By Marcus Krum
Staff Writer
@marcuskrum

As he looks back up from his notes to the field, watching the star running back break loose for his third touchdown of the game, the college recruiter cannot help but smile. ‘This is our guy’ he thinks, ‘We are going to get him.’

While the clock ticks down to zero, he folds up his notebook and realizes that although the game has ended, a whole new one has just begun: the long and tedious but rewarding recruiting process.

First, after finding a player they like on the field, college recruiters will check how they fare in the classroom. Because the athletes are expected to keep good grades to have eligibility, it is one of the most important aspects of what recruiters look for in a player.

“The first thing when they see a player that they like and they want to begin the process of recruiting is they get their high school credentials academically. They see if it is even something that we could pursue because of our academic standards,” Associate Athletic Director of Communications at Air Force Academy Troy Garnhart said.

After this first step, if the players make the academic cut, then the recruiters keep pursuing, trying to contact the athlete in any way they can to make their presence known. Senior running back Parker Wilson, who has made a verbal commitment to Air Force, had firsthand experience with being contacted and recruited.

“The Air Force recruiter first contacted [Coppell football coach] Mike DeWitt, and he gave me a business card with his name and email on it,” Wilson said. “From there, he contacted me through Twitter, and then he invited me to attend a camp. After the camp is when I received my offer. From there, it was up to me to decide when I wanted to commit.”

After letting the player know their interest, the recruiter puts in his final word as to why they want the player at his school, and then he makes the scholarship offer.

“After the camp, I met with [the recruiter] and he told me that the coaching staff really liked me and that they would be getting in contact with me pretty soon. Then, in the next few days, he called me and told me that they would like to offer me a scholarship,” Wilson said.

After this, it is all in the hands of the athlete. Because many top-tier athletes receive multiple offers, they have to make a decision between schools, taking into account the academics of the school, the team they are playing for, the coach and everything involved with the program.

“The biggest thing when you are looking for a school would be your major, if they have what you want to major in  and find the classes for that stuff,” CHS defensive coordinator Eric De los Santos said.

Wilson, after receiving his offer, made his decision to verbally commit to the Air Force Academy. As opposed to many other players who waited until later on in the school year to commit, he made his commitment early on in the season, making it clear that this is where he wanted to go.

“It was really just up to me. I decided that [Air Force] was where I really wanted to go play football, so there was no pressure,” Wilson said. “It was all my decision. Whenever I was ready, I called defensive line coach Tim Cross and told him that I would like to play football for him at Air Force.”

For any athlete going to a state university, receiving an offer and signing their letter of intent on National Signing Day is where their recruitment journey ends; they are done with the process. However, with the Air Force Academy, there is a whole new beginning. Being offered a scholarship is one thing; being accepted is another.

“Here at the Air Force Academy, there is no letter of intent, so if a young athlete that is being recruited says, ‘I am verbally committing to you, I want to go to the Air Force Academy,’ then we help them with starting the appointment process,” Garnhart said. “It is not a matter of if you just academically qualify, now, you academically qualify, and then you go into the pool with everyone who is applying for the Air Force Academy.”