Midweek Musings - If You Were a Recruit, What Would Matter to You?

Early national signing day was yesterday, in which Penn State put together its 2020 recruiting class. Kids signed to come play for Penn State from all over the country, and even from other countries. 4-stars, 3-stars, all sorts of players. Some who hope to contribute right away, others that will take a couple years of seasoning before being ready to play.

Midweek musings wonders: if you were a recruit, what would be your criteria for choosing a school to play for?

Of course, everyone here would commit to PSU, that’s a given. But if you had no real connection to the school, what would you value?

Some usual things that come up in conversation are proximity - some kids really want their families to come see them more than once or twice a season, and want to play for a school that is within driving distance from home. Others want the opposite, and would rather see a new part of the world.

Early playing time is another one. For kids that believe they’ll be headed for the NFL some day, getting playing time early and often is important. Others would rather take their time and develop at a steady rate to get them into the best possible football shape.

What about family ties? Have your parents gone to a school, and would you like to follow in their footsteps? Or perhaps you’d rather forge your own trail?

Are conference and national championships something you desire? Do you shun closer schools to go after some hardware?

Academics? Coaching relationships? Schools known for taking your position and turning them into stars?

For me, I think I’d want to be on a team that is at least competitive. It would be nice to make it to some major bowls, maybe push for a conference championship. I’d want solid academics, since very few players actually make it to the NFL, so I’d need a good plan B. And lastly, I think I’d want to go somewhere that I have a good bond with the coach. Coaches change regularly, that much is true, but if I’m planning on spending a significant portion of my collegiate years with them, I’d like to make sure we get along fairly well.

What about you? What sorts of things would drive you to pick a school?