Today’s interviewee is Camden County coach Jeff Herron talking about college recruiting. Herron returned as head coach of Camden County this offseason. He spent the 2020 season on the staff of Tennessee Tech, his first college job. As a high school coach, Herron has won state titles at Camden County (two), Oconee County (one) and Grayson (one). This is the second in a series of Four Questions interviews that draw on the experiences of Georgia head coaches who recently have been on college staffs.
Camden County coach Jeff Herron, on recruiting
1. “Make sure your highlights are really highlights. We saw so many highlights that if the first few plays didn’t catch our eye, it was over. And know what a highlight is. Having a long run but being caught from behind or throwing a touchdown that is just a deep ball with no velocity hurts more than it helps. Your highlights should show you being EXPLOSIVE, regardless of position.”
2. “Stats do NOT matter. Colleges don’t care how many yards you throw for, just whether or not you can make all the throws. Recruiting services do NOT matter. The coaches at Tennessee Tech made fun of me for trying to answer all of the emails that were mass emails from recruiting services. I finally learned not to. Your high school coach DOES matter. We never offered a player without talking with his coach and asking about character, work habits, family, etc.”
3. “Social media can help you but it can also HURT you. Be careful what you and/or your family post. We didn’t want to recruit problems, either a player or his parents. Respond and be interested to anyone that calls or texts you. In the state of Georgia, there is a small pool of kids that can actually play in the SEC. For all the other type schools, there is a much larger pool. If a kid acted disinterested, we just moved on to someone else.”
4. “Be realistic as to the level you can play. I had coaches and players tell me all the time, ‘Oh, he can play at TTU,’ and I used to think that way as well as a high school coach. I didn’t realize how good the talent level was in our conference. And, we weren’t trying to recruit players that COULD play there; we were trying to recruit players that were BETTER than the ones we had. Every school in America, except a few, has to do that.”
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