College Coaches Will Find Athletic Recruits in Strange Ways

While I am never going to be a believer in the old saying, “If an athlete is good enough, college coaches will find them,” it is always interesting to see how some college coaches really do find their football recruits or basketball recruits. 

There was an interesting story the other day surrounding Auburn and how Tommy Tuberville found Sen’Derrick Marks, a potential Top 10 pick at defensive tackle.

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Andy Staples of SI.com that talks about how Marks was found in a rather interesting way:

When Tuberville arrived, Stevenson brought him to the gym, where the boys’ basketball team was practicing. As the men made small talk, the basketball players lined up for a three-man weave drill.

“Coach,” Stevenson said, “let’s see if you can pick him out.”  Seconds later, Vigor’s 260-pound power forward tore down the floor and unleashed a vicious dunk. Tuberville turned to Stevenson.

“Who was that?” he asked. “That,” Stevenson said, “is Sen’Derrick Marks.”

Tuberville offered Marks a scholarship on the spot, Stevenson said.

For those interested in reading the complete article, click here now.  But anyway, that is just one simple example of how college football coaches will find their future recruits in very strange ways. 

College coaches know exactly how athletic a defensive tackle needs to be.  And at that size, there is little doubt Marks impressed him with his athleticism enough.  As a coach, there are some players you take chances on because of their size and athleticism.  That is one of them.

How much of a chance was Tuberville taking on Marks?  To answer that question, I decided to look back at the Rivals.com rankings for this 2005 high school recruit.

Marks was so far under the radar that he was rated as a two-star prospect.  Let me stress to you that Rivals.com will rate anyone with a Division I scholarship as a two-star prospect.

So Marks was considered a marginal Division I talent and only had offers from Louisville, Southern Miss, and West Virginia.

College coaches, especially in football, love to see the athletes that they are recruiting compete in other sports. 

It can be in basketball, wrestling, track, or any other sport, coaches love seeing athletes excel outside of their top sport.  In many cases, the most recruited athletes have the ability to excel in multiple sports.

I know of a coaching staff in the Big Ten that always makes it a priority to see athletes compete in different sports.  Some of the different events that I have known that they have attended include a wrestling meet, state track, basketball practice, and/or a basketball game.

They come in knowing about the athlete but want to see their athleticism, how they react in a fast-paced sport, and how well they get along with teammates.  All of these areas are very vital for the football recruiting process.

College coaches love to find gems who are under the radar but have the athleticism to compete at the Division I level.  These are the type of recruits that do little to no legwork in the recruiting process because they assume college coaches are going to find you. 

But in the majority of cases, if they had followed The Five Steps to a Scholarship Offer, they could have helped themselves in the athletic recruiting process.

If you are a recruit out there, chances are you don’t possess the natural skills that Marks had when he was in high school.  But you need to do what you can to take care of the recruiting process yourself and getting your name out there. 

While you can hope and pray that a Division I coach will come to a practice and offer an athletic scholarship, the best bet is if you to market yourself and go that route.  You can control that a little more than hoping Tommy Tuberville comes into your school.

For position by position help throughout the football recruiting process, Recruiting-101 has put together a 28-page guide to help athletes get a better feel for what college coaches are looking for at each spot.  Click here to learn more about the e-book now, which is currently on sale for only $5.00!