Lemming Prep Insider Mailbag Part 2

In this segment athletes, parents, coaches, anyone has a chance to ask me any questions they want whether its tips on recruiting, my thoughts on an upcoming game or even what I thought of the last season of Game of Thrones. As long as its relevant to high school football/recruiting or just plain entertaining I’ll consider it for this series.

RULES:
All questions are anonymous so nobody will know who asked it besides me.
No questions involving anything negative about a player, coach or team.
Please keep it appropriate.

What’s your advice on recruiting if my son is not getting much playing time? He does not have enough playing time for a highlight video and it seems like it will take a while to get enough film to make one. What can he do in the mean time to boost his chances of getting recruited?

He has to do whatever he can to earn a spot in the starting lineup because you’re right in that if he doesn’t play or have a highlight tape then he won’t get recruited. I’m not sure the situation you’re son is in (if he’s a QB behind a D1 recruit on the depth chart), but he has to work harder than anyone else on the field so he can solidify a spot in the starting lineup so he can build a highlight tape. Whether that be getting extra lifts in the weight room, getting in extra reps after practice, or going to speed camp on the side he has to get in that starting lineup.

Thoughts on Palatine football this year?

I like Palatine a lot this year as they’re sitting at #10 in my team rankings and have an argument to be higher. They beat a good Stevenson team week 1 and have not looked back beating other solid teams along the way. I really like Zach Oles at QB and think he’s being severely overlooked by college scouts because he’s 5’11”. No, 5’11” isn’t ideal height for a college QB, but Oles can sling it. They have some other talented players in Grochowski, Cornelius, O’Shea and Tapia to name a few. I can see this team making a deep run into the playoffs.

Are there still opportunities for kids to receive offers to play football at D1 AA colleges if they don’t have offers yet?

All schools that can offer scholarships D1, D1AA, D2 and NAIA are different when it comes to scholarships. Meaning, it really just depends on how many scholarships they offered at that point in time. Some D1AA schools may not have any scholarships left, while some D1 schools may have had 0 scholarships left, but just had a kid transfer out and open up a scholarship. There’s really no easy way to tell it really just depends on timing and on the school.

Do college coaches and recruiting coaches look at player emails during this time of year?

While I can’t speak for all coaches and recruiting coordinators, the easy answer to your question is yes. However, with the season in full swing, this is the coaches busiest time of the year so they may look at it, but they may not respond to it. If they do respond to it their response time will likely be slower than if it were the offseason.

My son was injured in game 5 of this season, but he should be back for the playoffs. How does it affect his college recruiting in your mind?

No matter how severe, it’s always sad to see a kid get hurt as every game and every snap can be crucial towards getting college coaches to buy into you and offer you. However, if he still has a good chunk of film from this season and hopefully some varsity film from last season it won’t be as big of an issue.

Thoughts on the following statement: Jack Grochowski and Johnny O’Shea are the best WR duo in the state.

While I like those 2 receivers, there’s lots of great duos (and even trios) in the state. There’s more that are slipping my mind at the moment, but here’s some I really like…

Eric Rooks and Ryan James – De La Salle
Isaiah Robertson and Owen Piche – Neuqua Valley
CJ Coldon, Jordan Goodwin and Edwyn Brown – Althoff Catholic
Micah Jones and Jalin Tolbert – Warren Township
Kendall Smith and I’Shawn Stewart- Bolingbrook
The Marchese brothers (Henry and Michael) and Alex Clapstick – Stevenson

It’s impossible to pick a favorite out of all of them. Tons of talented duos.