[EKUAlum05]

The first thing that needs to be realized is that rating services put a ton of emphasis on their own specifically sponsored camps as mentioned above. 5* guys typically do the camp circuit prior to their Junior year to get on watch lists, then complete the circuit again prior to their Senior season. You have 3 more accepted rating services, Rivals, Scout, and ESPN. ESPN partners with the Under Armour camps, Rivals has their own camps as well as the Nike Camps, and Scout weighs heavily with the US Army Camps.

In addition to these, are the individual camps for Universities. Your 5* recruits typically attend camps at the discretion of the elite schools (Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Florida) etc. Attending all these said camps is one thing, but gaining accolades is another. In order to be a 5* prospect the kid usually needs to excel as an elite player at every camp, and also be viewed as a physical specimen when it comes to measurables.

The camps will start the attention and start the offers. This will typically result in being on "Watch Lists" prior to rankings being released. The Junior season is critical. The prospect needs impressive stats, impressive highlights, and to stay injury free. If the prospect excels in these instances then they will more than likely see the culmination of their parts result in being included on pre-season All-American lists and get invites to All-American games prior to starting their Senior season.

The Senior season is the final test as the player usually has to exhibit an improvement in measurables in size, and most time an improvement in stats. Being televised nationally and excelling in that game usually helps as well, as does winning a state title. It is also important to be "more impressive" when having any matchup with a similar highly ranked player (WR vs. DB, OT vs. DE, QB vs QB).


I mentioned above about moving. The sad reality is Kentucky is a weak football state in terms of producing D-1 players and elite level teams. Competition is heavily weighted by recruiting services and it takes an absolute standout (Tim Couch, Dennis Johnson) to become a 5* recruit coming from Kentucky.