Recruiting (cont)
Once you've decided on the size of your program, you need to come up with a plan on how to recruit. There are literally dozens of ways to plan your recruiting, and I'll let new coaches ask and old coaches to share theirs. Here is a plan I use as a large program:
83 RP in week 1 (reg season week 1, not exhibition week)
68 = 17 RP x 4 recruits (maxing four recruits)
15 = 1 RP x 15 net recruits
0 RP remaining
14 scholarships offered (no overlap to above recruits)
There is a 15 pt one time bonus for recruiting in week 1, so after recruiting is processed Friday evening of week 1, I have
4 max recruits at 32 RPE (my 17 + 15 bonus)
15 net recruits at 16 RPE (my 1 + 15 bonus)
14 net recruits at 15 RPE (my 0, schollie only, + 15 bonus)
33 recruits in all
* * * * *
83 RP in week 2
68 = 17 RP x 4 recruits (maxing four recruits)
15 RP banked til next week
There is a one time13 pt bonus for recruiting new recruits in week 2 (and I have none), so after recruiting is processed Friday evening of week 2, I have
4 max recruits at 49 RPE (my 17)
15 net recruits at 16 RPE (no change)
14 net recruits at 15 RPE (no change)
33 recruits in all
* * * * *
83 RP in week 3
68 = 17 RP x 4 recruits (maxing four recruits)
15 RP remaining + 15 banked in week 2 =
30 RP left
20 RP (either 4 or 5 RP) spent on net recruits to get them to 20 RPE (16+4, or 15+5). Let's assume for easy math it is 5 recruits at 16 RPE get +4 RP)
10 RP banked
There is a 11 pt one time bonus for recruiting new recruits in week 3 (again, I have none), so after recruiting is processed Friday evening of week 3, I have
4 max recruits at 66 RPE (my 17)
5 net recruits at 20 RPE
10 net recruits at 16 RPE
14 net recruits at 15 RPE (no change)
33 recruits in all
* * * * *
After week 3 recruiting, there is The Reveal. This is when the game lets everyone know how much competition they have for a recruit, and large programs also get to see the teams numbers of their competition. How much competition you have is expressed in the W3/W12 (within 3/within 12 of YOUR RPE). This number does not include you, so a 3/3 tie is you plus 3 other coaches.
This is what a large program's Top 35 looks like. I used a snippet from the middle of mine, so not to give away too much!
When RPE=Top, then you lead (or are among leaders) for that recruit. I lead for Edward Weeks at 16 RPE, and I (#137) have no competition for him. My W3/W12 is 0/0, and my team number is the only one listed in Teams within 12 pts of the Lead. Tim Coleman got maxed (his current 83 RPE is 66 +17 for week 4), and I only have 16 on him. The leading teams are listed on the right - he's a 3/3 tie. But notice that he is a 12/12 relative to my 16 RPE - so there's a boatload of guys like me hoping he wasn't maxed. Oh well.
* * * * *
Notice I banked 10 RP above. There are 5 recruiting weeks left in the season.
83 RP in week 4
85 = 17 RP x
5 recruits (four max recruits + now maxing one netter)
-2 RP drawn from bank.
Weeks 4-8 are the same - maxing 5 recruits to the end by drawing 2 RP/wk from my points banked. So I max 5 to sign 3. Depending on how risky you are in recruiting, you'll sign 1-2 maxes, and hopefully at least enough netters to make 3 total. If not, you get walk-ons. You don't want walk-ons - they suck.