NNN    NNN  CCCCCCCC     AAA         AAA         00000000   99999999
NNNN   NNN CCCCCCCCC    AAAAA       AAAAA       0000000000 9999999999
NNNNN  NNN CCC         AAA AAA     AAA AAA      000    000 999    999
NNNNNN NNN CCC        AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA     000    000 999    999
NNNNNNNNNN CCC       AAA     AAA AAA     AAA    000    000 9999999999
NNNNNNNNNN CCC       AAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAA    000    000  999999999
NNN NNNNNN CCC       AAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAA    000    000        999
NNN  NNNNN CCC       AAA     AAA AAA     AAA    000    000        999
NNN   NNNN CCCCCCCCC AAA     AAA AAA     AAA    0000000000        999
NNN    NNN  CCCCCCCC AAA     AAA AAA     AAA     00000000         999
****************
*NCAA Football 09*
****************
****************
NCAA Football 09 FAQ
For XBox 360, PS3
Version 1.2 (8/5/08)
Written by Brad Russell "TheGum"
Email: lunatic_252000@yahoo.com
Website: www.thechaosuniverse.com
****************
Version 1.0 - could translate PS3 to 360 controls, and I will add in the
football section, but the core is finished.
(8/4/08)
Version 1.2 - did the 360 translations and added the football section. I sure
hope I know what I'm talking about.
(8/5/09)
*****************
Table Of Contents
*****************
Use Ctrl + F to quick find in this guide.
Section:    Code:
1. A Brief Foreword
2. Controls        ( CON2222 )
3. Starter Tips        ( TIPS333 )
4. Dynasty        ( FAQ4444 )
Pre-Dynasty        PRDY15
Pick a School        PIAS16
Pre-Season        PRES17
Regular Season        REGS18
Off-Season        OFFS19
5. Football        ( PLAY555 )
Offense            OFF1234
Defense            DEF5678
Special Teams        SPT9012
6. Glossary        ( GLOS666 )
Recruiting        REC25
College Football    CFB26
Football        FOB27
7. Author Info / Copyright
*****************************************************************************
* 1. A Brief Foreword                                                         *
*****************************************************************************
This is my first attempt to provide insight for a sports game. I fancy myself
at being good at football games, and maybe even a smart football fan about
all things football.
The reason I write this guide is because I noticed my own struggles while
playing the dynasty, and I hope to pass the knowledge onto you.
If this guide is a success, maybe I can easily transfer it to other football
titles.
TheGum.
*****************************************************************************
* 2. Controls ( CON2222 )                                                     *
*****************************************************************************
This is the most comprehensive controls section I've ever made, so you better
like it.
Key:
When you see X (A), it means PS3 (XBox 360)
PS3 = 360
X  = A
SQU = X
O  = B
TRI = Y
L1 = LB
R1 = RB
L2 = LT
R2 = RT
LS = LS
RS = RS
D-Pad = D-Pad
L3 = L3
R3 = R3
Start = Start
Select = Back
=======
General
=======
Move player - LS
Sprint - R2 (RT) (can be bad at times)
Switch player - tap O (B), hold and direction to scroll
Show routes (playart) - R2 (RT) + Up; bluff with R2 (RT) + left/right
Audible - SQU (X)
Preplay help - R3
Replay - L1 + R1 (LB + RB)
Timeout - Select (Back)
Pause - Start
=======
Offense
=======
Hurry-up
--------
*Hold all of these after a play is over
Hurry - X (A)
Hurry and call last play - TRI (Y)
Spike - SQU (X)
Fake spike - O (B)
Pre-Play
--------
*While at the line of scrimmage
Timeout - Select (Back)
Snap - X (A)
Fake snap - R1 (RB)
Quiet Crowd - L3
Audible - SQU (X) and then one of the receiver buttons that corresponds to
the pre-set play. These are displayed for you in this game.
Motion - hold O (B)  + left/right to select a player, then press left/right
to send him in motion
Flip run - RS left/right
Slide Protection - L2 (LT) + up/left/down/right
Hot Routes
----------
*These are pre-play
Select player - press TRI and then the receiver's button
Hot Route - after you select a receiver, press one of the following routes
Straight up - LS up
Come back - LS down
In/Out route - LS left/right
Fade - RS up
Drag - RS down
Slant - RS left/right
Block - left/right = L2/R2 (LT/RT)
Smart route - R1 (RB)
Cancel - O (B)
Passing
-------
*Keep in mind you can move in the pocket, and run and pass so long as you
never cross the line of scrimmage
Pass the ball - X, O, SQU, TRI, L1 (A, B, X, Y, LB);
tap for a lob, hold for bullet pass
Throw away (out of pocket) - R1 (RB)
Pump fake - flick RS
Run - R2 (RT) (same as sprint)
Option Plays
------------
Pitch/Lateral - L2 (LT)
Fake pitch - L1 (LB)
Fullback (triple option, hold at handoff) - X (A)
Running
-------
*This is when running to start, with the QB, or after a catch
Sprint - R2 (RT)
Spin - O (B); RS in a circle
Dive - SQU (X)
Hurdle - TRI (Y)
Stiff Arm - X (A)
Protect ball - R1 (RB)
Lateral - L2 (LT)
Juke - RS left/right/down
Highlight stick - RS up
Catching
--------
Switch to receiver - O (B)
Catch - TRI (Y)
Diving catch - SQU (X)
Blocking
--------
*I guess someone may want to do this, sadly
For a running play, switch to player like a hot route, then press L1 (LB) to
control that blocker after the snap. Press the RS up for an impact block, or
down for a cut block.
=======
Defense
=======
Of course after an INT or fumble, normal running moves apply.
Pre-Play
--------
Timeout - Select (Back)
Audible - SQU (X)
Jump Snap - L2 (LT)
Pump up Crowd - L3
Defensive line audibles - L1 (LB)
Linebacker audibles - R1 (RB)
Coverage audibles - TRI (Y)
D-Line Audibles
---------------
*L1 (LB) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel
Shift - LS left/right
Spread/Pinch - LS up/down
Crash - RS right/left/down
DE contain - RS up
Linebacker Audibles
-------------------
*R1 (RB) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel
Shift - LS left/right
Spread/Pinch - LS up/down
Blitz - right/left/all = RS left/right/down
LB Zone - RS up
Coverage Audibles
-----------------
*TRI (Y) and then any of these buttons, or O (B) to cancel
Show blitz/Show man - LS left/right
Soft/Press - LS up/down
Safety zone shade - RS left/right
Safety shade - RS up/down
Hot Routes
----------
*Tap O (B) to select player, then press X (A) and one of these buttons, cancel
with O (B)
Hook Zone - LS up
QB Contain - LS down
Man Coverage - LS left + receiver icon
Buzz zone - LS right
Blitz - RS down
Deep zone - RS up
QB spy - RS left
Flat zone - RS right
After Snap
----------
Sprint - R2 (RT)
Switch - O (B)
Dive - SQU (X)
Strip ball - X (A)
Strafe - hold L2 (LT)
Intercept - TRI (Y)
Diving INT - SQU (X)
Swat - X (A)
Hit stick - RS up for high; RS down for low
Bull rush - R1 (RB)
Finesse move - L1 (LB)
Hands up - TRI (Y)
=============
Special Teams
=============
Kick - LS change height and direction of kick; RS down until in the red, then
up in the direction when in the red or close to it for power. Don't
adjust kickoff height please.
Punt - same as kick, just know low punts will be returned easier.
Fair catch - TRI (Y)
Kneel in endzone before leaving - don't move
All other moves apply when returning.
*****************************************************************************
* 3. Starter Tips ( TIPS333 )                                                 *
*****************************************************************************
#1. Watch out for when entering the dynasty mode, as it resets the base
difficulty set in you quick games. Basically, if you blow out your first 2
opponents, most likely the game difficulty was set to varsity. Just something
to watch out for.
#2. In most of the windows there is the option to press select and have a
helpful audio track give you some advice.
#3. Be sure to quick save (LS) when you've done something, such as finished
your recruiting or a game. Not only do you ward off the ability of a storm to
ruin your game, but you cheaters can at any time restart when you're losing a
game. It's up to you if you do this, everyone has at some point.
#4. Please note that there are ways to filter most lists with the shoulder
buttons.
#5. When playing, I always kick the ball to start a game. That way, no matter
what happens in the first half, you can start the second half with the ball.
#6. Not much harm in going for it on 4th down when the ball is near the
40, especially on Heisman where kickoffs and returns usually put the CPU team
on the 40 anyway.
#7. A basic tip while passing is to look downfield. Of course if you have
routes that take a while to develop, maybe then you can watch the pocket
collapse and enter scramble mode. You should see where the blitz is coming
from right after the snap and either respond or see if it's picked up.
#8. It's best to learn all the shifts before a play. There are three on
defense and one on offense. Then learn all the motions and hot routes for
offense; in time you may want to learn about the defensive hot routes too.
#9. Must play mascot mashup! Maybe that's ALL you need to play! You can block
punts, eh?
*****************************************************************************
* 4. Dynasty  ( FAQ4444 )                                                     *
*****************************************************************************
NCAA Football 09 Dynasty FAQ
===========
Pre-Dynasty    PRDY15
===========
Before you jump in, I need you to play a normal game. Just play a quick game
against the computer. You be a great team and play a decent-enough team. If you
win by a lot (20+) then please go to the game options and up the game
difficulty. Play another game and if you still win by a lot, play another
quick game on Heisman. If you win, and not even by a lot, but if you win a
game on the hardest difficulty, you are pretty good.
You can play more games, figure out the controls, get to know your team, get
to know how the game of football works, and play until you think you're ready
to invest some time into this game.
Now, if you plan to sim through this dynasty, then it doesn't matter how well
you can play the football portion of this game. But if you want to play, if
you want to feel what it's like to win and lose, if you want to know what it
feels like to kick a walk-off field goal in the BCS title game, please find
the difficulty that is right for you.
*NOTE: Be aware of what caliber of team you are good with. If you are barely
winning games on Heisman with a top school, then you can only hope to play
dynasty with a top school. By picking a low school on a hard difficulty you
will probably taste defeat a few more times than you think. Then again, if
you truly are good, it shouldn't matter - okay, it matters if you take on
Georgia with a crappy team.*
=============
Pick a School        PIAS16
=============
Your first choice should be easy. If you are an old pro of these football games
then you should probably get a lower level school. If you want to play your
favorite team, do that too. And if you want to have an easier time, pick a
powerhouse school.
Colleges are ranked by stars. The best ones have 6 while the weaker ones have
just one star. If you scroll through the conferences (which should be a
shoulder button as you are selecting a team) and go to the Independents, you
will see a one star team - Army - and a six star team - Notre Dame (laugh at
that 3-9 record while your at it!).
You have a ton of teams to choose from, and the decision is purely yours.
Since this is your first dynasty, or you're just brushing up on your skills,
then pick a 3-6 star team that you don't hate and go with them to make things
easier.
I shouldn't have to say this, but the reason why Oklahoma has 6 stars is
because high school kids want to go there, and each star less than 6 means that
team/school is not going to have as easy of a time as OU at recruiting or even
winning games. Of course if you play the games yourself as a 1 star team and
you win the BCS title, then things will get better in a hurry.
Keep in mind, this is a DYNASTY mode. If you just want to play the games, you
can let the CPU handle the recruiting, but you play this mode to see how well
you can build up your team's reputation, not to just play the games. You
can always change from hands-on to hand-off or vice versa at any time.
Pick a team and press start. I know you can control up to 12 teams, but why?
Be sure to let the game make names for your players, because HB #12 will get
old real quick.
==========
Pre-Season        PRES17
==========
Pre-Season Recruiting
---------------------
First we need to select some high schoolers that will be your targets to join
your team.
Create a Player
---------------
One of the fun things you can do is make your own player when you start
recruiting. You can make a lot, 25, but you should only keep it to one or two
at the most as it is quite time-consuming. If you are just starting out, you
may want to skip this as it doesn't mean you add this player to your team, but
more on that later.
Creating a player is easy. Pick a position, name, hometown, appearance, and
stats. The stats is the main thing to keep in mind as the stats you choose
affect the two stats at the top: tendency and overall rating. You should, out
of good faith, reduce the stats he does not need at his position and then
increase the stats you want him to have. I have not tried it, but I imagine
making him 100 in all or the main stats he needs will make him a 5-star recruit
and harder for you to grab. So make him good at what he does, but don't
overdo it.
Some things to keep in mind. His hometown relative to your school's location
may have an effect on your ability to recruit him, maybe not, but something to
be aware of. You may want to turn him into a senior, as these guys are coming
from high school, so it depends on how long you want to wait to get him, on
top of if you even win him over or not. And when you make a player(s), be
sure to put them on your board in the next step, otherwise all the work you
did on him was for nothing if another school gets him.
So if you are a bad school, it's possible to get a 5-star player, but it would
be easier if you made slightly-above-average players so you can get them
easier.
Recruiting Central
------------------
So now you're at the Recruiting Central screen and there are a few tabs to
open up. Most are not needed, at least not now. At this point in time, I want
you to decide if you want to be fully hands-on with this recruiting, or if you
are at a 6-star school and you just want to play ball. If you got a top school,
you can pretty much let the CPU handle all your troubles. But if you are one
of the low teams you should probably do all the work yourself.
By default the CPU can do all the work for you, so just press start and be on
with it. But if you want to turn off the computer help, go to the Recruiting
Strategy tab and turn all three options off, or leave the "Recruiting Board
Assistance" one on as it is the most important one.
My School
---------
I go to The University of Oklahoma / OU / Oklahoma, so I know my school is tops
in most of the areas. However, if you have picked a school with lower than 6
stars, you probably need to open this window to view the info. One star doesn't
mean your team is terrible in all the values, it just means you'll have a few
poors and fairs in there. Look it over, get a feel for what you got, and then
exit.
Picking Prospects
-----------------
You have three tabs to add prospects to your board: Russell Top 100, Search,
and Database. All three are options for picking recruits from around the
continent (because even though I'm sure it's legal for someone in Canada to
go to the American Army college, it still looks weird).
All recruits are listed from top to bottom in best to worst order. I don't like
using the search because it will spit out athletes (ATH), and though they may
work, you want guys for the positions you need to fill. The Russell Top 100
is nice for late in the season, checking where the top guys went, but it's not
a good way to find guys you need.
I say just use the Database. You let shoulder button should filter between the
postions, while the right one filters by state and Canada; not much reason to
use state filter unless your team is that desperate and needs anyone, which may
happen.
First, you need to press the button at the bottom by your school's name which
will bring up the team needs (you can also find these in many other areas).
If you need six players, then recruiting will be easy; if you need ten, your
job just got a lot harder. Keep in mind you can flip between offense and
defense, and don't let a kicker or punter go un-noticed if you need one.
*NOTE: Remember, if you made a recruit, go find him. Too bad if you forgot his
name.*
Just stay on offense, and if QB/HB/FB/WR/TE are needed, go and filter the list
to each position and pick a handful of guys from the list. Be sure to scroll
through the list for any guys will green dots under "status" as that means
they kinda want to go to your school. But also keep in mind of their star
rating; if worst comes to worst, you will find tons of 1-star guys that will
go to any team. You want guys as high up the list as possible. To make sure you
are picking guys that will be easier to grab, look at their "Interest" guage
to see if they are willing to play for you at all. If the bar is about a
third full, tag them.
Of course go through all your positions on offense and defense. You can only
have 35 guys, and no matter how many want to play for you, you only have 25
scholarships to offer. MAKE SURE you have at least two guys for each position,
and be aware that you may need more than one for any position - in which case
go get more of those guys. Once you have a couple of guys for your needs, if
there is any more space, go find some top recruits and get them on your
board too. You probably won't get more than a few top recruits, but you can
at least try.
One last thing before you tag a ton of 4-5 star guys, if you are a lower
school you will notice that your green-dot guys are only 1-3 caliber players.
This means you are more-than-likely out of the running for the 5-star kids,
but you may target a few 4-stars, and mostly you will need to set your sights
on 2-3 stars for now.
Look, if you are a lowly school, this is not a sprint. It's called a DYNASTY,
and no one expects you to take Army and make them the national champion this
year. You can do it in one year if you manually play all the games, but even
then it's an up-hill battle. And before I go too deep, just know that you can
only recruit players that want to play for you, period.
Recruiting Board
----------------
In the pre-season all you can do is change the ranking of players on your
board. I want you to look at the INT, interest, value and see where that player
has your school. Put all the guys that say 1st on the top, and then 2nd and
3rd and you get the point, I hope. Then take the kids with N/A interest values
and stick them on the bottom, unless you really really want them, in which
case you keep them at the top since they will be hardest to win over.
The interest means how committed the player is to your school RIGHT NOW, not
when he is deciding a school or where he will go. At this momemt it is just
what he is thinking about with no schools coming after him. So guys that
already think highly of your program are easy to get, and also possible to
lose to higher powers, but at least they already like you.
So change the ranks of the 35 guys on your board in descending order of their
interest, excluding anyone you want really bad (keep them at the top). You
don't have to get their ranks perfect, just move high interest guys up to at
least the top 20, and the N/A guys to the bottom. Of course lowly schools will
probably have boards of ten or so guys that want to go to your school, and
then a bunch of guys who are N/A. No matter how many you have, please order
your N/A guys in descending order based on their caliber. Remember, you should
have all the guys you need on this board, so any order will work.
You must also be aware that you will not get all of these kids. Sure, with
smart recruiting you can get most, but the higher your standards, and even
targetting 3-star kids, the more likely another school will scoop them up.
Even on the low level, it's bottom-feeders against bottom-feeders, so you'll
have to be smart if you want the guys you want.
*NOTE: You may be thinking, what about higher ranked players and better stars
and all that. There is no way you can think about a players caliber when your
school stinks. Heck, even top schools can't win over all the top players. You
need to stick with interest on their part, not yours.*
Once your board is ready, exit this screen and go to redshirting.
Redshirting Players
-------------------
You may be like me where you've heard of redshirt players and kinda assumed
it meant they sat out a year. Yes, that is what it means, but there's a bit
more to it. For one, you need your best players on the field, especially if
they are seniors. You also need backups at each position, 5-6 WR's, 4-6 CB's,
1 kicker, 1 punter, and then at least two of everything else.
So if you have a lot more than you need players at a few positions, then you
can redshirt some. However, it's best to only redshirt freshmen or sophmores.
Why? Well because redshirting means that player cannot play this year, but
they can still play for four years, meaning they are on your team for 5 years
max. So the perfect redshirt candidate is a freshmen (FS), that is in the low
60's or is just not needed to backup.
A bad situation is when you have 5 HB's, most seniors or juniors, one low year
guy, and all of them are in about the 70's. Keep the best guy if he's a senior
and then redshirt any of the 1-2 year guys. It's best not to redshirt more
than two players at any position, and you can usually redshirt a guy at
each position, usually; not if you only have two on either line.
If a player has a (RS) next to their year, then they've already been through
this and cannot be redshirted again. Keep in mind you can take off the RS of
any player during the season, but you can't put it back on them again.
If you're not so keen on the positions, here are my minimums for each:
QB - 2
HB - 2
WR - 4
TE - 2
FB - 1
LT - 2
LG - 2
RT - 2
RG - 2
C - 2
LE - 2
RE - 2
DT - 4
LOLB - 2
MLB - 2
ROLB - 2
CB - 4
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P - 1
You don't want to redshirt juniors or seniors, but you can if don't need that
players skills, or he's just not that good. You don't redshirt freshmen when
they are extremely good for that position. But if a freshman is 76, the second
best at that spot, and a junior below him is 74 or so, then it doesn't make a
big difference if you redshirt the new guy; unless you really need his skill-
set, the junior is fine.
One key thing to keep in mind is that there is such thing as special teams,
the team of players that hits the field between possessions. These squads are
made of the second and third stringers, with top players in there too. So
sometimes you may want to keep more than the bare minimum, but it's hard to
tell who makes the special teams. It's not a big deal, just something to
consider.
It's tricky, and each team and each year is different, but you need to keep a
pulse of your future. Again, keep your best, redshirt the extras and new guys.
Depth Chart
-----------
Should be a shoulder button to auto-re-order, which is wise if you've put the
redshirt on some players. The guys at the top will be your starters, with the
guys below them as backups or as the next in line (such as the WR). Redshirts
are out, and you'll see them in your substition list at the bottom. For the
open slots you can fill them yourselves. The only position I worry about is
whether or not the fullback (FB) is fast. I would replace a slow one with a
fast TE if there were extre TE's, but that may not be the case for you.
Again, just let the computer fix things up and you're good to go.
Custom Schedules
----------------
Most of your games are set, the ones will locks by them, but you can select
any other game and change it to another team that is free for the week. By
pressing left or right you will change whether it's a home (vs) or an away
game (at).
The main thing to keep in mind is the "Strength of Schedule" rating at the
top. Any A means that if you win 10 to 12 of your games, you have a good shot
at playing for the national title. Anything less means you depend on the
season and going 12-0 in order to play for the big prize. Please make an A
schedule if you are a good team.
If you are a bad team, you should shoot for a C- at the least. Your goal is to
make a bowl game, which doesn't mean you can be the #1, but at least you'll
have had a good year. Of course you still have to win those games, so don't
think you can schedule top teams and walk into the title. Your default schedule
should be about where you want to go, but feel free to put in a team in the
top 25; maybe a 20-25 school at the most. Please, don't put in the Bulldogs or
OU unless you want a game you are sure to lose. Set your sights low and things
should work out. As a low team, you just want to make a bowl game, no matter
which one. Let you skills as a football player decide which top 25 team you
select.
Also, if you know nothing of college ball, most of the teams not in the top 25
are still pretty good. Then again, teams in the top 25 may turn out to be
terrible. All you can do is play the teams you play, what those teams do is
out of your control.
Now exit, save your changes to the schedule, save your game (should be the left
stick), and then start your season.
==============
Regular Season        REGS18
==============
So now you're ready to play, maybe. If you just want to recruit and sim games,
that is fine. If you have the CPU recruiting for you and you want to sim the
games, that works for me too. If you want to do it all, keep reading.
Basics of Recruiting
--------------------
Go to your recruiting board and get ready to go after some players. This is
your weekly routine, so learn it well. First, let's look at the basics.
INT - This means how the prospects looks upon your school, not how many
interceptions he will throw/get. If this value has a 1st, then the guy is
probably committing to your program. Keep in mind that when he commits depends
on this next value.
Stage - Top 10, Top 8, Top 5, Top 3, and then over. I would be the first to
admit I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this means what schools they are deciding
between. If it's top 3 and their INT is still 4th or N/A, then I'm pretty sure
you have no chance at getting them. I know this because you never get a guy
that has you any lower than 1st in INT. So really, the stage doesn't matter so
much as INT, and if the guy isn't warming up to you, check his stage and
consider dropping him off your board.
CH - Change is either a dash or a arrrow point up or down. A dash means he has
not improved his feelings toward you, and the arrows mean how you are dropping
in his interest. If it's staying the same, but he still has interest in you,
you can still change it. If you're falling late, perhaps it's time to give up
on him.
Visit - This is either N/A or Ready. If he's ready you can call him and
schedule a visit to your campus. You need to pay attention to this for all the
players on your board (even guys not on your board can be ready), and get a
visit planned ASAP. Don't put everyone in a visit on one game, but please get
them to come early or else they may lose a ton in interest in your program.
Offers - Yes, No, soft, hard, tot, and none are the values here. If a guy
has no offers late, offer him a scholarship and he's likely to commit. If he's
got ten early, good luck getting him. Soft means the kid is leaning toward that
school, and hard means he has committed to you or someone else.
And that's it. Aside from his caliber and position, these are the values you
need to keep in mind. As the season rolls on and you add/drop players from
your board, you will need to consider rankings and their caliber. But assuming
you have the players' interest in your program first, you are off on the right
foot.
Week 1 Recruiting
-----------------
Here is the main portion of this game, maybe even above or on par with the
football stuff. Think of it as a board game within a real game. You need to
win this game more so than the games on your schedule, especially if you plan
on having a true dynasty; the games will handle themselves, or maybe you can
have a hand in that too.
Stay on your recruiting board and go down your list. Select your top prospect
and select the Quick Call option. Select either 30 or 20 minutes, depending
on how many of your 10 hours you want to spend on him, and also offer him a
scholarship. You may want to spend 45 minutes (which is 30 and then 15 for
offering) on top players that aren't very interested in you, and then 20
mintues (with the offer included), on the guys already into your school. It's
a good idea to get the top 15-20 guys offers as soon as possible.
You may notice after each call you get a "Results" window that has "Pitch
Results" and then a list of items. We will discuss these later in detail, but
for now just know that the mores pitches you unlock early, which means spending
more time with guys, the easier it will be to reel them in. If you spend 20
minutes on guys, then you only unlock one pitch since you only had 5 extra
minutes to talk, but sometimes this is your best option, especially early.
Now big schools can go hard after top guys and then lightly entertain the
rest. Smaller schools need to spend 20 minutes max on each guy and offer them
spots because your board will probably fill up with players that commit
elsewhere. You could maybe just go hard after a few guys, but that is a big
risk if you can never get them to warm up to you. You better just go for
quantity, not quality.
So you've spent all ten hours making these offers. There is no more you can
do but edit your rankings, but no reason to do that now. You are done with
recruiting for this week.
-----
As is the case for every week, after recruiting you should save, look up the
headlines and news, maybe eyeball the Heisman watch and other things of
interest. And when ready, go play/sim your week so you can get to the next
week of recruiting. Remember not to pass over a week because you need all the
time you can get.
Unlocking Pitches
-----------------
The key to successful recruiting is to find out as many of these as you can.
You do this by either quickcalling or calling directly. Quickcalling is the
way to go as you don't have to do all the work yourself and you may learn more
about a prospect.
When calling directly, which you only do when you set up a visit or are hard
selling your pitches, you shouldn't try to do too much during these calls or
the player will get mad. You'll notice the football head that displays emotions
up top. That guy isn't crucial, but a happy player is more likely to warm up
to your school. Talk to them too much and they will lose interest, so only
unlock a few pitches and then hang up.
But the majority of the time you will use the quickcall to get as many of
these pitches unlocked as soon as possible. These pitches affect the interest
of the player and will be crucial in them having a good visit.
The best amount of time in a quickcall is 30 minutes, especially if you have
20 or so players you really need/want. Smaller schools probably need to
spread out the time more and spend 20 minutes a player.
I hav
en't really explained pitches, just how to get them. But that is because
you don't use them just yet. Here are the ratings the player has for all of
the things you can pitch:
Most
Very High
High
Above Average
Average
Low
Very Low
Least
There are two "verys" and one least and one most. The others can vary, but
you usually can't do much with those anyway.
Individual School Ratings
-------------------------
Top schools need not worry, all of your ratings for these are great or higher.
Lower schools need to pay attention to the things they have to sell their
prospects. Since you can't talk to a player forever, you really just need to
find his two "Very Highs" and his "Most." Compare those to the ratings of
your school in that area. If you have "Elite" or "Excellent" congrats on the
committed prospect, usually. But if the players interest and your school's
rating have a considerable distance between them, than there is a problem.
Before we go too far, here are the areas of your school:
Academic Prestige
Campus Lifestyle
Coach Experience
Coach Prestige
Conference Prestige
Championship Contender
Athletics Facilities
Fan Base
Pro Factory
Program Stability
Program Tradition
Television Exposure
And here are possible ratings:
Elite
Excellent*
Great
Very Good
Good
Fair
Sub Par
Poor
*Not sure if this order is right or if these are all of them. I have seen at
least once where an Excellent along with a very high went sour.
The key is to match your ratings with the player's best interests, especially
on his visit. If you don't sell him his Most interest, then if another school
can do better, wave bye bye to the prospect. If you sell and sell him things
he isn't interested the most in and you never see his interest change over
time, best to cut your losses and drop him from your board.
Week 2-4 Recruiting
-------------------
Most of your top recruits and lower ones will display "Ready" on their visit
value, and that means you need to call them directly and plan a visit on a
week as soon as you can. They may need a lot longer for a visit, or they may
never visit, but it's usually around this time that you will get a visit for
them.
During these direct calls you should also spend some time unlocking more
pitches and interests of the player. Just ask about 2 or 3 of the unknown
interest in a pitch and then move on. Keep him mind you always want to leave
the player as happy as can be.
*NOTE: If you schedule a visit in the current week, you may want to talk with
them about two pitches or so and then schedule so you can get a better idea
of what they are interested in when you schedule activities.*
-----
You should also move around prospects on your board. I like putting the guys
that want visits on the top. I know you would think guys interested in the
program don't need to be paid so much more attention, but at least for now it
helps you know what players are most interested in playing for you.
Smaller schools should look for 3-star guys showing any interest and move them
way up the board as 3-stars will improve any lowly school. Again, bad schools
need to offer as many scholarships as possible, spending 20 minutes a quickcall
to get players interested. And remember, when deciding where to spend the
last couple of hours of your time, consider the remaining players' caliber.
For my lists I
Also keep in mind the players you haven't talked to. Perhaps just spend 20
minutes with them and offer them scholarships if you have the time and if you
want them. If a player has six offers and his interest never changes, it could
be precious time wasted if you call him.
Here is how I like to order my board according to priority:
Top desired players - 5 star players out of my league, just one or two.
Level of interest - Players with "1st" are at the top of my board, and if they
drop them they stay there in case it goes back up and to know the guys
on the edge. Basically they can only go up, not fall.
Need - Someone I need at a position, and thing I overlook a lot because there
is so little time. Just know your team has needs, but getting good in
other areas is not bad either, and you can usually pick up any body to
fill a position at your own risk.
Least number of offers - If I'm the only one to offer the kid a scholarship,
then maybe he'll gain some interest over time
Players not interested - These are the ones that you take the "wait and see"
approach; if they never change, drop them after a few weeks
If the computer is helping you, you may notice some recruits will be missing or
added to your board, and if you have no help some guys may just go off of it.
So keep an eye in the upper corner for how many recruits out of 35 you have,
and then maybe go fill the gap with a new prospect.
One last thing, don't forget that if it doesn't seem like you can find a good
player to fit that position, look for the athletes, which always pop up when
you perform a search. Small ATH's will tend to be corners, receivers, and
maybe runners. 200 pounders will fit into FB, TE, LB spots, maybe. And then
the 250+ pounders can go on the lines, maybe. There isn't really a "size
matters" idea for players at a position, but you can always compare a guy to
that position and see where he fits in in the off season.
-----
Remember, just quickcall at this point. Big schools can focus on their top
20 players and go hard after them, spending 30 minutes or so on them. Smaller
schools may need to spend 20 minutes with everyone just so you can get your
hands on as many players as possible.
You will never be able to talk with everyone for the amount of time you wish,
but it's a long season and the best thing is to focus on the guys you need,
then talk with the guys you want.
*NOTE: To sim to bye weeks, just sim through the week you are on, because
choosing the bye week only gives you the option to go through it, and you don't
want to miss a whole week of calling.*
Selling, Swaying, and Finding
-----------------------------
You have three options when calling a player over the phone directly. But
first you should know that there are two other factors in play. One is time,
and if you keep in sight the counter at the top of the screen, it will go down
when doing an action. Sometimes it just goes a few minutes, and at other times
it just keeps going. The goal is for the "Pitch Complete" message to pop up in
the upper corner, which means you've learned the player's interest in that
area.
Once you find his level of interest, if there is a lock by his interest of that
area then you can only sell that pitch to him. If it is open that generally
means you can perhaps sway his mind on the subject. Swaying is the same as
pitching, where it can take a varying amount of time, but the result is either
success or failure. A good sway means he'll have more interest in that area,
and a failed sway means you just wasted your time. I would say only sway if
your school offers good quality at that spot, otherwise don't waste your
time. I've even seen good sways DROP the rating, so be careful.
*NOTE: For long finds/sways, it may be best to cut it off when the player is
most happy, as it usually just goes down with the more time it takes, but the
result is you still don't know his position on the area. I wouldn't go so far
as to say write down the incompleted pitches because you just want the player
happy.*
The goal of finding his interests is so that you can sell them to him, and also
plan activities, and maybe even make a promise. You are looking for his two
"Very Highs" and the "Most" out of him; otherwise you need to keep finding his
interests. Conversely, once you find these three you can usually stop, but only
if your school meets those needs, otherwise you'll need to find his "above
average" and "high" concerns so you'll have something to show him.
Hard selling is to make that football face smile big (with teeth showing), and
that means the kid is buying into your program. If hard selling isn't working,
you'll need to sell something else or find other pitches to sell. Trust me,
it's easy if you're a big school.
One important observation I've made is that the difference among his level of
concern and your school's rating in an area is that it takes longer and usually
ends badly. For  instance, if you are selling him a pitch that is most
important to him, but your school is "fair" or "average", then it usually takes
30 minutes to hard sell and the end result is he is unhappy. I don't have a
clear grasp of whether it's the difference or just his highest concerns, but
no matter what you want the "Pitch Complete" sign for a good pitch to raise
his interest.
*NOTE: Sometimes you can learn a little bit on the player's position when
trying to sell or sway in the phrase he offers at the top. If he says "I
could go either way" on a subject, it doesn't mean a sway will work, just that
the option to try is there. I've never seen a bad sway work the next time,
but maybe it's possible.*
Keep in mind, even an extremely happy player could never sign with you if you
are not the top school on his list. It's never a good idea to sell him his
top concerns if you are not very good in that area.
Visits
------
You schedule visits as soon as the player is ready, and you want to set it on
a week when there is a home game, best if it's one you can win but any home
game is fine.
*NOTE: You can find out one of their likes when you pick a week. At the top
will be a phrase that reflects what they are interested in. Something like
"could we talk over dinner?" is a sign they have Coach Prestige way up on
their list of concerns.*
During the week of the visit you will be reminded of players coming in. You
do not need to call them directly, just select the player and then set up three
activities for him to do. These will reflect the pitches you've unlocked as
you want them to do things they are most interested in. If you scheduled a
week not when you set up the call, then you can quickcall them for 20 minutes
or so to unlock more pitches, then set the activities.
You could even guess as to what the player may be interested in. Perhaps you
don't know a pitch, but your school/team/coach is elite in that area, so
it may work to set that up. Even better if you've unlocked the things he's
least into as the rest can do no harm, or at least you have a high chance
of hitting a good one.
If the visit is a success, and top schools usually have good visits by default,
then it helps the kid decide. The game played, whether home or away, doesn't
seem to have a big impact on your letter grade, which is displayed next to the
visit column in the next week. A visit isn't required, but it surely helps, and
then it's better to have a high rated visit then a bad one. If you want a
great visit, simply match his top concerns with your best offerings. And if
you can't, then expect lower grades and him to commit elsewhere if another
school can do better.
*NOTE: Bad visits don't mean the player is lost, just that it will be easier
for him to commit elsewhere.*
Wee 5-8 Recruiting
------------------
Most of your prime recruits and the ones most interested in you will have
already had a visit, but of course you need to keep an eye on visits until the
season is over.
Before and after the visits, or just constantly if a visit never happens, you
need to be quick calling and getting info on these kids. It's about week eight
or so that you should start calling them up directly and hard selling their
biggest interests until they have your school on top. If unsure, a key move
would be to continue to quick call until they move into Top 3 in their stage,
as it can get a bit stupid when calling them directly - losing time for no
reason and such.
Now, it is wise to hard sell a pitch when your school has poor quality in that
area? No, it isn't, so you need to hard sell the best of what you got compared
to his top most concerns. Let's say he most wants early playing time, but
there is little chance of that. But if he has a "very high" interest in
the campus life and your school is okay at that spot, then hard sell that.
Keep in mind the emotion football at the top. It's best to hard sell just two
items a call, keeping in mind how long it takes for a pitch to complete, as
you don't want to waste his and your time. But I hope you realize not to start
talking directly until you have unlocked a lot of pitches, and even if you call
a player you know little about, feel free to find a few pitches and be sure
to keep him happy. Long talks are never good.
*NOTE: If you spoil a call and he's mad, hopefully you can quickly hard sell a
top concern to leave him happy.*
-----
More importantly, this is almost your last chance to add players to your board
that have the best chance of joining. If you notice those players with no
interest in you no matter how much you call, remove them from your list and
go find some other guys that aren't at the top 5 or 3 schools for their
decision.
When going to pick up more players to add to your board, keep in mind someone
may have gained interest in you (green dots), and if you add them and look
at them on the board, perhaps they have no offers. Spend 20 minutes and offer
them a spot, it's sure to go over well.
*NOTE: I sure hope by now you know how to filter out players by position in
the database, that you don't have to comb through the whole list at once.
If you use the search function, be warry of those ATH (athletes) because a
191 lb kid would not make a good lineman.*
It's not "panic and go get 1 or 2 star guys" just yet, but that time is close.
You don't even need to re-evaluate your needs at this point (assuming your
board was set up right), you are just still trying to get the guys you've
selected.
*NOTE: A good piece of advice when searching for new prospects is to see their
top three schools. It may take an advanced knowledge of college football, or
just some American geography lessons, but if the recruit is from Texas and his
top schools are Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, that's the red flag that
"proximity to home" is high on this momma's-boy's list.*
Also, some guys will start committing, maybe not to you but they could now or
even before. They could also not make up their mind until after the season, so
don't panic on any one guy.
*NOTE: Keep in the back of your head that there are players you can commit
that you do not need, such as extra HB's, QB's, WR's, and the such. Remember,
extra guys can flush out your special teams at the least.*
Late Season Recruiting
----------------------
So powerhouse schools have a handful of commits by now, while you low schools
are still putting in hard work to get those 3-star guys. Some guys will commit,
some won't, so all you can do is stick with guys that are still thinking about
you - how sweet.
*NOTE: It's still a good move to just quick call guys still at Top 5 in their
stages. Remember, when it says "Soft" on their offer tab, it's your last chance
to change their mind.*
Now you really need to weed out the guys that have no interest in your school.
Guys with N/A interest that have been given scholarships and have been called
a few times can be dropped from your board, and there should be anywhere from
5-10. Also keep an eye on players' offers from schools and caliber, all
relative to your school. If they have 4 offers, no interest in you, and they
are a 4-5 star kid - connect the dots and realize they do not want to play
for you.
Now you need to set your sights lower, or just change them to other kids of the
same caliber. Go to the database when you have spots on your board and still
base your picks on kids with the highest, no matter how slight, interest in
your school. Do not look at how the player ranks against other players at the
same position. That doesn't mean go to the bottom of the board and get 1-2
star guys, just have your sights set down a wee bit. And I hope you remember
you have needs, which should still be atop your boards no matter what.
When you have new guys on the board, you should have a good number of them
with no offers. Usually just giving them a spot will make them commit, but
it's best to play it safe in case some other school offers to him too. You can
choose to go hard or soft after these guys as they likely won't get many, if
any offers.
Just maintain the recruiting routine and keep in mind it's on hold during the
bowl season, probably because each school would have different starts to the
post season. But you're not done with recruiting just yet. If by the end of the
season you got the guys you want and need, then the rest is just a few extra
dolla' bills in your wallet.
Don't forget to go get players at other positions. Like if your school only
needs linemen and defensive guys, now would be a good chance to get some sexy