I'm in my first season and have encountered a problem signing my most recruited player. I had nine scholarships and 140 AP available, so I allocated 50 AP the first week and 45 the second on a player on whom I had four "Very Good" preferences and none that were bad. I also brought him in for a campus visit, made three home visits, and promised him a starting position and 25 minutes. His signing preference was "Whenever." Still, at the end of the first signing period, his interest level was only moderate even though he isn't considering any other schools. Is he just waiting until the second signing period to get serious or is he waiting for another offer? I'm going to keep throwing the AP at him, so I don't think anyone can catch me there. Should I be optimistic I will sign this guy, or is this likely to be a lost cause?

If you are recruiting a guy who is 'projected' at higher than your level (so if you are a Division-2 team recruiting a projected Division-1 player, or a Division-3 team recruiting a projected Division-2 player) then you can go no higher than moderate (and therefore not be able to sign) in the first signing period. If this is the case and you are the only one who is moderate, you will likely jump to very high at the start of the 2nd recruiting session.

That is one of the risks in recruiting someone who is not projected in your level.

If he is projected at your level (you are division-3 and he is projected division-3), then you need to put in more effort.

On a more important note, make sure you go to Coaching and Practice Plan. Your players lost a lot of points last year when they should have been gaining points. Developing your players is a very important part of the game.

Edited: I gave the same advice as hughesjr so I deleted it.

Also, if your top target is a high school senior (and you continue to think that you can sign him) don't sign another high school senior. You already have 5 incoming freshmen and are only allowed to sign 6.

Posted by mrslam34 on 1/14/2017 5:55:00 PM (view original):
Also, if your top target is a high school senior (and you continue to think that you can sign him) don't sign another high school senior. You already have 5 incoming freshmen and are only allowed to sign 6.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm pretty sure I only recruited D3 guys, but I don't see anything on his page that shows his level. I didn't realize you had a limit on how many freshmen you can sign, and I already have five with another scholarship offer to a HS player. I'm not sure how much more effort I can put on him other than another home visit.

And I didn't have the right practice settings since I was focused on learning recruiting. I have corrected that.

Posted by muggsymcgraw on 1/14/2017 6:05:00 PM (view original):

Posted by mrslam34 on 1/14/2017 5:55:00 PM (view original):
Also, if your top target is a high school senior (and you continue to think that you can sign him) don't sign another high school senior. You already have 5 incoming freshmen and are only allowed to sign 6.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm pretty sure I only recruited D3 guys, but I don't see anything on his page that shows his level. I didn't realize you had a limit on how many freshmen you can sign, and I already have five with another scholarship offer to a HS player. I'm not sure how much more effort I can put on him other than another home visit.

And I didn't have the right practice settings since I was focused on learning recruiting. I have corrected that.

If you click on the recruit it should list his projected level above his name. It should either say "RECRUIT - Projected DII" or "RECRUIT - Projected DIII." Based on the amount of resources you've put into him and your preferences I'd be a little surprised if he's a D3 recruit.

Posted by mrslam34 on 1/14/2017 6:13:00 PM (view original):

Posted by muggsymcgraw on 1/14/2017 6:05:00 PM (view original):

Posted by mrslam34 on 1/14/2017 5:55:00 PM (view original):
Also, if your top target is a high school senior (and you continue to think that you can sign him) don't sign another high school senior. You already have 5 incoming freshmen and are only allowed to sign 6.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm pretty sure I only recruited D3 guys, but I don't see anything on his page that shows his level. I didn't realize you had a limit on how many freshmen you can sign, and I already have five with another scholarship offer to a HS player. I'm not sure how much more effort I can put on him other than another home visit.

And I didn't have the right practice settings since I was focused on learning recruiting. I have corrected that.

If you click on the recruit it should list his projected level above his name. It should either say "RECRUIT - Projected DII" or "RECRUIT - Projected DIII." Based on the amount of resources you've put into him and your preferences I'd be a little surprised if he's a D3 recruit.

I see that now, and he is D2. Oh, well.

In terms of you learning recruiting it's probably a good thing that you accidentally went after a D2 player. Once you get more comfortable with recruiting, most of your top targets should be from a higher projected level. I think 11 of the last 12 players I've signed with my D2 team were D1 projected. This will allow you to see how that process works.

As hughesjr said, you will probably be listed at Very High once the second recruiting period starts. Since his signing preference is Whenever it's impossible to predict when he would sign with you. But he could sign very quickly.

If you're curious to see how it plays out and want to try to sign him you should probably revoke the scholarship offer to the other HS player (can be done at the very beginning of the second recruiting period). Just know that if you do that there is a good chance that the guy whose offer you pulled will be ****** at you and won't sign. This only matters though if your top target signs elsewhere.

Lastly, if you are curious how you ended up recruiting a D2 player. My best guess is that you participated in a public camp which includes both D2 and D3 players.

Posted by mrslam34 on 1/14/2017 9:47:00 PM (view original):
In terms of you learning recruiting it's probably a good thing that you accidentally went after a D2 player. Once you get more comfortable with recruiting, most of your top targets should be from a higher projected level. I think 11 of the last 12 players I've signed with my D2 team were D1 projected. This will allow you to see how that process works.

As hughesjr said, you will probably be listed at Very High once the second recruiting period starts. Since his signing preference is Whenever it's impossible to predict when he would sign with you. But he could sign very quickly.

If you're curious to see how it plays out and want to try to sign him you should probably revoke the scholarship offer to the other HS player (can be done at the very beginning of the second recruiting period). Just know that if you do that there is a good chance that the guy whose offer you pulled will be ****** at you and won't sign. This only matters though if your top target signs elsewhere.

Lastly, if you are curious how you ended up recruiting a D2 player. My best guess is that you participated in a public camp which includes both D2 and D3 players.

This has been a good learning experience. I will drop the other HS player I'm recruiting and make a run at the D2 guy. I also have two juco guys I'm after. Whatever happens, I've learned a lot about recruiting.

All good advice. At D3 I really never recruit D3 players. I only have one D3 team, but I am only going for D1 players. However D1 players will only sign with a D3 team on the last day of recruiting, so it's a bit risky. But you may be able to find some D1 players that fall through the cracks that have high potential. But have a backup plan in place in case it does not work out.