What factors influence recruit commitments?

[RUforester72]

What factors influence recruits to decide where they will commit? My guess:

Coaching Staff 25%
Team's past success 25%
Location 10%
Parents 15%
Friends among fellow recruits 10%
Opportunity to play first year 5%
Proximity of Hot Coeds during visit 10%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyse their decision criteria?

 

[soundcrib]

You forgot money.

 

[mildone]

I would imagine that many recruits consider how their college choice will affect their chances to make it to the NFL. And I would think that might rank at or near the top of the priorities for many, if not most top recruits.

I also think that, for now at least, this is one of RU's best selling points to top recruits. You can be a 4 or 5 star recruit and if you go to OSU or Alabama, you're not going to stand out all that much. The odds of becoming a starting player are decent, but there's going to be a lot of very good competition for limited spots.

If you come to RU as a 4 or 5 star recruit, you have a much better chance to both stand out and be a starting player for more seasons. And with RU in the Big Ten, recruits know that if they are starters, they are going to be seen in prime-time in national broadcasts.

Of course, if RU's program takes off, and we start consistently recruiting top recruits, that whole argument goes out the window. But that's a good problem to have.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

John polled, IIRC, 200 recruits one year and the only thing I remember is that "uniforms" came in either 10th or dead last. I found that hysterical because, at the time, there were so many posters here, loving the new unis, claiming how big of a role that they play in the decision-making process.

Yeah, okay!

 

[mikebal9]

Jeff Hafley told me personally that big recruits care only about2 things...will I win a championship and can I get to the NFL, though not always in that order.

 

[RUScrew85]

Well a certain Alumi is pimping his kid out for a job. IIRC.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

What factors influence recruits to decide where they will commit? My guess:

Coaching Staff 25%
Team's past success 25%
Location 10%
Parents 15%
Friends among fellow recruits 10%
Opportunity to play first year 5%
Proximity of Hot Coeds during visit 10%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyse their decision criteria?

School's academic reputation gets a 0%?

 

[nukem]

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Uncles

 

[RUforester72]

School's academic reputation gets a 0%?

What weight do you think it would be?

 

[rurichdog]

Position coach matters more than the head coach, according to a former KState DE sitting in the cube next to me.

 

[mikebal9]

School's academic reputation gets a 0%?

For most recruits, that's accurate.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Position coach matters more than the head coach, according to a former KState DE sitting in the cube next to me.

...but if the HC can't "close" the kid, and you're not a factory, how well they get along with the position coach doesn't mean jack. I think we're all too familiar with the scenario at this time.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

What factors influence recruits to decide where they will commit? My guess:

Coaching Staff 25%
Team's past success 25%
Location 10%
Parents 15%
Friends among fellow recruits 10%
Opportunity to play first year 5%
Proximity of Hot Coeds during visit 10%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyse their decision criteria?

It's simple they care about 3 things.
1) will I get to the nfl?
2) will we win championships
3) do the students (in particular the girls) care about football at the school.

That is all.

 

[Knight Shift]

What factors influence recruits to decide where they will commit? My guess:

Coaching Staff 25%
Team's past success 25%
Location 10%
Parents 15%
Friends among fellow recruits 10%
Opportunity to play first year 5%
Proximity of Hot Coeds during visit 10%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyse their decision criteria?

Ask Kiffen when he was at Tennessee:

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

What weight do you think it would be?

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I was commenting that it was a shame that it isn't more of a consideration. Although, I've seen kids say after they've committed that they liked the business school or some other program the school had. But I guess it's not on the radar for most kids.

 

[rurichdog]

...but if the HC can't "close" the kid, and you're not a factory, how well they get along with the position coach doesn't mean jack. I think we're all too familiar with the scenario at this time.

Did you deduce that from message board banter, or something? I just told you what a former D1A football recruit told me. Granted this was from almost 20 years ago, and is just one guy, but he doesn't recall being wowed by Bill Snyder.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

It's simple they care about 3 things.
1) will I get to the nfl?
2) will we win championships
3) do the students (in particular the girls) care about football at the school.

That is all.

From reading this board, I always read that NYC was a big draw because college football players like NYC and want to play in the media capital of the world. How big a factor is this ?

 

[RUSK97]

From reading this board, I always read that NYC was a big draw because college football players like NYC and want to play in the media capital of the world. How big a factor is this ?

About as big as the academic reputation of the school.

 

[LC-88]

If your college team hires your high school coach.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Did you deduce that from message board banter, or something? I just told you what a former D1A football recruit told me. Granted this was from almost 20 years ago, and is just one guy, but he doesn't recall being wowed by Bill Snyder.

That's fantastic and there are always going to be exceptions however, bottom line, KF lost a slew of kids because he couldn't "close" them. This isn't exactly news.

 

[Caliknight]

"Who is going to pay the most for my son?"- Cam Newton's father

 

[RU Cheese]

- the chance to go 1-0
- having coaches write your papers
- fans who obsess over ex-coaches

 

[Knight Shift]

Some need to let it go and move on. There are blue skies ahead.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Some need to let it go and move on. There are blue skies ahead.

Can't ignore the past. It's a fatal mistake. [thumb2]

 

[gef21]

It all depends on the kids. The majority of kids I have coached have been about where they are comfortable, where there family is comfortable, and where they can play. I have had a few kids who have been all about wanting to be the man and wanting to be treated like the man.

I call it the NFL syndrome. I have had kids, in high school, say they need to do such and such in games or its going to hurt their NFL contract. If a kid has the NFL syndrome they want to be rubbed up, told they are the man, treated like the man, etc.

Most kids just want to go to a place they are going to feel comfortable with the people around them.

There is the opposite of the NFL syndrome kid and that is the blue collar kid. I have a young man right now who dill be a division 1 TE/DE who is currently a sophomore. All he does is work hard, does not give a damn about recognition, and does what he is supposed to do. He will be successful and will go where he gets an opportunity.

 

[beaced]

I would imagine that many recruits consider how their college choice will affect their chances to make it to the NFL. And I would think that might rank at or near the top of the priorities for many, if not most top recruits.

I also think that, for now at least, this is one of RU's best selling points to top recruits. You can be a 4 or 5 star recruit and if you go to OSU or Alabama, you're not going to stand out all that much. The odds of becoming a starting player are decent, but there's going to be a lot of very good competition for limited spots.

If you come to RU as a 4 or 5 star recruit, you have a much better chance to both stand out and be a starting player for more seasons. And with RU in the Big Ten, recruits know that if they are starters, they are going to be seen in prime-time in national broadcasts.

Of course, if RU's program takes off, and we start consistently recruiting top recruits, that whole argument goes out the window. But that's a good problem to have.

You made some very good points.

 

[mildone]

You made some very good points.

Thanks. Like most of us, I obviously don't know anything about recruiting. But it's not hard to imagine that kids who've been dominant in their HS football programs dream of making it the NFL. So I have to think it's a pretty high priority for them, even if some kids might not admit that for whatever reasons.

 

[withoutregard]

Ask Kiffen when he was at Tennessee:

This

 

[retired711]

What factors influence recruits to decide where they will commit? My guess:

Coaching Staff 25%
Team's past success 25%
Location 10%
Parents 15%
Friends among fellow recruits 10%
Opportunity to play first year 5%
Proximity of Hot Coeds during visit 10%

Wonder if anyone has ever surveyed recruits to analyse their decision criteria?

For what it's worth (probably nothing), Cal recruits sometimes say they are influenced by the opportunity to get a degree from an excellent institution. Maybe they're blowing smoke or maybe that actually influences them. I would think some high school players are smart enough to realize that, as dominant as they may have been in high school, the NFL is a long-shot. If nothing else, there's a chance of a career-ending injury along the way.

 

[ru109]

Atmosphere I think also factors in. Some kids want to go to a school where they will be BMOC and that the school and town revolves around the football team. These are the type of kids that we will always lose unfortunately.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

- This is anecdotal but I can tell you from my daughter's experience as a fairly heavily recruited tennis player in this year's class (she was contacted by about 100 schools but only seriously considered a few) the following - in the order listed - were critical - it is not directly analogous to big time football recruits but you may find it of interest FWIW

- reputation of the school (in her case academics a bit more than the quality of the program)

- the coach - she turned down a more well known brand name academic school because the coach there was, as she put it, very weird

- the team - she chose the school she chose at the very last minute (it was her last visit) because in addition to being within the realm of schools she would consider re academics and the fact that she loved the coach, she found the team members to be the most like her of all the schools she met with and the same was true of the kids at the parties they took her to

- the nature of campus, especially the dorms

- the Athletic facilities quality - as you can see not near the top of her priorities

 

[BoroKnight]

There are as many answers as there are recruits. Quantifying it is kind of silly. Obviously you need some things to impress some kids that others don't care much about.