From two form-letter replies to an FCS commit at his top choice
A solid HS linebacker with good film and a 3.6 GPA who was sending the same 'please recruit me' email to 40 schools and getting almost nothing back. We rebuilt his outreach, narrowed his list, and got him in front of coordinators who actually needed his profile.
- Athlete
- Jordan M. · Class of 2026
- Position
- Linebacker · 6'2" · 218 lbs
- Home
- New Jersey
- Aid value
- Full ride athletic scholarship
2 form letters
Coach replies before
18 in 10 weeks
Coach conversations after
3
Official visits
4 (2 FCS, 2 D2)
Written offers
Where they started
The situation
- 40+ generic emails sent, no personalization
- Highlight film buried on Hudl with no title card, no measurables, no context
- Target list was 'schools my buddy is going to' — mostly out of realistic reach
- Parents overwhelmed, no idea what a fair offer even looked like
The plan we ran
What we actually did
Step 1
Rebuilt the target list
We cut 40 schools down to 22 — sorted into reach, fit, and safety — based on his actual film, size, GPA, and the defensive schemes that use his body type. Half the schools he'd been emailing didn't even run a 3–4.
Step 2
Rewrote the outreach
Every email became coordinator-specific: his position group, one measurable, one film clip cued to a play that fit their scheme, and a specific question. Response rate went from ~5% to over 60%.
Step 3
Coached the follow-up
The offers came from the third and fourth emails, not the first. We built a weekly follow-up cadence — camp registrations, updated film, senior-year highlights — that kept him top of mind without being annoying.
Step 4
Prepared him for the calls
By the time coaches called, he could answer questions about scheme fit, academic major, and why he wanted their program specifically. Coaches noticed.
The turning point
A DC at his eventual school replied to email #3 with 'send me your junior-year cutups vs. spread offenses.' He had them ready the same night. Two weeks later he was on a visit.
The result
Where they ended up
- Committed in December of senior year to his top-choice FCS program
- Full ride athletic scholarship — family paying under $3k/year for books/fees
- Two D2 offers as fall-back options he genuinely liked
- Signed with confidence, not desperation
"We'd spent two years on trainers and camps and gotten nowhere on recruiting. Seven months with Kito and my son was choosing between four schools that actually wanted him. It wasn't magic — it was a plan we could actually follow."
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