Below we will be discussing how incoming freshman can make varsity next season. I hope this can help!
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So if you are a freshman, your main priority should be starting varsity as soon as possible. You don’t need to worry about recruiting just yet (you can have a plan and go to camps- but it shouldn’t be your number one priority) you just need to worry about getting as much play time as possible… as soon as possible. You cannot receive an official scholarship until the summer before your junior year. So in my opinion, I think all of your time, energy and resources should be put into your development so you can get actual varsity film. A lot of people think going to every camp, playing in every 7on7 tournament is what gets you noticed… while those things are great, it’s not what gets you recruited. Football isn’t played in T-Shirt/shorts. It’s played with full pads, under the lights. And that’s the type of film college coaches want to see. So that should be your main priority like I mentioned above.
Now obviously you need the skills to play at the varsity level but you must also have some kind of size (not height) & speed. If you have those 3 things- skills, speed and size- I think you can start varsity as a freshman. But there are some strategic things you can do in order to get on the head coaches radar.
Which I feel is one of the tougher things to do.
1)- Attend any off season lifting opportunities or events the football program might have. If you’re an 8th grader, and the high school has some kind of winter/spring camp or a weekly weight lifting thing… spend the money and attend. It will be great to show your face to varsity coaches and show them what you got. Even if you feel you aren’t prepared fully for the season, coaches know that. You just want to meet them and build a relationship.
2)- Try to get into varsity spring ball. I know some states have their own freshman spring ball, which is totally fine. But if you don’t have that, I’m sure the varsity team has a spring ball period or passing league. I would inquire about joining. I would ask the coach if it’s possible to attend or if there is anything you can do in the meantime to prepare for the following year. Let’s say for example he says “no”. At least he knows who you are and it’s associated with someone who wants to be involved with the program. Worse thing that could happen is that he says no, best case scenario is that he says yes and you’re with the varsity team now.
3)- Join the varsity team hudl. I would ask the coach of your team via email or in person if you can have a hudl account to study the offense/defense. I don’t see why he would say no. If he does, same thing as point #2- at least he knows who you are and knows that you are willing to get better and put in extra time. But if he does give you access, I would try to study the playbook and be on the exact same page as the varsity guys mentally. This holds back a lot of freshman/underclassmen. They don’t know the playbook and have a big learning curve which prevents them from playing fast/well. They overthink because it’s new and it really hurts them competition wise.
