Posted by cburton23 on 10/29/2014 3:19:00 PM (view original):
I get that, but would one hour make a difference?  And can't you just jump in on the second cycle?  The first cycle is not the end all be all of recruiting.

I'm not against the idea, I just don't think its that important.

you coach at A prestige GA tech... have you missed the first cycle at high d1 before? its much worse than missing elsewhere. if not, if you really don't think its a big deal, just give it a try.

to me, there is no downside to opening recruiting earlier - nobody gives up anything - you can still do everything you could do today. it just helps folks who can't make the first cycle. recruiting styles are different, maybe the first cycle isn't important to you, but its indisputably critical to many, if not most, HD coaches. so why not do it - what is the downside? most of us want more than 1 hour anyway, its not just about 1 hour. i think it should be 12-24 hours, personally.

saying its not a big deal to be available for those two hours (in your previous post), now that is just downright ridiculous. not everybody's life is your life. you really cannot imagine scenarios in which people have other things going on? 

It's pretty odd for the most important cycle in most peoples entire recruiting to be the shortest.... Would be a great improvement to make it double the others in length. Back it up say 4 hours so it's 6 instead of the norm of 3 and current 2.
Kill some off of the last day and let us set up rosters and have access to signed players sooner would be an improvement at both ends. (IMHO) of course.

Completely agree

I am relatively new to HD. I have 3 different D3 teams and have gone through 8 recruiting sessions so far with mixed success. I was aware there was some importance to the first recruiting cycle, but, after reading this post, I must not completely understand why it is so crucial. I am fortunate to work from home, so I'm usually able to participate in the first cycle, but I haven't placed the priority on it that maybe I should. I know there is an advantage with showing the earliest interest in a recruit, but I didn't think that it was overly significant. I also know that being considered by a recruit can discourage other teams from pursuing the player and risking a recruiting battle. Are those the main reasons the first cycle is considered so important, or is there something else that I am unaware of? Thanks.

In DIII, it's huge. There is not a lot of money to spare. Getting a jump into recruting gives me a solid edge and a better idea on how things will go.

My comment above was really in regards to D1.
Those of you who think the first cycle is important in D3 or even D2 for that matter may want to rethink your strategy.
I have several titles in the lower levels without even logging on the first two days to recruit.
In Allen D3, the NAC conference was for about 20 seasons the best conference in Allen, as well as probably one of, if not the best/toughest D3 conference in the game.
During that period we had one coach who recruited 100% on the last day of recruiting.
Did he suck you ask.... umm no I don't think so, in a 10 year period, he went 40-7 in the NT. His worst performance during that time was a couple sweet/16's. He won 3 titles in that period. Lost a forth one.... eight out of those 10 seasons he made the E8 or better... with recruits 100% of the time recruited on the final day. He never had to battle anyone.... it's the last day.... everyone was done. He recruited nationally, scouted hard and found what he wanted to fit his system.
Now during that time we had $100,000 in recruiting bonus cash to split up... so his FSS budget was big... but he never spent all his money. He knew what he was doing. For those fairly new to the game.... breath, enjoy the game..... look over some of those guys 8 states away.Recruiting is probably the most important thing in the game.... and can be the most fun part if you let it be. Leave the early cycle stress to the A+ guys trying to pull a D2 stud before another A+ shows up. 

One more thing to add to my already BillyG length post, The guys who blow thru 75% of their budget the first day are greatly limiting themselves. If you have average prestige and see a guy who is close who has good potential... sure go for him. But I guarantee you there will be 6 of him available in a couple days with no fight what-so-ever to sign. Let those guys drop down and then start looking them over. You'll be glad you did.
My best advice to a newer player would be to spend more on FSS.... and less on actually signing the guy.
Figure out what you want your team to do..... recruit players who will be able to do that in 2-3 seasons... and most of all, ENJOY THE RIDE.

In crum i have noticed of late there's not a lot of late jucos or recruits who join the fray after that initial signing period. Cause a few seasons ago there was a few nice jucos you could get. I got a player after the signing period - Brandon Rex he wont be much of a scorer got a little upside but will be a good defensive player by his junior year. What's your opinion on the d3 limit budget and trying to get those high/high rated recruits before they are snapped up that you want do you wait for the good contributor and less upside.

My initial impression after going through my first few D3 recruiting sessions was that different strategies could effectively be used (including waiting until closer to the end of the signing period) depending on a team's varying circumstances. After reading this post, it seemed like there might be something I was not understanding about the initial recruiting cycle, like there was somehow a significantly higher value per dollar spent compared to later cycles. I have been guilty of spending too much too soon when recruiting (kind of like my real life Lol) and not leaving myself many options towards the end of the signing period. Thanks for clarifying and providing some valuable alternatives mizzou77.