Know the process. Own your recruiting.

Freshman and sophomore years are for building — grades, measurables, and varsity film. Junior year is for exposure: combines, camps, and your first coach outreach. Senior fall is decision season: official visits, offers, and signing. The families who start early almost never scramble late. If you are a junior with no coach contact yet, that is the moment to act, not panic.

A coach gives your film about 60 seconds. Put your best three plays first, label every clip with jersey color and number, and keep the full reel under four minutes. Full-game film matters more than highlights for final decisions — programs offer off complete games, not montages. Cut celebrations, music with lyrics, and slow-motion replays.

Your GPA in core courses decides your division options long before your forty time does. Track your core-course GPA every semester, register with the eligibility center in your junior year, and treat test-optional policies as a bonus rather than a plan. One failed semester can cost a full division — ask your counselor for a core-course audit each spring.

Introduce yourself in June before junior year with film, measurables, GPA, and your schedule. Follow up after every camp and combine with updated numbers. Keep emails under 150 words with your film linked in the first line — coaches open short, specific messages. September of senior year, narrow to ten programs and pursue visits. Silence after three follow-ups means move down a division, not send a fourth email.

Go where the coaches who recruit you will be. A university one-day camp beats a national showcase if that staff recruits your region. Verify every measurable at two or more events — verified numbers travel, self-reported ones do not. Budget for three to five events a year: one combine for numbers, two college camps for exposure, and your season for film.

Compare net cost after aid, not the headline percentage. Ask about roster depth at your position, redshirt policy, and graduation rates for athletes. Visit a practice, not just the facilities — culture shows in drills. The best offer is the one where you play early, graduate on time, and love the campus on a bad-weather Tuesday.