Can I get some help on recruiting please?

[FORMULA316]

Well I just wrapped up a perfect season of Notre Dame football (like that would happen in real life, eh Charlie? ) beating the Miami Hurricanes 35-28 to win the National Championship. After accepting a 5-year upgrade at the coaching position, I basically had a stinker of a recruiting session. I failed to gain in-season recruits and in the the off-season I signed a 5-star and a 4-star and the rest pretty much a bunch of 3's.

Can you folks point me in the right direction with respect to recruiting? I think I am about to have a disastrous season, with so many seniors leaving, and a custom schedule that sees me play USC, Texas, the Gators, and a couple of other top 25 teams, I am going to have a hard time having a winning season let alone remain undefeated.

Tips please

[Gocanes44]

Always go after in-state/interested first
Then if your a school like ND, all prospects/interested

I try to stick with recruits who have me in their top 2 (though I am using FAU). I got 22 2-3* recruits aftere going 6-6 my first season.

Spend more pts on those with the + next to your recruiting proposal, alot of recruits will get the + when you are a 6* school like ND, so I would start each non Indiana recruit with Program Prestige as your pitch. If a player isnt in your top 2 (I dont know if u have 360, I cant remember how the players rank their schools on current gen, but on 360 its very visable) after week 4, I would withdraw his scholly and find a prospect you like who does have you in his top 2.

BTW the 360 version is alot harder to dominate recruiting, so getting your class isnt outrageously bad. Obvioulsy if you won the NC, you want a great class.

[rudyjuly2]

(Current gen for me) For in-season recruiting, narrow your choices down early to 6 or 7 guys (like the second week). You can probably get 6 or 7 guys but keep narrowing down to 4 or 5 depending on the level of your program. If you really want a guy, you will have to commit at least 15 points every week to get him. When you bring in a guy for a visit, give him extra points to make sure he signs so you can use his points next week on your other players.

When recruiting in the offseason, in week 1 focus just on the interested prospects list. In week 2, go over EVERY prospect and look for interest arrows that are up OR down in prospects. If you aren't in the Top 5 and the interest meter is neutral in week 2, I would ignore them. However, even if you aren't in the top 5, you have a good shot at recruiting top level guys if their interest meter is up or down (red). Just scout the player if you don't have an extra scholarship to hand out and he will probably put you in the Top 5 the next week and be in your interested prospect list. Looking for the down red arrows in Week 2 is a really good way of finding good recruits that secretly want to come to your school. Using your scouting points on players to get them interested if you run out of scholarships is a really good idea to gauge their interest.

When you are pitching things, kids from your state will probably like the location pitch. Program prestige is always a good one if you have a good program or coach prestige if you are in high esteem. If a player has a high field awareness, he may be interested in academics, particularly if your school has a high academic score. I don't find playing time to work that well unless there is a clear opening on your roster for the kid to come in and start.

I personally vary how many points I give to a kid in off season recruiting based on how much I want them and how much competition I'm up against. I never go with the highest one unless I know that my pitch is the right one and/or I'm desperate for the player. I usually give the second most points to my in-state recruits all the time since it doesn't cost much to do it (about half compared to out of state). Don't forget the sooner they commit, the more points you can give to other guys later on. Don't be afraid to go after the top recruits. If you won the championship, you shouldn't be settling for 3* players. Those are reserved for average or below average programs imo.

Your style of play doesn't seem to matter very much in in-season recruiting but plays a large role in offseason recruiting imo. If you are a passing team, you may find it easy to recruit QBs and WRs in the offseason but hard to find RBs. Make sure to use the in-season recruiting to target areas that you may not be able to get in the off-season. As an example, if you are a running team you would probably want to focus on help in your passing game during in-season recruiting since RBs and lineman will be lining up to come to your program later on. The only problem with in-season recruits is that they usually have lower potential than offseason ones. Just what I have found while recruiting on current gen which is supposed to be easier than the 360.

[FORMULA316]

Thanks fellas!

I have the 360 version and to be honest have really focused solely on the gameplay so after the BCS win I basically threw the House at each top recruit but it felt more like shooting fish in a barrell as opposed to any reasoned strategy. I had a powerhouse team with seniors so winning was much easier but with a generally soft recruiting class I am going to be in a heck of a fight this next season. I am looking to be more strategic so my program doesn't hit rock bottom in years to come.

[rudyjuly2]

Quote: Originally Posted by FORMULA316

Thanks fellas! I have the 360 version and to be honest have really focused solely on the gameplay so after the BCS win I basically threw the House at each top recruit but it felt more like shooting fish in a barrell as opposed to any reasoned strategy. I had a powerhouse team with seniors so winning was much easier but with a generally soft recruiting class I am going to be in a heck of a fight this next season. I am looking to be more strategic so my program doesn't hit rock bottom in years to come.

Yeah, don't throw the house at them unless you know the successful pitch and they are interested in you. Throwing recruiting points at players who aren't interested is pointless and will kill your recruiting class. Good luck!

I love recruiting btw.

[NoleFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by rudyjuly2

In week 2, go over EVERY prospect and look for interest arrows that are up OR down in prospects. If you aren't in the Top 5 and the interest meter is neutral in week 2, I would ignore them. However, even if you aren't in the top 5, you have a good shot at recruiting top level guys if their interest meter is up or down (red).

I read this over on MaddenMania earlier and I didn't even realize it. I tried it in my last off-season with Auburn and signed the #2 CB in the nation who was initially not on my interested list.

[leo1882]

What about recruits like that are 3 star and you recruit them and they are studs. I recruit tall recievers and your lucky if you get to my school (PSU) if your 6'3", but I was looking at my WR in my interested list and found a 3star 6'6" reciever that cost 9 points just to evaluate and he had A+ AWR, A Hands, 4.33 40...it took all 5 weeks but I finally got him

[kcooper47]

Don't be discouraged if a player has a negative reaction to your pitch. Each player is only interested in one pitch, so the quicker you find it the quicker you can take advantage. Even if he reacts negatively, keep pitching whatever it is (coach prestige & program prestige are my two favorites) b/c he won't give you a positive reaction in any other pitch.

During the in-season recruiting, I target 5 players if i'm a small school and 6-7 if I'm a powerhouse. There's no way to sign 12 guys so just go for 5 five-stars and put 20 points on them every week. Even if you aren't a great program you'll get at least 3 of them (at least I have).

These tips work on every system...

...i'm currently playing on xbox, i.e, current gen, and I've found that I can use all the points in the players leaving screen trying to persuade players to stay and I will still have points in week 1...i think its a glitch, but you can take advantage of that if you're on the orginial xbox...i haven't tried it on 360...