How do TXHSFB recruits stick out among thousands? Some get creative — and it’s leading to scholarship offers
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A primary goal of marketing is to make sure that an audience remembers what is being sold. It’s a concept that has not escaped North Crowley’s defensive lineman Aaron Austin.
That’s why Austin wanted to not only appear at the showcase at the SMU last weekend at the largest recruiting camp for some time – with coaches from 65 colleges – but also to stand out. He took a long-sleeved white shirt and printed “Twitter @ AaronAustin04” on the back in large black letters. He was selling his skills as an elite pass rusher, hoping his jersey would remind coaches where to buy it.
“I knew I was going to dominate and I knew I was going to show myself,” Austin said of his performance at the SMU camp. “[The shirt] is simply good marketing. “
It worked.
On Monday, Austin reported on scholarship offers from Kansas State and Minnesota, two schools represented at the SMU showcase. Both schools offered him personally in the camp; Trainers from other schools waiting for an offer followed him on Twitter.
North Crowley’s defensive lineman Aaron Austin.(Courtesy Corey McDonald)
Austin’s story is a representation of the current state of recruitment and the challenge awaiting recruits from Dallas. Personal recruitment was resumed on June 1st – for multiple sports – after 15 months of dead time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At SMU, this meant putting on a mega showcase for around 4,000 recruits with representatives from colleges across the country.
Tyler Olker, director of recruiting operations at SMU, said last week that the next month will be “unique” for college recruiting. And with that comes an important question for recruits: How do you stand out in a crowd of thousands?
For Austin it was about making a name for itself. He entered as a three-star recruit this month with nearly 20 scholarship offers, according to 247Sports.
Other recruits traveling to camps across the country do not have this luxury.
Trophy Club Byron Nelson Defensive Back Ashton Williams is the son of former Texas Tech linebacker Paul Williams. Ashton has just finished his freshman season, but at 6 feet and 180 pounds he’s already the height of a Division I candidate.
Now that personal recruitment has returned, Ashton knows he has the opportunity to get college coaches’ attention early on. It could speed up its recruitment trajectory completely. So he created a shirt with his school logo and name on the front and his Twitter handle on the back – big enough for coaches to see from a short distance. He wore it in the SMU camp last weekend and again in the Oklahoma state camp on Monday. He also plans to attend camps at LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“You have to make a name for yourself before it’s too late,” Ashton said. “And if it’s too late who knows what’s going to happen.”
There are other ways of doing this. Signature garments are one option. Texas A&M wide receiver Demond Demas, a former five-star wide receiver from Tomball, wore a signature maroon chef’s hat at “The Opening” in 2019. Against the best competition in the country, he stood out with his game and his style.
At the SMU camp last weekend, some recruits printed out business cards to give to coaches and media members in attendance, 247Sports’ Mike Roach told The Dallas Morning News.
Garland Naaman Forest Corner and wide receiver Roman Williams (unrelated to Ashton) had a unique way of standing out in the SMU camp. He currently has a torn tendon in his left thumb so he will have to wear a cast until the end of this month. That wouldn’t stop him from attending the SMU.
This upcoming season will be Roman’s first season in high school football. He and his family roamed Louisiana before ending up in Naaman Forest this winter. He said he was ineligible for transfers in Louisiana twice, but he played in Naaman Forest last basketball season.
Roman understands that he doesn’t have a movie in the season, which makes him an under-the-radar recruit, which is why he starred with a cast at SMU – which isn’t an easy task for someone who’s been asked for passports all day to catch. Several trainers came up to him during the camp to ask about it. Roman said they were impressed with his ability to play it through and they told him to send a movie as soon as he got it this fall.
“When it comes to schools, I’m not a picky type,” says Roman. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I just want to go DI.’ I would be blessed to go anywhere and play at the next level so it’s a blessing to be able to speak to any coach. “
Ultimately, a college scholarship means that a high school athlete has done enough to separate from the pack. Ultimately, this recruit stood out from the rest. This month, with mega camps everywhere, standing out in every possible way is a priority.
So Austin will bring his Twitter T-shirt to the TCU camp next weekend.
“Hopefully I can dominate there too,” he said.
What are the chances?
It is not easy to attract the attention of college coaches. So what are the odds that a high school football player will play in college? Here’s a look at the 2020 NCAA stats. Note: This doesn’t include Junior College and NAIA probabilities.
category | total |
---|---|
High school athlete | 1.006.013 |
NCAA athletes | 73.712 |
HS according to NCAA | 7.3% |
HS to DI | 2.9% |
HS to DII | 1.9% |
HS to DIII | 2.5% |
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