How is recruiting being impacted?
Sam Scott can’t help but worry about what football players in other states are doing.
Scott, a senior at Simsbury High, is a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive tackle with aspirations of playing college football. A member of the National Honor Society with the body type to play football at a high level, Scott is in search of a school that offers both top-tier academics and athletic prestige.
But without a traditional fall high school football season, Scott, like many other junior and senior football players in the state, have had their college recruiting processes thrown off course. With no senior-season game film to send to college coaches this fall, Scott worries that recruiters might look elsewhere.
“Especially us guys in Connecticut, I think we’re at a huge disadvantage,” he said. “If college coaches are looking at two guys - me and another guy. If they want to see senior film, they’re going to the guy who is playing football regularly in the fall. That’s a concern for all of us, all the guys whoaren’t playing are at a big disadvantage to the ones who are.”
Scott’s concern is a real one, and one of many among high school players left in the wake of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s decision to cancel full-contact fall football at the recommendation of the state Department of Public Health.
With no games this fall, how does recruiting change? High school players - and college coaches - are now trying to make it work.
“There’s certainly a lot of mystery out there, that’s for sure,” said Southern Connecticut State University coach Tom Godek.
No game film? That’s a problem
College coaches rely on a bevy of information when recruiting a player. But without the opportunity to watch an athlete compete in 11-on-11 football, be it live or through film, recruiters aren’t able to see the full picture.
“To me, it always comes down to game film,” said Central Connecticut State University coach Ryan McCarthy. “Not just highlight film, but game film. But watching when it’s third down