Evaluations from college coaches are critical to your recruiting success

USC Head Coach, Lane Kiffin

Letters of recommendation and reference letters from your high school coaches are important, especially when it comes to making an impression on college coaches. But are you seeking evaluations from the college coaches themselves?

One of the best ways to stay in control of your college recruitment is to seek honest feedback from the coaches who are studying your highlight/game videos.  Not only is their assessment vital to your collegiate opportunities, but it helps strengthen relationships with these coaches, too.

 Some athletes may be apprehensive about receiving evaluations from coaches because the report may not be what the athlete (or parent) wants to hear.  Nevertheless, college bound athletes must be realistic about their college futures, and accepting what college coaches have to say can be critical to executing a plan that positions you for great fit college options.

Here is an actual evaluation that one of the country’s top Division III football coaches provided SAS on one of our 2012 prospects.  Are you getting specific feedback like this from college coaches?  If not, you could be missing a fantastic opportunity to really know what college programs think when they view your films.  

This young man is an above average D3 football player.  He would not be one of our top QB prospects for the 2012 class.  I am sure he is a terrific athlete, but he appears to go down with little contact.  

Positives: great speed, agility (would be a great D3 WR). Negatives: underthrows most of his passes on film (has some good WR’s).  Has poor feet, shotputs the ball, and falls every time he is touched.  Also does not step into his throw when he has pressure.

We grade on a 0-4 scale, for how many years a player would “start” for us at our school. I would grade him as a 1 or 2.