Jul. 6—Going from high school to college football for student-athletes takes a lot of work and patience.
Muskogee football’s senior class is garnering a lot of attention from college recruiters. Prentice Joseph, Muskogee defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator, said the 2024 class has 11 players with at least one scholarship offer from a Division II college or higher.
Those scholarship offers didn’t appear from luck, it came from Joseph putting in the work and making sure the kids put in the work necessary, too.
The skill level on the field for student-athletes is a major aspect of their recruitment. Joseph said he believes the classroom is the key part.
“The classroom is the biggest aspect in recruiting in my opinion,” Joseph said. “First, you got to be able to get into to the school. Once you’re able to get in, you’re more recruitable because a lot of schools like to save money. How do schools save money? Well, if this kid can get a lot of academic money, then they save on football money. That makes you more marketable. It’s always good to take care of your business in the classroom and luckily my kids understand that.”
It may be hard for high schools to market its student-athletes to the college ranks considering there are more than a million high school football seniors per year and only 7.3% of the seniors play in college, according to the NCAA.
Joseph said it’s about having connections with college coaches and pinpointing schools would most benefit his student-athletes.
“So a lot of that is a lot of research,” Joseph said. “I look at schools and schemes and what they run and if we have a kid that can fit, then I reach out to that school and say I have a kid that reminds me of the same things as this guy on your team that does kind of the same things. It might be a coach I know. If it’s a coach I know, I…
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