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Recruiting: What do you look at?

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Old 07-23-2012, 01:36 PM   #17
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TarHeelPhenom
Since my Tar Heels have switched to a no huddle spread offense and 4-2-5 defense I will definitely be looking for specifics:

QB- My preference is a Scrambling QB with decent accuracy, arm strength and pretty good speed. He doesn't necessarily have to be a 4* or 5* guy. Just fit what I'm looking for.

RB- Speed and more of it. I have no use for power backs. I want shifty backs with good elusiveness andacceleration.

FB- Not needed

WR- I'm looking primarily for speed, good hands and good route running. Size is not a big deal because I'm just trying to get my guys in space and then make plays.

TE- Balanced TE's who can block the option and also threaten the field.

OL- Balanced with quickness for their size. not looking for road graders.

DE- I'm looking for a "natural" DE on one side and a "BANDIT" on the other. That means a guy who can rush the passer as well as drop in coverage. Physical attribues for my bandit would be someone between 6'1-6'4 220-235lb ideally.

DT- I want natural tackles.

LB- Since I'm playing the 4-2-5, LB isn't as big of a premium as it is in most defenses. So, basically I'm looking for the best LB's available at ILB and OLB.

CB- I want cover corners because I will be blitzing a lot and then need to hold up in coverage. So, i'm looking for good Man Coverage ratings. I do prefer my corners 6'0 or taller. But, if a guy is 5'9 and a STUD I'll take him.

FS- Pretty much the same as LB. I'll take the best FS's available.

SS- This position is critical for me because it's from this position that I recruit my RAM position. So, I look for a Balanced true SS and for my RAM I'm looking for a SS/OLB hybrid. My RAM ideally will be between 200-215lbs with speed and decent coverage skills.


Once I get down deep into Dynasty I'll have a ball with recruiting for these 2 styles of play.
Great list. Do you look for specific heights and weights for animation/graphic/sim purposes? It's been pretty well documented that height and weight make no difference in a player's ability, as in that hilarious youtube video of tiny user-created OL pushing Alabama's DL off the ball.
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Old 07-23-2012, 01:40 PM   #18
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

QB: I like to scramble and run zone read, so I focus on a QB with high accuracy, awareness, acceleration, and speed. I don't worry much about power, and keep in mind that acceleration is almost always low in freshman but can improve a lot each season.

RB: Speed and acceleration. Break tackle. Elusiveness.

WR: Route-running, awareness, speed, acceleration.

OL: Not speed.

DL: Not speed.

LB, S, CB: Speed, awareness, acceleration, man coverage.

I search for lower-ranked recruits with good speed to fill out my classes at the end; they can sit on the bench for a year or two and turn into decent prospects with elite speed.

You need to adjust what you look for based on your play style.
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Old 07-23-2012, 02:34 PM   #19
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

As others have said, there are a lot of variables that factor into how folks recruit. Before listing what I look for myself, the relevant variables are worth noting:

1) Your school's ranking and reach in terms of procuring recruits from 1-5 stars.
2) Your scheme, which dictates certain positions by definition.
3) The depth of each recruiting class within your striking range and the kinds of skills available in that class--for example, there may not be any "pass rush" ends in a given year that you can actually nab.
4) The progression factor--a recruit may have attributes that are less than ideal but may progress during his career. For most schools, you're not going to get a recruiting class full of starting-caliber players with the ideal attributes. Your guys will have to grow into their positions.

There are more variables I'm sure, but those are the ones that stick out immediately to me. As for recruiting, here's what I do with Maryland:

My offensive scheme is built around power running principles, and my defensive scheme is built around stopping the run. With that in mind, here's how I recruit for each position. I'm UMD, a 3-star school, so most of my recruits are 3-star guys, at least this year while I'm building up my reputation.

QB: 3-star caliber player of any sort will do. Most of my passes are slants, drags, and digs, so a big arm isn't necessary. Option-type speed is also not necessary. Consequently, I'll take a player of any type provided he's a 3-star player.

HB: 3-star caliber player with the power trait. I don't care about speed so long as its' above 80. Power backs get lots of fall forward animations and those yards add up. I prefer that because I can go between the tackles and get 3 yards rather than a guy who gets stopped on contact for lack of strength. If I can get strength in the high 60s or 70s @ the Freshman level I'm happy. If possible, I will reach at this position for a 4-star guy, though I'm also quite happy to proceed by committee with 3-star players.

FB: 1 or 2-star caliber player with a blocking or balanced trait. This position isn't nearly as important to me as OL since I run out of the Ace and Shotgun sets a good bit, so I skimp here on recruiting hours and scouting.

WR: 3-star caliber player with the possession or balanced trait. I'm looking for high CIT ratings, preferably rated C @ the Freshman level, since I run mostly slants, drags and digs. My WR get hit a lot and they need to hold on to the ball.

TE: 2 to 3-star caliber player with the blocking or balanced trait. This position isn't central to my offense. I would like a blocker in the 70s ideally with a CIT of C, but if I'm to skimp on offensive recruiting, this would be an area to do it.

C: 1-2 + star-caliber player with the run block trait. I need to run up the middle, but I don't need an elite player at C because many of my inside runs will involve double teams with the C and G.

G + T: 3+ star-caliber players with the balanced or run blocking trait. This is a position where I'll reach and try to land a 4-star player, as I need good players here for the offense to work. Blocking attributes above 83 would be great @ the Freshman level. Impact blocking is also a relevant concern for me.

DE: 3+ star-caliber players. I want one 3-star pass rusher to play RDE and one 2-3-star caliber pass rusher to play in the 4 DEs packages in the Nickle and Dime packages. I will spring for 4-star players here because I need to control the LOS.

LB: 3-star caliber players mostly. I am very concerned with tackling ability and block shedding. If both are in the 70s at the Freshman level, I'm happy. I'm not concerned with speed; 75+ is fine by me. Zone coverage need not be above a D at MLB, though C would be nice. At OLB, I want C zone coverage guys, but will settle for lower if tackling and block shedding are high. I will spring for a 4-star guy here if possible.

CB: 3-star caliber players with tackling and hit power in the high 60s, preferably in the 70s, and zone coverage in the high-70s and above. I'm not concerned with speed here; 85 is fine by me. I don't put my CBs in cover 1 or 0 much so I don't need burners.

S: 3-star caliber players. I will spring here since they have to have range to defend the deep pass and need to be able to support the run. at FS, I can live with speed in the low 80s, provide the tackling and zone skills are in the 70s @ the Freshman level. For SS, I can live with speed in the high 70s or above, but I need tackling as high as possible. Usually this player is rolled down in cover 3 so his potential lack of range isn't on display.

This model basically values OL, DL, and LB heavily. If I'm going to reach, that's where I'll do it. All the other positions are manageable by virtue of the scheme at lower levels.

My take is different from most since speed isn't an issue for me. I use Authentic's sliders and haven't given up more than 24 points in 9 minute quarters yet. This is mostly because I focus on stopping the run, don't overexpose my DBs by blitzing a ton, and tackle well at all levels. My CBs ability to tackle well has saved my bacon a LOT, and it won me an upset @ West Virginia in my last game.

Another key for my play style is conservatism. I really make sure I follow actual blitz percentages and don't send extra guys more than 10% of the time, if that. I vastly prefer to rush 4 and force the QB to complete lots of short to intermediate passes while getting his receivers blasted to score. I play lots of cover 3 and when I play cover 2 I always play safeties out to protect the CBs. I avoid man unless the WR/CB talent level is even. If it's not, I'm in zone almost exclusively.

Anyway, that's my .02. Everyone approaches this differently.
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Old 07-23-2012, 02:39 PM   #20
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

QB: Accuracy and size. If they have good accuracy, everything else doesn't really matter. However, if they have 80+ speed, that's a nice bonus too.

HB: I'm flexible. If he has good size and trucking, I don't really care about the speed too much. If they have good elusiveness and hands, I want good speed to go with it. I like having an elusive back with good hands to use in shotgun formations at least so that I have a nice release valve for the QB.

FB: Run Blocking. I want an elite run-blocker if I can help it. I always invest in a good blocking fullback in Madden and NCAA.

WR: Size, Route Running, Catching. I love having tall receivers. It just seems like it's easier for them to get separation to me. So yeah, Size and route running are my biggies. Release is a good attribute to have too.

TE: I like to have my #1 TE be a very good receiver and my #2 a very good blocker.

D-Line: Block shedding, and either Power OR Finesse moves, not both. I like my D-Linemen to be guys that are very good at Power or Finesse. And getting off blocks is a big one. So is play recognition/pursuit.

LB: Play recognition, pursuit, block shedding, and zone coverage are the key attributes
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Old 07-23-2012, 03:49 PM   #21
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

Interesting. I approach this very differently than most it seems.

QB - I look for a fast QB(minimum 80 speed) as I prefer to run a power option running game. Throw power and throw accuracy aren't all that import to me as long as they're in the low 70s coming in as a freshmen. If I throw its quick, short passes; I rarely throw more than 10 yards down the field.

HB - I like to recruit and sign both a power back and a speed back in the same class. The powerback needs mid 80s speed with good strength and carry as well as break tackle. The speed back needs minimum 92 speed with good elusiveness and agility. I like them to have high acceleration as well. These two backs will come in, be redshirted and start/play their sophomore year hopefully. I recruit in cycles and if all goes to plan I have two backs graduate and two more ready to step up when they're sophomores.

FB - I need a FB that can do it all. Acceleration needs to be high with fair to good ratings in carrying, break tackle, catch and run blocking. Speed is ideally in mid to high 80s, but 90+ speed doesn't hurt. My FBs however have been everything from strong HB's with good break tackle I converted, converted TE's and even converted OL if they have enough speed. FB's in my offense end up running for about 1/3 of the combined yardage of my two starting backs and receiving for far more.

WR - I really only look for catch rating. I NEVER want to see a receiver drop the ball since I throw so little. Speed, height, etc etc aren't too important to me. A lot of my WR are converted TE's as I need them to block on the outside.

TE - I throw to my TE's a lot if I throw so catch is important, but their primary job is to block so block rating is number 1. Speed needs to be low 80's so they can beat the LB covering them when they do go out for a pass.

OLine - Awareness, strength, and run block all all come first.

Dline - I need run stoppers in all positions. They must be strong and must take up room.

LBs - I love to blitz so the faster the linebacker the better. I normally move linebackers who have less than 80 speed to DE. Play recognition is high on the list for me as well as tackle and hit power. Zone coverage is must as well.

CBs - A CB for me must have minimum 90 speed, if it's lower than 90 they get moved to FS or SS. Man coverage is a big thing for me, but zone must be equally or nearly as high. Awareness is a big one too.

Both S - Zone coverage is number one for me here. Speed needs to be minimum 87 as well. If they're not 87 or higher in speed I move them to LB, from there they either find a new home if they retain their overall or they get cut. I like safeties that can hit and come up and provide run support, but I mainly need them to be ball hawks in the secondary. Awareness and jumping gotta be up there too.
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Old 07-23-2012, 06:17 PM   #22
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

Great stuff so far guys.

Just wanted to ask something b/c I was wondering if it was true or not: Is it true that during the preseason, when one is going through the lists of players and with no scouting done yet, if your stuck on two or three guys say on the HB position, and they all have pretty much identical stats, you take the one with the best 40 time? Same goes for BP and SQ for LB, O-line, D-line, etc.?

Does a better 40 time or BP/SQ actually translate to anything at face value?
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Old 07-23-2012, 07:09 PM   #23
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

Your question obviously cannot be answered, it depends so greatly from school to school and based on user's preferences. Every single player that wants to go to your school can be used effectively, it just boils down to preferences.

However, there are a few things that will make me automatically discard a player:
-A Speed C Acceleration
-C Speed in a safety (they might be a useful linebacker, however)
-C Speed in a runningback
-D Catch in Traffic or Catching in a WR
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Old 07-23-2012, 07:26 PM   #24
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Re: Recruiting: What do you look at?

Quote:
Originally Posted by 8mileroad
Your question obviously cannot be answered, it depends so greatly from school to school and based on user's preferences. Every single player that wants to go to your school can be used effectively, it just boils down to preferences.

However, there are a few things that will make me automatically discard a player:
-A Speed C Acceleration
-C Speed in a safety (they might be a useful linebacker, however)
-C Speed in a runningback
-D Catch in Traffic or Catching in a WR
I like the way you put that--it's probably easier to say what you won't accept when recruiting than saying everything that you want at every position. Here are my cutoff lines by position. I use the scouting feature strategically to weed out some guys earl on and get definite values on key attributes.

QB: Throwing accuracy under 75
RB: Speed under 80, break tackle under 50
WR: Speed under 80
TE: Speed under 70, blocking under 65
OL: Strength under 80, blocking under 75
DE: Speed under 70 (43 defense), block shed under 70
DT: Strength under 80, block shed under 75
LB: Speed under 75, tackling and block shedding under 70
CB: Speed under 80, zone coverage under 75
S: Speed under 80, tackle under 65, zone coverage under 70
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