Posted by kevodaphenom on 6/1/2013 6:05:00 PM (view original):
So if you get a back up message, that automatically means you have the ability to pull the player down?

yes. as near as I can tell this is the only thing that is a 100% certainty anymore about recruit responses...

This recruiting cycle at VUU it took me 25 scouting trips to pull down a player. Even after the 25 trips he still refused my home visit. I signed him without ever having a visit. This seems to happen quite often for me.

Again - it's a combination of prestige, recruit rating, distance and some unknown random thing.  I just finished my D2 recruiting and pulled down a D1 player at 150 miles with 10 ST + offer.  Another pulldown took 16 STs at 250 miles:  10 ST followed by an "I'm not sure" email, followed by 6 more ST.

Many moons ago I had to send 25 STs to get a player to drop, but he was an exception.

I've noticed that ratings are kind of an unpredictable gauge.  I've had players who were well within my target range who flat-out told me not to call them ever again, while another player with a higher rating will commit for a minimum of effort.

Posted by milwood on 6/2/2013 3:03:00 PM (view original):
This recruiting cycle at VUU it took me 25 scouting trips to pull down a player. Even after the 25 trips he still refused my home visit. I signed him without ever having a visit. This seems to happen quite often for me.

I almost never use visits when signing a pull down player, unless I wind up finding myself in a battle.

I thought that when I have an A+ prestige I could pull down anyone I get a backup message for with no more than 11 scouting trips (and often less).

However, this guy proved to be an exception. I gave him 11 scouting trips and he refused a home visit, so I gave him five more and he not only accepted the home visit but didn't stop considering me when I informed of redshirt, which I have just applied to him.

As others have said, the number of scouting trips needed to successfully pull off a pulldown depends almost entirely on prestige and how far you are reaching in the player pool.  I have a team in D2 Iba where I've been at A+ prestige for over 10 consecutive seasons.  In this 10 seasons I can recall only 1 time I needed more than 10 scouting trips (plus a scholly) to pull a guy down.  At A it seems to take 10-14.  Down around B- (in another world right after I took over a team) it has taken me about 25 before.  This is one of the added benefits of prestige.  It will cost you a lot less to pull guys down when you reach A+ and you will have far more guys willing to take your call.  I've pulled guys down before ranked as high as ~150 at their position.

What mduncanhogs said, but also at A+ you often find that players who used to list as pulldowns have already dropped to your level before recruiting begins.  Kind of "pre-dropdowns".

My D2 team fell from A+ to A this last season, but when I first hit A+ I saw recruits at D2 that were D1 before I rose in prestige.

Posted by ethan66 on 6/3/2013 12:28:00 PM (view original):
What mduncanhogs said, but also at A+ you often find that players who used to list as pulldowns have already dropped to your level before recruiting begins.  Kind of "pre-dropdowns".

My D2 team fell from A+ to A this last season, but when I first hit A+ I saw recruits at D2 that were D1 before I rose in prestige.

Oh, absolutely.  A lot of guys start as D2 recruits at A+ that are D1 players for even A teams.  The difference between A+ and B+ is huge in that regard.  This advantage lasts through recruiting as well as higher ranked players will drop down to an A+ school that never drop to B+.  I usually have 20-40 players who are ranked at their position who have dropped to me by the time signings start when I'm at A+ at D2.

Not only do more players drop, but at A+ they drop sooner for you than for lower prestige - if they drop to lower prestige at all.