By: Chad Wilson – Editor GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds
If you’ve paid attention to college football recruiting you’ve likely heard the term “package deal”. Perhaps you’ve heard it but don’t really know what it is. Well allow me to explain to you in this brief article exactly what a package deal is in the world of college football recruiting.
Package deal consists usually of two parties (but can include more). The parties are two prospects. One is the prospect that the school really wants. We’ll call that prospect Romeo because the school is in love with the guy. The other prospect is the guy a school is being forced to take so that they can have a chance to get Romeo. We’ll call this prospect Ogre because to the school, this guy is ugly.
Let’s take a dip back to high school before we delve into the inner workings of the “package deal”. Remember in high school when you really wanted to talk to the pretty girl in school but were a little too shy to approach her? You did know her friend who was a little less attractive. You had no problems talking to her because there was no pressure. Well, you talked to the less attractive friend to get closer to the pretty girl you really wanted to talk to. Don’t act like you haven’t seen this you self righteous, sanctimonious, halo wearing….. I digress.
Well that high school example has strong similarities to our recruiting situation. Typically, the package deal is placed upon the college by the high school coach but more often by the handler or the term I cringe at the most these days “mentor”. Usually, the mentor / handler has promised the lesser prospect he would get him a big time offer and will fulfill that promise by holding a highly recruited prospect hostage.
This hostage situation is accomplished by telling the college you can have Romeo but only if you offer and sign Ogre. Now Ogre thinks this is an awesome situation. He thinks he’s going to go to a top notched BCS school, climb his way up the depth chart and eventually be on TV playing for one of the top schools in the country. Not so fast Ogre. Typically, the college program and the coaches resent being put in that situation to get Romeo. Ogre really isn’t “their guy”. Not only that, Ogre is counting against their scholarship numbers. Ogre is going to get treated like a walk-on who’s on scholarship. Ogre’s opportunities to play will be severely limited and they WILL recruit over Ogre’s head. This means, next year, they are recruiting a guy or guys at your position that they will readily put ahead of you on day one.
On top of that some schools may really need Ogre’s scholarship. They are just hoping that you miss class, get in a fight, smoke weed, get caught cheating or do anything against the code of conduct clause in your scholarship so that they can release you like hot pot handle. In the interim, many Ogres start to hate football, become discouraged and even depressed. All the while, Romeo is thriving. He’s on the field playing, getting accolades and being discussed as a potential first rounder. This further adds to your angst as you stand on the sidelines smelling Irish Spring fresh week after week.
The moral of the story is go where you are wanted. Pride wants to keep you away from the lower level FBS school. Pride is telling you no way I am going to a FCS school or Division II school. Tell pride to shut up because pride has a quiet voice when depression starts yelling.
Chad Wilson is a recruiting expert and owner of GridironStuds.com a website devoted to promoting the talents of youth and high school football players. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a high school football coach and father of three kids, two of which are college student athletes and another well on his way. Email: cwilson@gridironstuds.com.
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Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
