Help for an NCAA rookie

[OpusX910]

Quote: Originally Posted by woody2goody

Cheers mate, I'm going to need the help I think. Like I said, it's mostly the off-field things that I need to be educated on, however any help on how the heck I should execute the option would be greatly appreciated!

Recruiting wise I typically fill my needs first, generally with players that I have a high probability of signing. So for instance, if I am a five star program, and need 2 CB for next year.....i'll target 2 3 star CB's with high interest in my program. After that is done I fill my board with "power players". Players 4 stars or higher with a decent sized interest in my program (high risk/high reward players).

I repeat this process throughout the year until all my team needs are filled, scholarships are at 0, or there aren't any good players left. I usually have 15-18 players on my recruiting board.

As for the option, I have no idea how to run it, I always run a spread offense, haha.

If you want a good program, with a sick new stadium that needs some serious rebuilding....take a look at my Minnesota Golden Gophers

[woody2goody]

Quote: Originally Posted by OpusX910

Recruiting wise I typically fill my needs first, generally with players that I have a high probability of signing. So for instance, if I am a five star program, and need 2 CB for next year.....i'll target 2 3 star CB's with high interest in my program. After that is done I fill my board with "power players". Players 4 stars or higher with a decent sized interest in my program (high risk/high reward players). I repeat this process throughout the year until all my team needs are filled, scholarships are at 0, or there aren't any good players left. I usually have 15-18 players on my recruiting board. As for the option, I have no idea how to run it, I always run a spread offense, haha. If you want a good program, with a sick new stadium that needs some serious rebuilding....take a look at my Minnesota Golden Gophers

That might be a good idea, I've heard of the Golden Gophers, and I will definitely check them out when I get the game (which incidentally was supposed to be today but nothing yet).

I'd rather run a spread or West Coast offense than the option, although I did score a TD with an option QB run as Oregon yesterday!

[dray8theman]

Don't know if this has been said already, but when you ae recruiting, target recruits that already have you first on their list. I've done this to get the team needs, then I go out and try to sign some higher recruits, but I usually never go for guys that I'm not in the top 3 with, although there have been some times, I've landed recruits and I was ranked 10th on their list. It all depends on what you are trying to do. But getting guys who have you first is a must.

[woody2goody]

Quote: Originally Posted by dray8theman

Don't know if this has been said already, but when you ae recruiting, target recruits that already have you first on their list. I've done this to get the team needs, then I go out and try to sign some higher recruits, but I usually never go for guys that I'm not in the top 3 with, although there have been some times, I've landed recruits and I was ranked 10th on their list. It all depends on what you are trying to do. But getting guys who have you first is a must.

Do you get to try to sway their decision by concentrating on certain parts of your school or anything like that?

[Yeti_2009]

1. This depends on what style you like to play. You mentioned you did like the spread so Oregon is a great choice. Florida is good at the spread as well and so is Michigan. This will also affect how you should recruit. If you run a spread O, you are going to want more of a scrambling QB than a pocket passer. Personally I like starting with a crappier team and building them up. By starting with a good team, I have found that I get bored after a couple seasons. By struggling and losing games, it keeps my interest.

2. Not that I can think of specifically.

3. Recruit towards the strengths of your team. Like I mentioned before, if your a spread O style team, you will want to recruit scrambling QB's as opposed to pocket passers. The more you play, the more you will understand and recruit to what you want. Some people like big WR's, some like speedy WRs, so after you play a little bit, you will find out what you like the best and recruit towards that. If you start with a crappy team, I suggest you recruit the people that have the best interest in you. In previous years, you can waste ALOT of time of recruits trying to sway their decision and they still will go somewhere else.

Another good thing to keep in mind is not to always look at the star rating of a recruit. For example, if you are running a spread O and a pocket passer is 4 stars and a scrambling QB is 3 stars, the scrambling QB will most likely be the better fit for your team. It seems that in previous years, people got sucked into recruiting the highest rated person they could find. In alot of instances, I found 2 star recruits coming in higher than 3 star recruits and some 3 star recruits coming in higher than 5 star recruits. Also, just because a 5 star recruit is higher now, doesnt mean that he will progress alot through the 4 or 5 years that he is at the school. Pay more attention to the attributes of the recruit as opposed to the star rating.

4. This again depends on your team. At the start I would just stick with the default playbook. Do you know alot about strategy in regards to calling defensive/offensive play calls? (i.e. 1st down and 10 is a high likely possiblity of a run play, 3rd down and long is usually a pass). Understanding the situations is a big plus to knowing which packages and plays to call.

You may also want to look at the ratings of the players of the team you are going to play each week. This will help you determine the strengths and weaknesses of that team. So if the RE is a 98 and the LE is a 79, you may want to run more at the LE.

[woody2goody]

@Yeti - thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them.

1. As regards to teams, I usually tend to start with a rebuilding project (I support the Detroit Lions, go figure ) or a good middle-of-the-road team.

3. Thanks for the hints on recruiting

4. I've had a lot of experience of the mechanics of football, it's more the off-field things concerning college football in particular that I'm not at all familiar with

[Yeti_2009]

1. Ditto - I am starting with Utah State this year so it should be interesting. Last year I used Western Kentucky and it was brutal

4. yeah, with recruiting its gonna take some time to find out what kind of team and players you want. Definitely focus more on your style, then the style the team currently plays. I would say 3/4 of the battle is recruiting the right players and 1/4 is redshirting. Also, when cutting the roster size, I keep the best players on my team but also look at longevity. For example, if I have a senior that is 3rd on the depth chart and a frosh or soph below them, I will cut the senior. You'll have to play a lil to figure it out, because each person likes their own style. I am more of a run heavy player and that was mostly found out from trying all the different O's...

Quote: Originally Posted by woody2goody

@Yeti - thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them. 1. As regards to teams, I usually tend to start with a rebuilding project (I support the Detroit Lions, go figure ) or a good middle-of-the-road team. 3. Thanks for the hints on recruiting 4. I've had a lot of experience of the mechanics of football, it's more the off-field things concerning college football in particular that I'm not at all familiar with

[woody2goody]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yeti_2009

1. Ditto - I am starting with Utah State this year so it should be interesting. Last year I used Western Kentucky and it was brutal 4. yeah, with recruiting its gonna take some time to find out what kind of team and players you want. Definitely focus more on your style, then the style the team currently plays. I would say 3/4 of the battle is recruiting the right players and 1/4 is redshirting. Also, when cutting the roster size, I keep the best players on my team but also look at longevity. For example, if I have a senior that is 3rd on the depth chart and a frosh or soph below them, I will cut the senior. You'll have to play a lil to figure it out, because each person likes their own style. I am more of a run heavy player and that was mostly found out from trying all the different O's...

Utah State, don't they have an amazing stadium and surrounding area?

Can you explain redshirting to me?