Questions to Ask Football Recruiters
Questions for a high school player and their family talking to college coaches and recruiting staff, covering where you really stand on the board, what the offer actually is, what happens if you are injured or the coach leaves, and what the week looks like once you are on campus.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
Where do I sit on your board at my position right now?
Programs rank recruits internally and will usually tell you if asked directly. Being the fourth name at a position where they are taking two is not a rejection, but it changes how much of your time this school deserves.
- 2
How many players are you taking at my position in this class?
The number tells you how quickly the spot closes and whether their interest will survive another recruit committing. Ask again in six weeks, because the answer moves as the class fills.
- 3
Who is ahead of me on the depth chart, and what year are they?
Names and class years let you work out when the position actually opens up. A room with two sophomores ahead of you is a different four years from a room losing its starter after this season.
- 4
Is this a committable offer, and is it in writing?
The word offer covers everything from a formal scholarship offer to strong interest expressed enthusiastically. Ask plainly whether you could commit today and have it accepted, and ask for the terms in writing.
- 5
Is it a full scholarship, a partial, or a preferred walk-on spot?
These are different financial outcomes by tens of thousands of dollars a year, and the distinction is sometimes left comfortably unstated. Ask what percentage is covered and what the family pays.
- 6
Is the aid guaranteed for four years, or renewed each year?
Renewal terms determine what happens if you underperform, get hurt, or a new coach does not want you. Ask who makes the renewal decision and by what date each year you would find out.
- 7
What happens to my scholarship if I am injured and cannot play again?
The hardest question to ask and the one families most regret skipping. Ask about medical coverage during and after your time there, and who pays for treatment of an injury that persists after you leave.
- 8
What position do you see me playing, and would you consider moving me?
Position changes are common and are usually mentioned after signing rather than before. If they are recruiting you as an athlete rather than for a specific spot, you want that said out loud now.
- 9
What do you want me to improve before I arrive?
A coach who has genuinely evaluated you will name two or three specific things, with film references. A general answer about working hard means they have not watched much of you, whatever the recruiting attention suggests.
- 10
How long is your contract, and what happens to me if you leave?
Coaching staff turnover is the single largest variable in a recruit's experience, and position coaches move most often of all. Ask the head coach directly, and ask the position coach separately.
- 11
Which coach would I work with every day?
You will see your position coach far more than the head coach, so the relationship that matters may not be the one being sold to you. Ask how long that coach has been on staff and whether they recruited you personally.
- 12
What does a week look like in season, hour by hour?
Ask for the actual schedule: lifts, meetings, practice, travel, study hall. Written out, it shows how many hours are genuinely free and which class times are effectively unavailable to you.
- 13
What does the summer involve, and can I go home?
Summer workouts and camps take up more of the calendar than most families expect. Ask how many weeks players are typically away from home across a full year, including the winter break.
- 14
Which majors are realistic with this schedule, and who on the roster has done them?
Ask for current names rather than a list of available degrees. Majors with afternoon labs or clinical placements conflict with practice, and the honest answer is a program that names the players who managed it.
- 15
What happens academically if I stop playing?
Injury, a depth chart that never opens, or simply losing interest are all common. Ask whether aid continues, whether you can stay enrolled, and what support you would still have access to.
- 16
How does academic support actually work here?
Ask about required study hall hours, tutor availability during travel weeks, and who the academic advisor reports to. Advisors who report to athletics have a different set of pressures from those who do not.
- 17
How many players have you signed at my position in the last three classes, and where are they now?
Follow the names. A pattern of recruits transferring out after one or two years tells you something the current pitch will not, and the answer is verifiable independently.
- 18
How do you handle the transfer portal within your own roster?
Ask whether they bring in transfers at your position, how they tell a player they are being replaced, and whether that conversation happens before or after the portal window. Programs differ sharply and rarely volunteer this.
- 19
What are the name, image and likeness arrangements here, who administers them, and what is guaranteed?
Separate what is promised from what is possible, and ask who is legally on the other side of any agreement, since it is often not the university. Ask what happens to the arrangement if you are injured or lose your starting spot.
- 20
If I told you today I was committing somewhere else, what would you say?
A closing question that reveals how they see you when the pressure changes direction. Programs that immediately make a stronger and more specific case are showing genuine interest; a shrug tells you where you really ranked.
Talking to college recruiters
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Know what the words mean before the call
Know what the words mean before the call
Interest is not an offer
Camp invitations, questionnaires, social media follows and letters are contact, not commitment. An offer is a specific statement that a scholarship is available to you, and it is fair to ask whether it is committable today.
Offers can be withdrawn
A verbal offer or a verbal commitment binds neither side until a written agreement is signed. Ask directly what would cause the offer to be pulled, and keep other programs warm until something is signed.
Check the rules with your own people
Contact periods, what recruiters may and may not say, and the paperwork involved differ by division and change over time. Confirm anything you are told with your high school coach and with the compliance office at the school itself.
Write everything down
Keep one document per program: who called, on what date, what was said about the offer, the depth chart and the money. Six schools and four months later, memories blur and the notes settle the argument.
Bringing your family into it
Bringing your family into it
- Decide beforehand who asks the money questions. Players find them awkward to ask and parents generally do not, so hand that section over deliberately.
- Ask for the full cost of attendance, then subtract the aid on offer, and get the remaining annual figure in writing before comparing schools.
- Ask what is covered beyond tuition: housing, meals during breaks, summer school, books, travel home.
- Have the player, not the parent, ask the football questions. Coaches are evaluating how the player communicates, and the difference is noticed.
- Agree in advance that nobody commits during a visit. Visits are designed to be persuasive, and a good offer will survive a week of thinking.
- Talk to current players out of earshot of staff if you get the chance, and ask what they wish they had known before signing.
Warning signs
Warning signs
- Pressure to commit today, or an offer described as expiring within hours.
- Reluctance to discuss the depth chart or how many players they are taking at your position.
- Vague answers about whether aid is guaranteed year to year.
- Promises about playing time as a freshman, which no honest coach can make.
- Discouraging you from visiting other schools or from talking to former players.
- Financial arrangements described with confidence but no document, and no named party responsible for paying.
- A recruiter who cannot name anything specific about your film.