We are working with a recruiting service- they seem to think that early signs are only for players that colleges think are going to be drafted-does that mean that all the real college players will not sign until april, may? Or if you dont get in in early signing should you give up on D1 schools? Even though you know and people who watch son play say he can compete at d1 level???I think the recruiting services would rather concentrate on football right now.

You will find that the HS students that get signed early are usually the most talented in the country. The most talented in the country that sign early might or might not get drafted. Many, many very good players get signed in the spring and drafted as well. Not all D1 schools, especially the smaller ones,fill their recruiting needs early.

Mine signed early and I think he is a real college player.
He wasn't drafted either.

But, TPM, why wasn't your son drafted??? I'll bet it is because the pros believed him to be "unsignable".

Of course, I believe everyone is signable (it would be awfully tough to turn down 2 mil signing bonus). But many, many hs graduates don't get drafted because they are honest with the pros and let them know what it would take for them to bypass the college experience (and education).

I would bet your son was in that group.

Ace,
DK was not signed early because the coaches thought he would not set foot on campus, which is what the recruiter was referring to.

I wouldn't say he was unsignable, but he was not going to give up his experience at Clemson just to be drafted, therefore, he was honest and let it be known what it would take to have him give it up, being a 4th,5th round pick not being it. For him , that honesty will pay off someday, hopefully.

I'm sure his honesty will pay off.

I know it must have been kinda hard for your son ...all the excitement of the draft...watching other kids (that may, or may not, be better players) get drafted. Most people don't understand and think that if a kid wasn't drafted then he must not be that good.

But I'm sure that his future is very bright and he will have his day.

Because of my son's size (5'10") he is considered to be a very low draft pick despite his ability. This however, has helped him with college recruiting because they know they can sign him and not worry about losing him to the draft. He is a very young senior and college will benefit him immensely.

quote:

Originally posted by wavehog:
We are working with a recruiting service- they seem to think that early signs are only for players that colleges think are going to be drafted-does that mean that all the real college players will not sign until april, may? Or if you dont get in in early signing should you give up on D1 schools? Even though you know and people who watch son play say he can compete at d1 level???I think the recruiting services would rather concentrate on football right now.

I would question the skills of your recruiting service if that is the information they are sharing. It is not correct in any way, IMO.
While it is true there are plenty of players who sign in April and May, there are also plenty of DI calibre players in CA who get overlooked because they rely on or are heavily influenced by comments similar to those which you have listed. I would suggest you take hold of the process yourself and not rely too much on the service based on what you have posted.

I'm no expert, but my thinking is that most colleges want to get the bulk of their recruiting done during the summer and fall, i.e., early signing. Besides locking in top talent, they can then focus the time of the coaching staff during the winter and spring on actually running their program. This would also mean that the bulk of their scholarship budget gets locked up with the early signees.

The late HS signings in the spring and then summer after a senior graduates would be filling ad hoc holes due to kids dropping out of the college roster for whatever reason (injury, academic ineligibility, etc.), signed HS recruits dropping out due to poor academics their senior year, or the draft taking both existing rostered players and recruits. Doesn't mean a great situation and offer can't happen for a HS senior in the late period, just that the opportunities would be more limited, thus the number of options to choose from. A late signee might have to work out some arrangement to walk-on his Freshman year with minimal finacial help, then get more significant help his Sophomore year.

With the vast differences in how boys mature and develop in their teen years, it's not all that unusual to see a kid that has a break out season his senior year that wasn't on anyones radar during his sophomore or junior year. If a kid suddenly becomes an major impact player his senior year ... colleges will find him.

Another reason why several folks here have said these late ad hoc holes tend to get filled with JC talent ... kids that have gotten their academics straighted out in JC and have proven their abilities at the JC level who are motivated to move into a 4-year program.