5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Recruiting Stock in the Offseason

Recruiting is an art, not a science, but there are plenty of things that athletes can do to improve their standing as a recruit. The best way to improve your recruiting stock is to play well during the season. But what about in the offseason?

There are plenty of simple things you can do to improve your stock. Note: "simple" and "easy" are different. Running a marathon is simple (ready, set, run) but not easy. Some of these require hard work, but they're not "hard" in the sense that they require many steps or that only some players can actually do these. Anybody can do these five things, why not you?

1) Create a Meaningful Visit Schedule

A couple of weeks ago, I detailed how to create a visit schedule that works best for your individual recruitment.

If you're hitting the wrong college camps, there's little you can do to help your recruiting stock. The key is to get in front of the coaches that can actually make a difference in your recruitment. If you're getting in front of the wrong coaches, you'll be overlooked.

Prioritize schools that have shown real interest or schools that play at a level you could succeed at in the future. Then, go perform well at those camps. That leads to No. 2.

2) Train Specifically for Camp/Combine Drills

While it's not as prevalent anymore, there are some old-school coaches who think the only thing that matters is your play on the field. That's just simply not true.

Colleges often has thresholds they want you to hit in certain drills. That might be a certain 40 time or a minimum vertical jump height. These are often indicative of future success.

You'd never run a play in a game that you haven't practiced, so why do 80% of the players I scout at camps look like they've never practiced a 40, shuttle, or broad jump.

Not only are these drills important, they're also controllable.

Yes, there's an element of God-given talent and ability present in combine drills (You're not going from a 5.0 40 to a 4.5 40) but every combine drill (and position drill) has techniques that can be practiced and perfected.

So, yeah. It's VERY possible to move from a 4.7 to a 4.55 in the 40. You can get 6+ inches in a vertical or broad jump with some technical tweaks. Even shuttle drills can be taught. If you're serious about earning a scholarship, find some combine training. There are dozens of talented trainers who can walk you through the technique for a strong 40 start or a successful broad jump.

Then, you'll show up to college camps as a pro at athletic testing. Most players aren't doing this, so with some training, you can outrun, outjump, and outperform more naturally athletic players and jump them on college recruiting boards as well.

Don't show up and expect to perform well and don't just practice blindly hoping to improve.

3) Improve Your Grades

Yeah, the academics guy is talking about academics again. Every tenth of a GPA point allows hundreds more schools to recruit you (and helps you earn academic scholarships at schools that don't give full athletic scholarships).

I went into greater detail last week about specifically how improved academics can improve your recruitment, but it bears reminding. There are plenty of more naturally talented players who get recruited over by players with better academics.

Often, the academic piece simply requires more effort. Don't be lazy. Don't be content. Go the extra mile and it could really improve your chances of playing in college.

4) Have Real Conversations With Coaches

As you're talking with college coaches, don't just respond to questions, have real conversations. Ask them about their recruiting board, what they need to see from you, how you'd be used in their scheme, etc. Don't be afraid to ask tough questions.

In fact, coaches love that. For the most part, college coaches are going to be honest with you. If you're talking to a coach about camp, ask them what they're wanting to see from you. If you have a good relationship with a coach, you can even ask what criteria you'd need to hit to earn an offer. If they're smart, they'll be honest, giving you things they'd like you to do or improve on and allowing you to prepare for later interactions.

Coaches will usually be honest enough to tell you when an offer is unlikely, or that you're lower on their board as well. If they're obviously dodging your questions or giving unsatisfactory answers, it's usually because you're not a priority. In either case, you'll know you're not a priority and can spend your time (and money elsewhere).

But, ALWAYS be polite and ALWAYS circle back. Coaches change jobs All. The. Time. Don't burn bridges. You never know when a coach will move to a new school and turn back around to re-recruit you.

Be kind, thank coaches for their time and be someone coaches WANT to recruit.

5) Re-work Your Highlight Tape

There are a lot of small changes you can make to your social media presence to improve your recruitment, but one of the things that often gets lost is the art of the highlight tape.

We live in a Tik Tok generation. That's not just limited to high schoolers. I'm 29 and my attention span is bad as well. Coaches have short attention spans, even on the job.

Is your highlight tape capturing a coach's attention? I'm not talking about the coach who is doing a deep dive on your film because he likes what he sees. I'm talking about the coach you DM'd yesterday with your tape. He's clicked the link and he's going to decide in 15-20 seconds whether to keep watching or move on.

So, what's in the first 15-20 seconds? Is it your phone number, email, random stats with no context and six seconds of standing around before the first play? Or is it 2-3 of your best plays of the season?

They don't have to be your most successful plays of the season, but the ones that best show your unique skill set.

Here's an easy self-check for film.

Pretend you're a college coach looking for someone at your position. What 4-5 skills would they most like to see?

Write that list down, then find the plays that best show those things and put them first. Any interested coaches will keep watching to see the rest of your touchdowns or goals or hits, but only if they like the skills you first put on display.

If you ever need help with that. Reach out to me via email (will.helms21@gmail.com) or Twitter (@whelms21). I'm happy to walk through your film or help with other aspects of your social media.