What should I do next season?
Is this your first year in D2 Rockne? Did you make the move finally from D3 but are now second guessing how you recruited?
Have no fret! I want to talk to fellow coaches who were scratching their heads after this seasons experience. I have 5 things that may help with next year's class and you overall efforts.
5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR RECRUITING
Money, money, money.
Recruiting is almost a game within itself, where you need to lure the top recruits by putting forth a certain amount of effort. This effort unfortunately requires something that you have to manage, money.
So you reach the evening of day 2, you think you have enough greens and maybe $2000 left in the bank until signings. Does this sound like you? If so, I really hope you secured a class that you are happy with because there is a good chance that you left money and talent on the table. Plenty of top teams secure more than what they need prior to signings and after those teams sign their scholarships, great talent goes undecided.
If you are carrying such a small balance, it is not only going to make it tough to secure better recruits to upgrade your class, but it will also leave you vulnerable to poaching.
So what's a good game plan?
Understand that recruiting is not only before signings but you can do it after signings. If you're in a location that has fewer recruits or you have lower vision, plan to go after leftovers after signings begin. The best teams often secure more than they need so be patient!
Figure out a style that works for you. Are you the scout trip guy early on, aggressive guy or the late evening coach? Figure out a method that is consistent and works for your schedule.
Create a budget and stick to it. Determine how much you want to spend on Day 1 and leave for Day 2. Keeping your eye on the money and in control of your spending can help prevent you from feeling flustered when guys start turning yellow. For example, maybe you will spend 75% on day 1 and keep 25% to find upgrades.
Remember, all players are available until signed, so don't let a yellow or red color create a mind block. You can always come back if you don't find another suitable player.
Before battling, see if there is another guy just as good available. Some battles in D2 can go over $20,000 so do your due diligence. I always try to secure my needs before I think about really diving into a heated battle.
Build a war chest for the vultures or to upgrade your class. Having at the very least 1 scholarship of funds the night before signings can go a long ways after signings when you are trying to upgrade.
Have a Game Plan!
Whatever you decide to do, create a strategy and try to stick to it. It is so easy to get attached to a great player and then lose your composure in a high stakes battle.
So how do we avoid this?
Try to develop a team build and a recruiting routine. Here are a few things that I do as an example -
I first try to create some flexibility in my team build. Having some flex in my team build can make life easier when making tough choices on recruits. For example, maybe I want 10 OL and I need 3 to get to that number. However, I have secured 2 really good ones and the 3rd is okay. 8-9 OL is enough usually as a minimum, so why take on that okay 3rd guy if there is some other really good guys in different positions? I'm going to be stuck with him for 4 seasons, so why not grab better? With build flexibility, you now have the choice, rather than feeling like you have to recruit him.
I also tend to note my needs down which are essential for my team to perform and my build to work. Then I list the number extra and give it a +#.
Example:
Need: Qb1, Wr1, Ol2, Dl2, Lb2, Db2 +1
My note screen clearly lists my minimums but also reminds me that I have 1 extra slot for a stud that could be available. If there isn't, then I will just add to the most optimal position.
Know thy Neighbor
Do yourself a favor and do a little scouting before hand. I always pay attention to new coaches that arrive and I keep track of their win totals. Lower wins equal lower vision and there are players that they won't even be able to see. Likewise, the dream back that is #1 on your chart, may be #15 on your neighbors so even if they secure them, they may be after bigger fish nationally. If you know who your likely opponents are, then you can better manage your money and effort.
I usually quick scan the team history to give me an idea of their last 2-3 seasons and then use pairs of 2 from 8, 10, 12, 14 and wins up to 16. If my team is at 16 wins on average, it's likely that the average 10 win team near me can't see some of the guys on the top of my board.
It's also a good idea to check how many recruits your local neighbors need and at what position. If you see the WR's are thin and everybody needs some, you are going to have to be more aggressive or look outside your local area.
Understanding these basic things can go a long ways as you build your team up. When your win average increases, your vision will increase and you start to recruit at longer distances. Battling long distance is not that bad, but you need to be able to calculate when it's in your favor.
Go After the Right Talent
Too many times I am seeing coaches move up from D3 and still recruit talent as if they are in D3. It's great that you fill your class, but you need to also elevate the attribute ratings that you are looking for.
DO NOT SETTLE!
To help me adjust some in recruiting each division, I tend to use a 10 point rule to make sure I'm on the right page.
If you were at D3 for a long time but now in D2, try subtracting 10 points from the core attributes so you can relate to what would be good in D3.
Example in D2-
RB Spd 60, Str 40, Elu 50
Now subtract 10
RB Spd 50, Str 30 Elu 40
So what would be a nice RB in D2? Let's just take a nice balanced guy as an example and use him at different ranges.
RB Spd 50, Str 50, Elu 50 (Go back to D3)
RB Spd 60, Str 60, Elu 60 (Good D3, Good D2 Recruit)
RB Spd 70, Str, 70, Elu 70 (Elite D3, Playoff D2)
RB Spd 80, Str, 80, Elu 80 (Elite D2)
Hopefully, you get the idea i'm trying to make here. You are simply, elevating your thinking by 10 points.
Most players gain about 2-4 points to those attributes per season. This is just an average, but it's easy for us to wrap our heads around. The average is going to be 3 points and it really depends on how many games you play a season. So again, I use a 10 point rule for easy math to predict how they will grow. This allows me to have a vision before I know their potential or anything else.
RB Spd 60, Str 40, Elu 50
Now I'm going to add 10
RB Spd 70, Str 50, Elu 60
in D2, this guy would be a no for me.
RB Spd 60, Str 50, Elu 60
Now I'm going to add 10
RB Spd 70, Str 60, Elu 70
This guy is a yes for me and now it may come down to potential and/or work ethic. He won't be an elite back, but he could be a great one after if everything checks out I and give him good starts and play time.
In addition you have this thing called Overall Core Rating. This uses a formula to weigh important attributes versus less important ones. It's not always accurate so you need to still eyeball the guy you are looking at, but if you see the guy you like but find his Core at 45 in D2, press pause. Top teams have 70+ core's once those players grow, so you need to keep securing better.
The +/- 10 rule also works with Overall Core Ratings.
45 Overall Rating Core + 10 = 55 Core
So what's a good overall core rating? I think 60 as a recruit is very good goal, because you really want to try and get over 70 if possible. Your teams vision may not even let you see that high and that's okay, just aim as high as possible. Overtime, this will increase with wins and then you will know what to target. The higher the better!
Always have a back-up plan.
I don't advise battling unless you have a suitable backup that you're comfortable with signing in case you lose. The all or nothing guy typically takes on SIM's, especially when they run into an experienced recruiter.
There are hundreds of recruits out there and often you can sign a great player that you secured in a different position if you gave your team flexibility. You can also find a backup who might be two or three core points lower but has excellent potential and high work ethic and he may develop into a better player than the one you're fighting over.
I remember having like 9 scholarships to fill and a coach jumped on one of my guys in the very last cycle before signing. Luckily, he could only turn my guy yellow because I'm guessing his efforts didn't all go through. I think he had 14-16 scholarships, so he obviously had some money leftover to dump. However, I had about 22k sitting there that I was already calculating 25% carry-over! That's almost a free scholarship next year and with playoff money, I would be in great shape. Instead of him going for one of my back-ups, he went for my best and lost. I doubt it hurt him, but it goes to show that without good money management, I would of lost that guy. If I had lost though, I had a secured backup.
A last note, I always like to go back through and make sure I'm securing guys within the top 25 of each position. I want to see where my guys compare to the other top teams I'm up against. At the highest vision you know you are in the top 25, but at lower visions I try to be in the top 10. If I'm not, then it's time to upgrade!
So that's it! Recruiting is going to end soon and I figured there are some guys newer to D2 Rockne who are thinking that next year they will try something different. I'm not the best recruiter, but I do think these tips may help anybody who is trying to learn recruiting.