Internet has changed recruiting

In the not-too-distant past, college football coaches did their recruiting in person at football camps, by watching players live or by word of mouth.

But things are changing rapidly in that regard. While coaches still get their eyes on some of the top recruits in those ways, technology is rapidly expanding a coach's field of vision — no longer are coaches somewhat limited by geography.

Movie studios on home computers and the Internet, in fact, have helped turn national recruiting into a game every program can play.

"It does make it easy to pull up a kid online and evaluate that kid by watching a highlight video," Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. "It's just one more way to get the information."

One such player — Alvin, Texas, product Ashton Jefferson — might actually owe his scholarship offer from Utah State to his video-making skills.

Because he played on a team that won only two games, he wasn't noticed by many colleges despite piling up big numbers. Hoping to find a spot at a Division I school, Jefferson and some friends compiled a video showcasing his highlights and skills.

The honorable mention all-state running back in the Lone Star state shipped that video to coaches across the country. One of them landed at Utah State and resulted in an offer to come check out the school on an official visit.

"I think it really helped," Jefferson said Wednesday. "It helped the coaches say 'Maybe we should check out the dude from Alvin.' The coaches up in Utah noticed and, well, I'm glad they did."

Another method student-athletes use to sell themselves is YouTube.

While coaches would rarely make a scholarship offer based solely on a self-produced, five-minute video of highlights that always seems to leave out the lowlights, the videos end up online and create some buzz among fans and boosters of schools.

"Every kid in America can burn a DVD these days," Andersen said. "I can't. But the kids can, and I think that does help some of them get noticed."

But every touchdown- or tackle-filled highlight video comes with only a portion of what a coach wants to see, and more importantly, hear before a scholarship is offered.

A video will not be replacing face-time recruiting anytime soon.