Is the music on your highlight video HURTING your recruiting?

by Zack Walz, Student-Athlete Showcase

We were recently contacted by a family that was searching for some recruiting expertise, or more specifically, some answers. They just could not understand why their son hadn’t received any college replies despite sending his information out to a number of schools, and now in April of his senior year, they’re facing the possibility that his football career may soon be over.

After some in-depth discussion, we learned that this particular athlete has been a 3x Varsity starter at one of the top HS teams in the state, and not only does he have great size, but he also has tremendous speed. His stats and honors are impressive and his HS coaches consider him to be one of the best players in the conference. I wasn’t 100% convinced that all the facts were straight, so I asked to see his bio so I could personally review his information. After my preliminary examination, not only did I agree with his coaches in their evaluation of him, but his grades and test scores were also well above average. On paper, he was a legitimate college prospect and one that could definitely warrant interest from the Division 1 level. Before making any final recommendations, however, I asked for a copy of his highlight film.

What I discovered next was appalling, and it gave me everything I needed to know about why this athlete wasn’t being recruited by a single school in the country. As if nothing was amiss, his father enthusiastically emailed me a link to his son’s Youtube video, posted for the entire world to see. I immediately clicked the link, watched and listened with horror, as the film was accompanied by a rap song that used no less than three profanities in the first 20 seconds. It was all I needed to hear and now seeing this as often as I do, what prompted me to write this blog.

As a student-athlete, you’re recruiting journey should be considered one of (if not the most) important job interviews of your young life. You’re competing against tens of thousands of other candidates for the same position, for a roster spot, and for a school and coaching staff to invest both their lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars in you to build a winning program. Your stats, speed, strength and athletic ability certainly play a role in your evaluation. But your character, personality, integrity, and moral fiber make the real difference. Would you ever use profanity on a job application? Would you ever curse in front of a supervisor during a job interview? Why then would you ever decide that using violent and offensive music to accompany your highlight film would create anything but the same type of reaction?

I decided to send the Youtube link to several D1 football coaches to get their take on it, and this is what they had to say:

Coach #1: ZW, did not even need 30 seconds to make a decision. 20 seconds was enough to make me not want to watch or recruit this young man, ever.

Coach #2: Zack, I have had to start muting my computer during highlight tapes because it puts a really bad taste in my mouth about the player.

Coach #3: I personally would NEVER recruit that kid just based on that music. I seriously not only question the kid, but the coach, the parents, the person that made that video or anyone else involved in that. I don’t care how good the kid is, I don’t care how smart the kid is, we would never recruit that kid. His character would certainly be called into question making a decision to send that to a college football coach, it’s just totally out of line. Just as a side note, it’s a shame because watching that video he looks like a heck of a player, but again, we would never recruit him based on his decision to use that music.

Next time you think about posting something online to represent yourself - a picture, a song, a conversation, a comment or remark – take notice, it will at some time be scrutinized by the very people you’re trying to impress.

Carry yourself as a professional always, and you’ll be treated as one in return.