Michael Husted's Blog

The NFL Draft and College Recruiting

Michael Husted — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:45:47 GMT

This past weekend's NFL draft ended months of speculation, blogs, news stories, etc. The anticipation of the Draft for NFL hopefuls can be equated to College Recruiting and National Signing Day.

However, at each level, the roles that the two parties play are opposite to each other. In College Recruiting, the top athletes get to hold the College teams in suspense as they finalize their decisions. In the NFL, the top athletes wait in suspense to see which team will draft them.

Regardless, in the NFL there is a lot of due diligence that goes into deciding which player to draft. We are talking about millions of dollars and pride.

I believe that student-athletes and their parents should prepare accordingly before they "draft" their college/university. Although we are not talking about millions of dollars. We are talking about $100k+. Pride is always a factor at any level...

NFL teams look at players to see if they will fit their scheme well, both on offense and defense. How will they fit in the locker room? Will they be a good representative of the organization?

Student-athletes should look at colleges to see if they fit their academic/athletic scheme. Do they offer the desired academic programs? Is it a good athletic program where they will get significant playing time? How will they fit in the locker room? Will the degree from that college be a good representation of that student-athlete?

When I played for the Tampa Bay Bucs, I remembered Coach Tony Dungy saying (thankfully), "That this team will not be made up of the best skilled players at each position, but the best players at each position that provide team chemistry." All the talent in the world can not replace team chemistry. That is equivalent to the saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

That being said. Chemistry (not the class) should be a major factor for student-athletes when making their college decision .

Recruiting Realities

Michael Husted — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:23:05 GMT

There were some good articles in the New York Times recently about college recruiting and scholarship money. The series of articles definitely highlighted the somber tails that some
student-athletes experience. Like anything else, we usually only get to hear or
read about the top 1% who have success.

I believe that there needs to be a shift of thinking in the college recruiting
process, both by parents and student-athletes. As athletes we have pride. Sometimes
that pride serves us well and other times it can hurt us. Most of us expect or
hope for scholarships to play in college. Parents definitely hope for it and
think that we are the next best player since Tom Brady (Coincidently, he was a
6th round draft pick.)

Yes, college tuition is getting more expensive every year. Therefore, we feel that it is important to
get a scholarship. I know that I was looking to get one to help my parents. (I
was also hoping that if I got a scholarship out of high school, they would buy
me a Suzuki Samurai with wood paneling on the side.)

Neither happened. I ended up "walking on" at the University of Virginia and driving a beat up Ford
Pinto with no A/C. The summer after I graduated high school, I received a call
from Liberty University with an offer for a “full
ride.” I respectfully declined.

It should not be about “show(ing) me the money.” I understand
that there are some people that cannot go to college for financial reasons
unless they get an athletic scholarship.

However, for this discussion, the shift in mind set should be focused on the benefits of playing
college sports. Athletics offer more
long term benefits then tuition alone.
Pursuing sports in college can increases acceptance opportunities. Once there, just a few of the traits you
learn are:

Time management
Discipline
Team work
Self-Motivation
How to deal well with pressure

Those skills and a college
degree will ultimately land you with a great job when you graduate.
Many employers look first to student-athletes for the above mentioned
traits when hiring.
If fact there is even a website geared towards hiring student-athletes
out of high school: http://www.athletes4hire.com.

Read the series of articles in the NY Times.

Good luck!

My Story

Michael Husted — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:59:56 GMT

Going into my senior year of high school, I was starting to think about
the hard decision that I would have to make in choosing the right
college to continue playing football. Would it be Notre Dame or UCLA. I
expected there to be a few other big players, but those were my top two
choices. Do I go and play for Notre Dame and its elite program (at the
time.) Or do I follow my calling to go out west to California and play
for the Bruins. Both offered so many positives...

I went to high school in Hampton, Va. The Hampton Crabbers, yes, the
Crabbers, were a power house football team that consistently found
itself in the state championship. I was All-State kicker two years in a
row. We had won the state championship my sophomore and junior years.
However, we lost in the state finals my senior in a very close game to
T.C. Williams (Remember the Titans.) So, I thought that the schools
would be calling me non stop once the "contact period" began. So, I
waited....and waited...and waited. They never called. The national
signing day came and went. I was still without a college to attend.

I was completely unaware of how the recruiting process worked. I
thought that if I kicked well and that our team was great, the rest
would take care of itself. My parents didn't have a clue either. They
just wanted to see me get a college education and hopefully see me kick
at a few games. I found myself in the same situation that many
student-athletes find themselves. I wasn't being heavily recruited, but
I knew that I wanted to play at the next level. What was I going to do?
Where was I going to go?

Fortunately, I ended up walking on at the University of Virginia. My
coach, Mike Smith, had a big role in getting me there. I sometimes
wonder if he funneled me there. I had a few smaller schools interested
in me, but all of a sudden they stopped calling. I wasn't sure what
happened. Why did they stop calling? I think that he told them that I
wasn't interested.

Some coaches are great resources for their athletes. Most are not. However, there are many resources available today to help YOU to be pro ACTIVE in your search. One of them can be found at http://www.ncaastudent.org/.

There are recruiting services out there that offer to help find you
scholarships, but at a high cost. Then they end up giving you a booklet
and proceed to tell you that in order to get a scholarship you have to
do everything that is in the booklet. What's the secret inside this
book? YOU!

By using the work ethic that has allowed you to perform well on the
field, you have to work hard off the field to find the right college.
You need to take control of your future.

The recruiting process can be complex if you let others control it for
you. However, you can simplify it by doing research. The internet is a
great way to find valuable information. You can find the schools, their
athletic programs and in most cases the necessary contact info for the
coaches.

Here is what I recommend that you do:

Choose your dream schools, realistic schools and fall back schools (Some may overlap)
Ask yourself, if I wasn't playing a sport, would I want to go to that school? (Remember, there is an off-season)
Find out the situation for your position at those schools
Is the starter a senior?
What about the back ups?
How many people on the roster play your position?
Make sure that you have video ready to show them
Call the coach (You make the call, not your parents)
Prove to that coach that you are a great fit for their program
Be assertive and keep in contact (squeaky wheel gets the oil)

We all dream about going to a top ranked athletic program. Maybe you
can go to one, but will you play? Find the college where you can play
for 3-4 years and get a solid education. That positive experience will
last a lifetime.

I wasn't heavily recruited out of high school and I wasn't drafted in
the NFL. However, with some hard work, luck and resolve, I was able to
get a great education and play in the NFL for 9 seasons. What do you
want to do?