What Are Top Collegiate Recruits Looking For?

Do college players that come out of traditional football programs have a better shot at the NFL? I would guess we need to take a look at what traditional football is to establish that.

The modern Wildcat formation has actually been around since the formative days of the sport of football. The Shot Gun Formation is very old and was used extensively in the NFL by teams like Dallas in the 1970s.

In fact, a quick look at formations will reveal that there are as many variations in the NFL as there are in high school and college football. Today’s definition of a traditional offense seems to be based on the quarterback taking the snap from under center. I imagine those 1970s NFL teams are tickled to hear that they were on the cutting edge back then.

It is also mentioned that players have a better chance when coming from traditional defenses. What is a traditional defense? There is no answer to this question either.

The trendy 3-4 defense of today is a throwback to early last century. The 4-3 defense finds its origin in the NFL from the 1950s. The Dime Defense that Nebraska has used so successfully to control pass happy offenses has been around for decades.

The cutting edge Tampa 2 defense is nothing new, having originated in the NFL in the 1970s. I wonder exactly what is new and what is traditional? It seems to me that most of the talking heads that are pushing the traditional idea need to define what traditional is.

If you read the definition of traditional it would seem that all of these offensive and defensive schemes fit nicely. It could be that traditional simply means what ever particular agenda they are pushing at the time.

When a young football player has his sights set on playing in the NFL what should he look for in a college team?  This is very likely the most important decision the young player will ever make.

The good part is that it is not a difficult question to answer. In fact it is down right simple. The player needs to look at a very simple and proven combination of characteristics to pick the most likely destination for success.

The largest factor should be the conference that the team is part of. A player only needs to look at the total number of NFL players drafted in the first three rounds from each conference to see what conferences are best. Picking a team in a conference that is in the top three in this particular measure has proven very effective.

Once the conference is targeted, a player needs to look at the depth chart for the top half of teams in that conference. Picking a team in the bottom half of any conference is not usually a wise decision.

Look at the effectiveness of use of that position on the team. If you are a receiver and pick a team ranked 95th in passing yards, it does not improve your chances. If you are a running back and the team gets seventy percent of their offensive yardage from passing, there is very little chance that you will be successful.

Look for national exposure for the team. If you are on TV most Saturdays, it usually means a higher chance of being on TV on Sundays later. Unless you are an exceptional superstar of unprecedented talent, media exposure is a huge help.

Look for a dynamic program. It is much better to be in a program that is considered cutting edge and is very balanced and versatile. You also want to pay particular attention to the strength and conditioning programs.

Look at the number of players from this team that currently plays in the NFL. If there are very few, chances are that trend will continue. Also look for players from your chosen position in the NFL.

Football is a dynamic sport. Trends come and go. There is very little advantage to picking one system or another. If you possess particular talents that are best suited for a certain system, then that is the type of system you need to consider.

These are the things top recruits are looking for. No matter what recruiters want to believe, most collegiate prospects are smart enough to look at such things. They will make the best choice for their success most of the time.