A football recruiting video is an essential tool for athletes aiming to get noticed by college coaches. Given that most coaches don’t have time to travel and watch hundreds of recruits in person, a well-crafted video can help quickly demonstrate your abilities. By following the guidelines below, you can create a recruiting video that stands out and increases your chances of moving forward in the recruiting process. Leveraging Athlete Pipeline will enhance your visibility, making it easier for coaches to evaluate your performance and keep track of your progress.

How to Use Football Highlight Videos in Your Recruiting

Your recruiting video should be the first thing you send to college coaches. It provides an immediate snapshot of your abilities and helps coaches decide whether to pursue further evaluation. With Athlete Pipeline, you can upload your video to your profile and easily share it with coaches through the platform, maximizing your exposure.

How Long Should a High School Football Highlight Tape Be?

Aim for a video that’s around 3-5 minutes long, showcasing your best 25 plays. Start with your strongest plays to capture attention immediately. Avoid using music, special effects, or overly dramatic transitions—coaches are solely interested in your performance, and Athlete Pipeline ensures that your video is presented in a clear, professional format.

What Kind of Footage Should Athletes Use in Their Football Recruiting Video?

Use full-padded, full-speed game footage to give coaches a realistic view of how you perform in actual games. For kickers and punters, a combination of game and skills footage works best. By utilizing Athlete Pipeline, you can continuously update your game footage and ensure that coaches see the latest highlights from your performance.

How to Edit Your Football Highlight Video

When editing, start with a basic introduction slide that includes:

• Name
• Height and weight
• Position(s) played
• Phone number and email address
• GPA, SAT/ACT scores (if applicable)
• Head coach’s contact info

Throughout the video, highlight yourself in the footage with a simple arrow or drop shadow, allowing coaches to easily track your movements. Athlete Pipeline can help you refine these features, ensuring that your video is both effective and straightforward.

Maximize Your Video on Athlete Pipeline

With Athlete Pipeline, athletes can:

• Easily upload and update their videos regularly.
• Share links to their videos via email, social media, or direct messaging to college coaches.
• Track video views and interactions, helping you see how coaches are engaging with your profile.

Position-Specific Focus

Quarterbacks:

Show a variety of throws—deep passes, quick passes, and throws on the run. Highlight footwork, accuracy, and consistency.

Receivers:

Focus on route running, catching ability, and speed. Use drills that showcase your ability to track the ball and make catches under pressure.

Running Backs:

Demonstrate versatility with footage that highlights running, blocking, and catching abilities. Show powerful runs and quick cuts.

Defensive Backs:

Include plays where you make aggressive tackles, interceptions, and pass breakups. Showcase your reaction time, footwork, and coverage skills.

Linebackers:

Highlight your ability to read plays and make tackles. Display strength, explosiveness, and the ability to stop plays in their tracks.

Defensive Linemen:

Showcase strength in tackling and hand usage in battles at the line of scrimmage. Focus on drills that display physicality and agility.

Offensive Linemen:

Emphasize footwork, agility, and flexibility. Show your ability to block effectively and maintain positioning against opponents.

Punters and Kickers:

Mix game and skills footage, highlighting your consistency and technique in field goals, kickoffs, and punts.

Long Snappers:

Focus solely on skills footage, showing consistency and form with around 15 snaps in your video.

Final Thoughts

A well-made football recruiting video is one of the most important tools you can use to get noticed by college coaches. With Athlete Pipeline, athletes can streamline their recruiting process by uploading, sharing, and tracking their highlight videos, ensuring that coaches always have access to the most updated version of their performance. By following these guidelines and using Athlete Pipeline to maximize your exposure, you’ll be well on your way to standing out in the recruiting process.