Antonneous Clayton, a senior at Dooly County High School, was in the Florida stands in November when the Gators took on Vanderbilt. The Swamp was packed and rowdy. The game was close. The fans around him were yelling a player’s name — his.
“Hey Antonneous! Let me get a picture with you!”
“Antonneous, please come here!”
Clayton, a prized defensive end recruit, had merely tweeted before the game that he would be there. In no time, he had 287 favorites.
He is hardly alone. Recruits today publicize their recruiting process on social media — what coaches offer scholarships, the visits they take and the final decisions. It also works both ways. Social media gives coaches a way to contact recruits, typically through Twitter direct messaging.
In 2014, the NCAA ruled that college coaches could electronically message high school recruits, but their Internet interactions could not be made public until the recruit signed with the college.
“Social media today has made recruiting go from an old country road to a superhighway,” said Mike Gilliam, founder of Opportunities Through Athletics, a Marietta sports recruitment services company. “It allows for so much more access. I think that is the thing that has changed the most since traditional recruiting campaigns.”
For Clayton, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports, social media allowed him to connect with coaches while drawing more than 40 offers that he publicized via his Twitter account.
“I didn’t have Twitter at all before I was recruited,” Clayton said. “When I got my 13th offer, all of the coaches were asking if I had a Twitter (account). So, I thought if everybody is asking me if I have an account, Twitter must be hot.”
When Clayton committed to Florida, he tweeted his decision and received 626 retweets and more than 1,000 favorites.
But Gilliam advises clients to be careful with what they tweet. Their social-media account becomes their first impression for recruiters.
“What you find today with coaches is that when they get wind of a prospect, the biggest thing coaches can do is a quick little background check by getting to the social-media vehicles and get a gauge or feel for the character of the recruit,” Gilliam said.
North Gwinnett senior Josh Imatorbhebhe said that nearly every school that contacted him did so through Twitter direct messaging.
“Some of them sent letters, but the ones that were more serious DM’d me and tried to make the relationship,” said Imatorbhebhe, a four-star wide receiver, according to 247Sports.
Imatorbhebhe said waiting on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver recruiting letters paled to instantaneous interaction that Twitter brings. He received 31 offers from schools ranging from such programs as USC and Michigan to Georgia, Florida and Auburn.
He kept his Twitter followers updated on which schools had made offers and when he cut down to his top seven schools, he received 97 retweets and 222 favorites. Imatorbhebhe committed to USC in May.
While recruits and coaches message back and forth privately, it is common that recruits share how their experience is going. Today, recruits are able to share with their followers and fans the details of which offers they are considering and where they will be visiting.
From the high schooler’s mindset, posting information about their offers and visits allows coaches to monitor their interest in a school. Recruits also get a sense of accomplishment and are able to celebrate their progress by posting these kinds of tweets.
When Imatorbhebhe decided on USC, he tweeted out photos reflecting his journey and how becoming a Trojan was now a “dream come true.”
Lassiter senior Cole Taylor, who committed to Elon, posted his offers to allow other schools to access the Interest in him and perhaps expand his recruitment. But Clayton believes excessive, “just look at me” posting can be a doubled-edged sword.
“There are times where you have to sell yourself,” Gilliam said. “You have to be your biggest fan and your loudest voice to get attention from people. If you’re quiet no one will know about you. Yet, it’s all in your approach and tact. For someone who does it the right way, it could be utilized.”
However it is utilized, Gilliam believes social media is not a trend but a common practice that will remain a element in recruiting for years to come.
“Social media is here to stay,” Gilliam said. “It’s only going to become exponential. If all in the proper context, it can create win-win situations out there for recruits and coaches. It can be a good thing. It’s made it much more competitive because kids do promote themselves when they get offers and interest from other coaches. They aren’t hidden secrets anymore.”
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