Navigating Your Student-Athlete's Path to Collegiate Football

Waiting to hear your name called.......

Thursday, April 25th at 7:00PM CST as well as Friday and Saturday of that week, all eyes will be on Detroit, Michigan who plays host to the 2024 NFL Draft. Over these three days the tireless work of hundreds of former NCAA and High School Football athletes will take center stage. Millions upon millions of dollars are on the line and hearing your name called on one of these three days means you have reached the pinnacle of our sport. However, as we look upon those three days and see players make the jump from college to professionalism, we sometimes lose sight of just how realistic that may be in our lives.

The statistics don't lie and they don't look favorable on the vast majority of NCAA athletes in all sports. Out of the over 500,000 student-athletes that participate in NCAA athletics in a given year, less than 2% of them will go professional in their sport. For our sport that number is 1.6%. My hope for our players and their parents is that they are ultimately realistic as it relates to the chances of going professional. My hope is not to diminish drive, goal attainment, or even chasing their dream but numbers are not in people's favor.

Well, what does that mean for our players' chances of going on to play collegiate football, which is more pressing in our case than the idea of going pro. The numbers are a little better, but not by much. Last year there were little over 1 million high school football players across the country. Of those one million, 13.6% went on to play at the Division 1, 2, or 3 level of the NCAA. I do realize that this does not account for the players going on to the NAIA level, but again, I hope it puts into perspective the sheer numbers. 

This coming week I will meet with every player in our program who has interest in the possibility of becoming a collegiate student-athlete. Throughout this workshop we will discuss not only the likelihood of becoming a college student-athlete, but also what it takes to move the needle closer to having that opportunity. Below is a list of elements we will discuss as well as a document provided by the NCAA for College Bound Student Athletes.

1. Grades! Grades! Grades!

Most colleges/universities no matter how talented an athlete you may be will not take a chance on you unless you can get a minimum 2.5 GPA in high school. In the NCAA manual it states a minimum of 2.3, but all the schools and recruiters I have spoken to over the years have said 2.5. Some schools have gone the route of test optional (SAT/ACT) but you should reach out to make sure. Please keep in mind, the sum of money available for academic support (scholarship) will always be larger than the amount of athletic support (scholarship).

2. Do not have a D1 or bust mentality.

The way the college landscape has changed over the last few years due to the transfer portal and NIL has made it increasingly harder for high school athletes to land full scholarships to D1 schools and even D2 schools. The fluidity of the transfer portal has made the path to D1 start in many cases with starting out at the NAIA, D3, or D2 level in order to prove your ability.

3. Pick a school for the education it provides versus for the athletics it provides.

Arguably one of the best decisions the NCAA did was to create a commercial series that highlights that most NCAA athletes will go professional in something other than sports (occupation). Realize in the current environment at the collegiate level coaches leave, injuries happen, and coaches are looking to recruit your replacement. Be somewhere you can get a great education even if football removes itself from the equation.

4. Be realistic!

- Yes, D1 and the idea of it sounds great, but as the head women's basketball coach from South Carolina and three time national champion stated, "Y'all have league dreams with backyard work ethic." D1 athletes separate themselves from the rest of athletes early on in their athletic careers and move that needle further away as the years go on in middle and high school by their work ethic in all things school and sport. This is not to say that D2, D3, and NAIA athletes don't have the same or similar drive, but there is also a role that genetics has to play in becoming a D1 athlete. Being realistic means knowing that playing football for another four years after high school is a blessing. Getting money to do so is even better. Going D1 is just icing on the cake. Again, only 13.6% of all high school football players go on to play at the collegiate level.

5. Play college sports because you want to, not because someone else wants you to.

Extrinsic pressure only motivates us so far. Intrinsic motivation (inspiration) takes you all the way. (You have to want it). If you think football demands an unbelievable amount of time on you now, just wait until you get to the college level.

Amongst these top five ideas listed above, we will speak with our players about other items that directly impact them in regards to becoming a collegiate student-athlete. We will talk about camps to attend, official and unofficial transcripts, time commitment at each level of the NCAA, important recruiting terms and timeframes, social media, official versus unofficial visits,  and the recruiting calendar.

Our collective goal as a staff and as the head coach is to get our players recruited that we know can make it and thrive at the next level, but at the same time being realistic and truthful with our conversations and interactions with our athletes. We have been blessed over the last several years to have players leave Valparaiso High School and go on to play at every level of collegiate football (JUCO, NAIA, D3, D2, and D1). We know what these schools are looking for in regards to talent level and more importantly academically.

If our athletes are compelled to play at the next level, we will find a home for them!