The On3 Elite Series brought 45+ of the best high school football players in America to Nashville. It gave players an opportunity to lay a solid foundation for their future, both inside and outside of the sport. The recruiting process is chaotic, but it’s only the beginning.
The gathering of talented players gave me the opportunity to speak to them candidly about the ins and outs of the recruiting process. So much is changing in the world of college athletics and they’re experiencing it on the ground floor. Here is a sample of what they like and don’t like about the current state of college football recruiting.
Unanimous Approval
The first question I asked every player was simple. “What’s the most enjoyable part of the recruiting process?” Every single player had the same response. They love touring various college campuses and meeting with coaches in person. Will Black, a Notre Dame offensive tackle commit, was honest about his most eye-opening experience on a college campus.
“The sororities at Alabama were really cool. I’m from Canada so we don’t have that kind of stuff in Canada,” said Black. “It was really cool seeing that.”
The Worst Part of the Recruiting Process
While there was an easy consensus on what top prospects like about being recruited, almost all of them gave different responses when I asked about the least enjoyable parts of the recruiting experience.
“Telling every coach, ‘Thanks for the opportunity.’ You just got to pick one at the end,” said Tavion Wallace, Trevin Wallace‘s younger brother who had to share that statement with Kentucky’s coaches this spring.
It’s hard for teenagers to say no to schools they aren’t really interested in attending. That is why they’ll trim their list of candidates multiple times, eliminating the constant texts from coaches.
One player was disappointed that NCAA rules are changing to cut back the amount of in-person visits a coach can have with a player at his school. Matt Zollers, a Missouri quarterback commit who recently was upgraded to a five-star talent, shared a completely different sentiment. He hated being pulled out of class to talk to coaches.
“During the winter period, I was kind of in and out of class every day. I wasn’t able to just sit there and go to school. It’s kind of nice — ever since I committed, I felt like a normal student again,” he said.
“I don’t really mind answering phone calls because it’s like short and brief. It’s not like you’re sitting on the phone for a while. For a couple of days during the school year, I wasn’t even in class at all during the whole day. I was just sitting in the library talking to coaches. It kind of got kind of repetitive. That was probably the worst part.”
Another rule change this offseason was made to help overwhelmed recruiting staffs. Photoshoots in uniforms have been eliminated at unofficial visits. Trey McNutt, a safety from Cleveland, believes this rule is removing the part of the process kids enjoy the most.
“That’s what every recruit wants to do. At the beginning of the process they want to take pictures, they want to do all of that, but if they don’t get to the OV, then you’ll never be able to do that.”
How Much is NIL Discussed in Recruiting
Technically, NIL isn’t supposed to be a topic that comes up in the recruiting process. Pay-for-play is against the rules, but let’s not be naive here. Those conversations happen and it varies from school to school.
“Certain schools bring it up. Certain schools think they’re, I wouldn’t say too good to bring it up, but they’re just like, until the OVs we will let them figure things out,” said Travis Smith, a four-star wide receiver from the Atlanta area who’s considering Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn. “Some schools, they want to get to know the person first. Some schools just bring it up (right away).”
They’re in the Game
On the opening night of the On3 Elite Series, the players participated in a Madden Tournament. Next year a new game might replace it. EA Sports College Football 25 is something every player is eager to talk about because they’re excited to be in the game. After missing chances to play with Johnny Football, Derrick Henry, or Lamar Jackson, they will get to see themselves in one of the most popular video game franchises on the planet.
You may think, “It’s just a video game.” I get it. I haven’t played video games in years and I won’t spend hundreds of dollars on a console just to play this game. Why does it really matter? The return of this franchise after an 11-year absence is a tangible reminder that we’re in a new era of college athletics, one these highly-regarded players aren’t taking for granted.
“I’m thankful that they got it now that I’m about to play,” said Smith. “Imagine being the 2015 through 2023 kids that didn’t get the experience themselves being on the game. I’m glad I’m at this time period where we got NIL and we got the whole game. This is amazing.”
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