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College football is a big deal in the United States, as many of you will be aware. In fact, some would argue that college football commands a similar level of interest as the NFL, and when the college football season is in full flow, the latest sports news stories tend to go into a bit of a frenzy. With this in mind, it’s the individuals within these teams and their talents that help to make college football so interesting.
Without these individuals, none of the excitement of college football would be possible. But have you ever stopped to think about how these individuals secured scholarships at their respective schools in the first place?
That’s exactly what we will cover now, explaining the three essentials to securing a scholarship in the current climate.
The earliest a person can attend college in the USA is 18. Prior to that, it’s all about junior football for the prospective scholars in the NCAA. While local teams do exist, high school football is typically a key hunting ground for scouts of the biggest and most successful colleges in the NCAA. That’s because high-school football involves leagues and tournaments, which can be played on a national scale.
Therefore, if a player excels in their high-school team, it gives them a great chance of being scouted by a major college. In fact, high-school performances at the top level even receive attention from ESPN in the form of a recruiting database. This shows how significant high school performances are for potential scholarships.
It’s not all about what a player can do on the field. In fact, that’s just part of the overall package needed to secure a football scholarship. An individual also needs to have “reasonable” grades to bag a scholarship. When watching these players on the field, it’s easy to forget that they are also college students, so they need a college education that covers a range of subjects. This means that they cannot just go out there and represent their college week after week.
They also need to pass their classes to remain eligible to play. Therefore, if a player achieves top marks in the classroom and also impresses on the football field, it gives their chances a major boost.
The third and final element that must be highlighted covers an individual's character. By “character”, we mean that an individual needs several key ingredients that make them a good fit for college football. Character traits such as respect, motivation, ambition, drive, leadership, and a willingness to be a team player are all things that college recruits look for. These traits cannot just be faked on a CV.
The recruitment process often requires several face-to-face meetings, on-field trials, team cohesion activities, and more. All of this is designed to not only see whether a player has what it takes on the field, but also to see if they have the right attitude.