none of whom even contemplated a PG year. It just isn’t done here in the Midwest. </p>
<p>Whatever level he is aiming at, and assuming he is playing this year, you need to get a highlight tape together. Don’t know what state you are in, but where I am, the HS season is going into week 7. That should be more than enough film to show his skill set and potential to a college coach. Identify the schools he is targeting. Once that is done, you can generally find the recruiting coach for your area by perusing the team web site. If he is targeting D1, I would probably not worry about getting that tape out before the end of this recruiting cycle, because it is not likely (given what you have posted) that he will jump out on tape enough for someone to shake up their board at this stage. If that is where he wants to be, then start identifying coaches in February and March and get your tape out while soliciting information on walking on. D2, D3 and JUCO schools have much more fluid boards at this point in the cycle, and I would try and get tape out to those coaches as soon as you can. At whatever level you target, I would send a concise e mail along with the hudl link to the recruiting coach, introducing your son, explaining abut the hip injury, and setting out his desire to continue to play football. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>The first question is what is his legitimate skill level? See, my first and lasting reaction was to OP’s statement that his son “very little experience in football.” (Plus the injuries.) To me, that raised the question of whether he is recruitable, in the first place. When we talk about recruits, in general, we often mean the advantages that go with that- a little easier admit, etc. I have to defer to others, who mention juco or similar, where size and willingness can play a big part. </p>