Today’s interviewee is Ahmand Tinker, organizer of the two-day Fall Metro Atlanta College Football Recruiting Fair that concluded Wednesday in Atlanta. More than 120 high schools and 80 college teams were represented. A former high school football head coach, Tinker is also executive director of the Minority Coaches Association of Georgia, owner of FRE Sports and principal at Maggie Brown Middle School in Coweta County.
Ahmand Tinker, recruiting fair organizer
1. What’s the best advice you could give a high school football player who wants to play in college? “Be realistic on the level that you can play at the collegiate level because so many players have unrealistic expectations of ‘I’m D-I’ and miss out on opportunities to succeed at colleges or universities showing genuine interest in them.”
2. What’s the best advice you would give a high school coach? “I encourage all high school programs to have a dedicated college recruiting coordinator on their staff because they are just as important as your special teams and offensive and defensive coordinators. In addition, the college recruiting process has changed so much with the transfer portal. Therefore, you need a coach who focuses on this area for your high school to ensure that your players have the best opportunity to receive possible scholarship opportunities in academics and athletics.”
3. What’s the best advice you would give parents about recruiting? “Parents should research the entire recruiting process to make the best decisions possible on when to start working with a trainer, attending combines, prospects/exposure camps, 7-on-7, all-star games and more. Parents must control your child’s recruiting process, so don’t allow anyone else to make decisions for your child that will negatively impact your child’s future success in life or athletics.”
4. How has the transfer portal changed recruiting for high school players? “The transfer portal has hurt the high school recruiting process in so many ways that I cannot begin to start. The high school prospects who are high-level FBS and FCS prospects will still have the opportunity to be recruited and signed by those levels, but so many other prospects will lose the chance because of the high demand for college coaches to win today. They need players who can play from day one and don’t always have the time to develop high school players; therefore, they go into the transfer portal to sign players for immediate help who already have college playing experience. In addition, the transfer portal has made high school players the last option on the food chain in the recruiting process. Many colleges will choose to sign four-year transfer portal prospects first, two-year junior college prospects next, one-year post-graduate prospects third, and finally high school senior prospects. Also, the transfer portal has forced high school prospects to commit earlier in the recruiting process to hold a spot or lose their scholarship offer while overplaying their hand. I encourage prospects to find a school that best fits their academic and athletic needs and commit if they offer you an opportunity.”
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