[charlie22]

I realize how tough it is to get that D1 offer and I also agree with everything you've stated.

I didn't see the Burchett kid play so I can't comment specifically on him, but I did see West, Quainoo and Buckler play. None of those kids in my assessment are D-1 players. They were good or very good high school players, but there's a big difference between that and playing D-1. Buckler is undersized. Quick and decently fast, but there are plenty of bigger running backs in this country that had his or better quickness and speed. Those are the ones that got D-1 offers. Quainoo was bigger, but still did not possess the physical tools that others did. West has nice height and football smarts, but from what I saw did not possess the arm strength needed to play D-1. Racked up huge yards with a high completion percentage but that had a lot to due with his high school offensive system. Lots of 10 yd passes completed that turned into big gains because of the yards after completion. Kid got a lot of exposure so no one can claim the D-1 schools didn't know about him.

At the end of the day, in my opinion, the reason that a lot of people are bewildered as to why this kid or that kid didn't get a D-1 scholarship is because they just don't understand what it takes to get a schlarship at that level and they don't see the caliber of kids playing in other states that the kids are competing against for those scholarships. Couch was a stud back in the day as a QB; but the level of QB play throughout the nation is so much better now than it was back then. Not saying he wouldn't get a scholarship today, but he'd face much tougher competition for it.

And add me to the list of people that don't think the class of high school football affects whether a kid gets a scholarship. If one has the physical tools and skills needed and the colleges find out about it, they will offer you a scholarship. Sure, if you have the physical tools and skills needed, having a huge game against top 6A, 5A and 4A teams gets you more PR than having a huge game against a 3A, 2A or 1A team because people generally believe that the level of competition in the bigger classes is better. But playing in the smaller classes doesn't in and of itself cause a player to not get a D-1 Scholarship.

I've been told by college recruiters that attending legit and respected combines as a sophomore or junior is a must because it gets you on the radar screen of the various scouting services and universities. Attending junior camp days at universities (particularly for qbs that seemed to get recruited earlier than other positions) is a must. The QB position is so important that the universities want a lot of time to try to separate the wheat from the chaff and make early offers to those they think are the best.

It takes effort to reach out to the universities to make sure they know about your physical skills and traits. They aren't all that interested in high school stats because the recruiters don't have the time to research every opponent to see if big stats were put up against weaker competition. They don't have the time to watch every game film to see if those stats were generated in blow outs. High light tapes, while asked for by the recruiters, aren't valued as highly as some think for the foregoing reasons. I was told by a recruiter that because of the sheer number of highlight tapes the recruiters receive, they might watch the first 10 plays or so, but that's about it, unless they have already determined through the camps and combines that a player has the physical tools and skills needed.

Having a well respected coach reach out to the recruiters helps get the word out, but the players and their parents have a duty to do so also. To think that a coach is going to do it all for you is just too much to ask of a coach whose primary obligation is to help the entire team get ready for the next game or the next season.