WOW, if there is height/athleticism in your family, have your kid play football
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Anonymous
Yep, I know another kid like this. Athletic, tall (6'3"?) lacrosse player. Started playing football in 9th grade. Joined varsity in 11th. Now a rising senior and he's going to all the summer football camps and has his first Ivy offer. Grades are good but not perfect and low rigor. Top prep school. |
Anonymous
| This has always been true. Two of my friends in HS went top ivy for football. They were smart kids who did well in school but they weren’t top of the class by a long shot in my son’s graduating class 100% of the boys who are going to T20 schools are playing college sports. It makes sense to me what’s more impressive a kid who has a 4.5 gpa who did a bunch of sign up clubs or a kid with a 3.8 who was able to make all-district and was captain of his team. |
Anonymous
Yeah, here is the diff: Your son’s friend excels at sports. You know of ONE person like this. OP: 1. Knows of kidS like this from two diff schools. 2. Some Getting multiple offers. 3. Who play football “well enough (nothing spectacular). This 100% is not happening. No school at this level is taking kids who play well enough. but they're tall and athletic) 4. OP says these “elite universities are THRILLED to take these kids because they can do the academic work and fill a spot on their football roster.” No, they are not thrilled. My kid is recruiting now. This is not how it works at any of these schools. Not one… OP is lying. I am more than 100% certain. |
Anonymous
He may be getting recruited by some Ivies but unlikely he is being recruited by any Power 5 football teams, which would include Duke, UNC, Vandy, etc. . . I’d also wait and see where he commits. I can’t tell you how many kids say they are going to the Ivies/top programs and then wind up somewhere less impressive. Coaches talk to a lot of kids. |
Anonymous
There are also so, so few boys in the better publics and privates playing football these days. It's walk-on everywhere. Most athletic boys are choosing other sports. Yet every college has a football team and needs the bodies. So academic standards will continue to decline for the smarter football players. There just aren't a lot of them. It's a definite hook, but the tradeoffs are high. But Harvard and Yale and Dartmouth still need players that can function in a classroom. And there are so few football players now generally, particularly those that have the basic academic chops for the better schools. Obviously the really good football players are going to Georgia or Texas or other major schools. So you don't even need to be particularly good for an Ivy League school. |
Anonymous
No idea why you think you are 100% certain because it is happening. I personally know one player who is not good enough for power house college football teams but absolutely is getting recruited for Ivy League teams. While I personally don't know of others I have heard of plenty of others. A kid from Sidwell- Dylan Price. Played club basketball for years in 1-8th grades then football at Sidwell. Is now at Harvard. By 11th grade was getting offers to Ivy League schools. OP isn't lying. It happens. These are kids as OP puts in the title height PLUS athleticism. They quickly pick up football because they have the build and athleticism. It helps to be a full paying student. There are plenty of highly paid professionals who played college football and can pay for their sons to play in the Ivy League. They realize there is too much risk starting football young when you can develop athleticism playing other sports then enter high school and play football. Then there are others whose mothers and/or fathers played other sports in high school. |
Anonymous
In this area, maybe. Not true for the rest of the country. |
Anonymous
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For the doubters here is another one. I searched Yale football recruits class of 27. Brice June -Maret School.
His bio states  ersonal: Only started playing football in junior year…
https://yalebulldogs.com/news/2023/6/1/football-reno-announces-class-of-2027.aspx |
Anonymous
So you know one kid. Just looked him up and looks like he has yet to play in a football game for Harvard despite being there for two years. Perhaps he got in for reasons other than football. |
Anonymous
| and brain damage |
Anonymous
Uh, no. Trust me. |
Anonymous
Both your examples are URM at elite private schools, these kids would be in demand at Ivies even without athletics. |
Anonymous
| I know a not super academic kid (like he had to take AP Psych and Human Geo to prove to the admissions office that he was somewhat into school) who just got recruited to Stanford (which comes with a scholarship of course). |
Anonymous
Hold on. We need a little perspective here - a power 5 football player is a freak of nature. Almost every power 5 stater is going to be in his highschool’s hall of fame. A recruited player at an Ivy is still a damn good player- multi-year starter and probably made all district and all regional teams as a sophomore or junior. Most will make all state or all met as a senior. That’s not power 5 but a long way from “not being particularly good.” |
Anonymous
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Okay for you skeptics. Here is another one from Jackson-Reed's student newspaper. Player was 6'4" in high school. Notice he got in to an Ivy League on October 10th, and had only been playing football 2 years.
"This month, Jackson-Reed recognizes football star Ian Wall’s recent athletic accomplishments. Although Wall has only been playing football for two years, his skills on the field speak for themselves. Wall tried out for the team during his junior year in hopes of being a kicker, but Minoso Rodgers, coach of the JR Varsity Football team, saw potential for him as a linebacker. Wall attended Janney Elementary and then Alice Deal Middle. Growing up, he played soccer and lacrosse. When asked how his teammates and coaches would describe him, Wall replied, “hardworking, and a leader.” Recruitment is a main focus of senior athletes. Wall has been offered spots at multiple different high-merit schools such as Georgetown University, Davidson College, and Lafayette University. However, on October 10th Wall announced his commitment to Cornell University." |