Imagine trying to get recruited as a high school football player 30 years ago.
The short list of ways an athlete could get noticed consisted of a scout physically being in attendance, word of mouth or a spliced-up VHS highlight tape sent through snail mail.
Former NFL quarterback Jeff Blake remembers those days. And he believes, in some ways, it was easier to get noticed before the technological onslaught. Nowadays, a third-string lineman on a 2-8 Class 1A team can put together an online recruiting profile, so the market is flooded with potential college athletes, both legitimate and not.
"I think it's harder today than it was before, because when I played it was the exceptional kids who got seen, period," Blake said. "That's what the people saw and that's what was written about. But at the same time, a lot of kids would get looked over.
"Now, with all the sites, all the training and all the camps, there are so many more kids that these schools see now than before. The percentages now of getting a scholarship are a lot smaller than when I came out of college."
One thing that remains unchanged is that the keynote athletes, such as Blake when at
Seminole (Sanford, Fla.), will get noticed regardless. But for athletes who are right on the cusp, there are more opportunities for someone else to scoop their spot on a college roster.
"We didn't have all the tools to get marketing, to go to specialty camps and get rankings at each position," Blake said. "Before, scouts just came out after they heard about a kid and saw the write-ups and they wanted to talk to him. They didn't go look at anyone else in the area. They just came to see that one kid."
Blake, who played in the NFL from 1992-2005 and had his best seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, remains an ambassador of the game and has created a phone app that serves as a guide to develop and train athletes. The app,
Elite Athlete Training On and Off the Field, offers advice on proper goal-setting methods and other steps to help morph high school players into college athletes.
Blake unearthed the idea after he realized how many questions surrounded the topic and how often parents and athletes themselves embarked upon ill-fated training regimens.
It's another way the football landscape has changed. Because of specialized training and the accessibility to get one's name out there, coaches now are flooded with prospective recruits. It's a chore for coaches to narrow down the list to athletes they want to see in person.
That being said, Blake believes there are more outlets today for players who don't initially crack a Division I roster, whether it's because of grades or because they were looked over.
"The (junior college) system just wasn't the same like it is today," Blake said. "Now, the JuCo system is needed by a lot of these kids and they utilize it to get to D-I schools."
Blake starred at East Carolina before being drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round in 1992. He continues to staunchly support the Pirates and Seminole High, but says he doesn't hold a particular allegiance to any of the seven NFL squads he played on.
His advice to athletes today who are on the bubble of landing a college spot?
"It's advice not only for them, but for the parents as well," Blake said. "If you sit back and allow your high school coach to do it, sometimes it won't get done. It depends on the program that you're involved in. Most of these high school coaches, they don't really go out and try to get their kids recruited.
"It puts the onus on the parents to make the calls to schools, get their kids to camp. And it isn't always about landing a scholarship. You'd be surprised about how many walk-ons there are in college football, where they're the star player on the team."
