Most families spend years preparing their athlete for the recruiting process without ever understanding what coaches are actually looking for.
They focus on highlight film, camp attendance, and social media exposure — and wonder why the phone isn’t ringing.
After nearly 20 years recruiting college football players at multiple levels — and training other coaches on how to recruit — I can tell you exactly what coaches are evaluating. And it’s probably not what you think.
It Starts Before The Film
Here’s something most families don’t know: before a coach ever presses play on your athlete’s film, they’ve already formed an impression.
How? Your athlete’s recruiting profile, their initial email, and in many cases a quick Google search. Coaches are busy. They’re evaluating dozens of prospects at any given time. If your first impression doesn’t immediately communicate that your athlete is worth their time — the film may never get watched.
This is why having a strong recruiting profile and a well-crafted outreach email isn’t optional. It’s the entry ticket.
The 3 Things Coaches Evaluate In Every Recruit
After nearly two decades on the sidelines and in recruiting rooms, I can tell you that every coach — regardless of level — is evaluating three things:
1. Tangible Ability
This is what most families focus on — and they’re right to. Tangible ability includes:
- Athletic fit: Does this athlete have the physical tools to play at our level? Speed, size, strength, athleticism.
- Academic fit: Does this athlete qualify academically? GPA, test scores, and transcript matter more than most families realize. A coach can’t recruit a player who can’t get admitted.
- Character fit: Does this athlete fit our culture? Coaches talk to high school coaches, teachers, and other players. Your athlete’s reputation follows them.
Coaches grade tangible ability on a simple scale — A, B, or C. An A recruit gets immediate attention. A B recruit is worth developing. A C recruit rarely gets an offer regardless of how good their film looks.
2. The “Get” Ability
This is the one nobody talks about — and it’s where most recruits lose offers they didn’t even know they had.
“Get” ability is whether the recruit actually wants to be at that school. Coaches invest significant time and resources recruiting athletes. They want to know — does this kid actually want to come here? Will he visit? Is he responding to our outreach? Does he ask good questions about the program?
A coach will take a slightly less talented athlete who is genuinely excited about their program over a more talented athlete who seems disinterested every single time.
This means your athlete’s communication with coaches — how they respond to emails, what they say on calls, how they carry themselves on a campus visit — is being evaluated just as closely as their 40 time.
3. Fit Within The Roster
Coaches aren’t just evaluating your athlete in isolation. They’re looking at their current roster and their recruiting class. They may love your athlete but already have three players at his position. Or they may desperately need his specific skill set.
This is why targeting the right schools — programs that actually need what your athlete brings — is so critical. Sending film to 100 schools randomly is far less effective than sending targeted outreach to 25 programs where your athlete fills a genuine need.
What Coaches Look For In The Film
When a coach does sit down to watch your athlete’s film, here’s what they’re evaluating in the first 60 seconds:
- Does he pass the eye test? Size, athleticism, and physicality jump off the screen immediately.
- Is the film honest? Coaches can tell when a highlight reel is cherry-picked. They want to see your athlete in real game situations — not just the best plays of four years.
- Does he compete? How does your athlete respond after a bad play? Do they hustle on every down? Are they a good teammate?
- Is there footage against quality competition? Film against weak opponents doesn’t tell coaches much. If your athlete has played against recognized talent — make sure that footage is in the film.
One thing that kills recruiting fast: a highlight reel that starts slow. Coaches watch hundreds of films. If the first 30 seconds don’t grab them — they move on. Put your three best plays first. Every time.
What Coaches Look For In Communication
This is the most underrated part of the recruiting process — and the area where most athletes cost themselves opportunities.
Here’s what coaches are evaluating every time your athlete communicates with them:
- Response time: Does he respond to emails and texts promptly? A recruit who takes days to respond signals low interest.
- Quality of communication: Is he articulate? Does he ask thoughtful questions? Does he show genuine interest in the program?
- Consistency: Is he communicating regularly or going silent for weeks at a time?
- Authenticity: Coaches can smell a form email from a mile away. Personalized, genuine communication stands out immediately.
The coaches I trained through Tudor Collegiate Strategies were taught to track exactly how recruits communicated with them — and use it as a data point in their evaluation. Your athlete is being graded on every interaction.
The Bottom Line
College football recruiting isn’t just about talent. It’s about fit, communication, strategy, and timing.
The athletes who get recruited aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who understand the process — who know what coaches are looking for, communicate effectively, target the right programs, and show up prepared at every stage.
That’s exactly what the NoMo Athletics Recruit Accelerator was built to help your family do.
If you want to know exactly where your athlete stands in the recruiting process — start with a Film Evaluation. We’ll evaluate his film exactly the way a college coach would and give you a clear picture of what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
Get Your Film Evaluated — $149 →
Coach Mollring is the founder of NoMo Athletics and a former college football coach with nearly 20 years of recruiting experience at DIII, NAIA, and DII levels. He is also a former recruiting expert with Tudor Collegiate Strategies where he trained college coaches and admissions departments on recruiting best practices.