I've been around for 8-10 seasons in a couple of different worlds. I've done pretty well with recruiting but I'm noticing some things which I can't figure out that other humans are doing effectively... but it has to be expensive or a 'trick' I have not heard of before. Would someone be willing to discuss recruiting through PM. I'll do it with an NDA if needed (non-disclosure agreement)!!

What are the things you can't figure out?

One competitor has greened about 25 players including 5-6 of the top players at one position in our area (they were all undecided). I put in quite a bit of $ first round but still went yellow. Is he just putting out lots of coaches visits for the first round?

Another competitor (or two) from over 1000 miles away can normally (one player per season normally) get a player green in my area. I put a good amount of money into the player on the first round as well but he still goes yellow. Getting him off the player is next to impossible. He's even managed to get one to go green.

First thing, only use Campus Visits when you have identified players you want to recruit. They are the most efficient.

I've noticed a lot of people get recruits to go green after the first cycle and that almost never happens for me unless the recruit was undecided to begin with. Getting an undecided recruit green is usually pretty easy.

However, I don't know why anyone would want that when you don't know the recruits potential. The only advantage that I could see is that a lot of people won't recruit players who are already Green for someone else, so the high potential guys you do find and get green you can take.

It takes a good amount of money to get the recruit green and you don't even know what their potential is. You spend all that money to get them green and then find out they are low potential but you've basically already committed yourself to them. (Aside: this also applies to women).

You can use promised starts and playing time to help level the playing field. Even on my team which has really high prestige and vision, I use promised starts and playing time every year.

Hey Linux_Box, shoot me a sitemail with your questions and I would be happy to help :) (Even if I'm the team you're talking about)

Linux_Box - It looks like your teams are at the D2 and D3 level. At those levels having higher Vision typically opens up higher level recruits and on top of that, it seems like a greater ratio of recruits are undecided. I haven't played D2, or D3, in a while, but I believe all it takes to turn an undecided to Green at those levels is an Assistant Coach, when the recruit is Undecided. Someone else will have to clarify that.

Anyway, with that out of the way, here's what I would surmise given the two different scenarios you mentioned:

• Coach #1 - 25 players Greened: This coach seems to go gangbusters right out of the gate after recruits. Considering the number of recruits he greened (assuming they didn't have 25 scholarships to give), they are spending a significant amount of $$ in the first cycle. That means they likely won't have a lot of money left over to battle should someone come to steal a few of those recruits. On top of this, it sounds as if you're getting bullied out of your own backyard. Time to put that to a stop! Instead of casting a wide net with your own recruiting, I'd consider targeting a few of the top level recruits you want and just go hard after them. Your opponent likely won't have the money to sustain a long/expensive battle. Two things could result from winning a few of these battles: (i) They don't change their approach. This type of recruiting strategy usually means that the coach is fine with losing a few high level players to battles, because they will have locked up sufficient high level backups in the process; or, (ii) They will change their approach and be more selective going forward, because they don't want to waste a bunch of their recruiting budget so early, only to lose their high level recruits.
• Coach #2 - >1000 miles grabbing recruits in your Backyard: This is a very expensive endeavor, relative to the improvement in the talent of the recruit secured, at the D2 and D3 levels. I'd venture to guess that the coach(es) doing this likely secure the majority of their classes locally early and only chase these recruits in your area because it is such a significant upgrade to what is available to them. That said, you have a significant $$ advantage in this situation. All things equal (money, history, etc.), you can purchase 1.7+ campus visits for every 1 campus visit they can send. Make sure you're managing your $$ wisely and there is no reason you can't keep this recruit home.

To summarize, be wise about spending your money in recruiting. Given that Coach #1 is peppering your area early, Coach #2 has likely taken notice and determined that he thinks he can grab the occasional recruit from your area, because you're going to have to spend heavily to fight for recruits w/ Coach #1. I'd recommend that you focus your recruiting efforts/energies on a small size of recruits for each open scholarship. The Guide to the Game for beginners suggests 3 targets for each open scholarship (if I'm remembering correctly), however, your particular situation would be better served targeting at most 2 recruits for each open scholarship and better only 1. Once your opponents know that you know how to protect your own backyard, you may be able to return to a more normal 3 targets/scholarship, but it's going to take you building that wall before they're willing to back off.

Hope that helps!

I've just gotten back into GD after an extended absence, so my recruiting tactics may be outdated. Do you recommend using the GUESS ratings as a whole, focusing on core only, or is there some other "magic bullet" that I missed while I was gone?

Jeffn48

You spend all that money to get them green and then find out they are low potential but you've basically already committed yourself to them. (Aside: this also applies to women)

You ain't never lied there!!! :)


cmchase04
I don't think recruiting has changed that much since I've joined (10 seasons or so with multiple teams). I use the GUESS ratings quite a bit but the core numbers have to be acceptable/good. Potential is important while work ethic is important but less so than potential IMHO.

Learning how to recruit is as much of this game at lower levels as the gamplanning itself.

Posted by columbusbuck on 7/13/2017 1:56:00 PM (view original):
Recruiting brings out the worst in people. If you value your GD life, the only reasonable course is to keep all your secrets close to the vest. Lest you get eaten up.

Game Planning, on the other hand - Teach away.

For the most part I agree.

Bump on this. How do guys end up recruiting stars every single year? I think I do my homework...I have sheets filtered 500 ways..,.and I never get guys that are good as freshmen. I’d love to understand how this is done.

thanks!

Bot!

In recruiting and with women, you should adopt the tactic of Go Ugly Early