NCAA 2011 Recruiting Questions/Comments

[Enhance]

I saw that a lot of the "discussion" thread dealt with recruiting questions, so I created this topic so it could be a bit more specific.

 

My question is this: it seems that I have to re-figure my recruiting board EVERY TIME I advance the week. I have my order set up and everything, and then the next week bam..it changes everything. For example, I like to keep the guys I have offered schollies at the top of my board, but it constantly shuffles them in, what appears to me, a random order. Is there any way I can get it to stop doing this? I'm sick of going through my recruiting board and reorganizing it every week.

[gmoney88]

You have to go to your recruiting strategy and shut off Recruiting Board Assistance. This way the computer will not add players and reorder things for you. That really frustrated me the first season of recruiting, I feel your pain!

[Apathy]

You have to go to your recruiting strategy and shut off Recruiting Board Assistance. This way the computer will not add players and reorder things for you. That really frustrated me the first season of recruiting, I feel your pain!

I had that turned on and everytime I would remove a recruit the computer would add a new one for the next week. By turning this off allowed me to focus on certain indivduals throughout the season without worrying who was getting added to the board by the computer. Also by turning this off I focused on the 15 prospects I was going after and got me the #3 recruiting class toward the end of the season. My recruiting difficulty is Varsity and I got a 5 HB and a 5 DE and got about 8-10 4 recruits and a ton of 3 's.

[HuskerNLimbo]

That is great to know, because I had/have the same problem and year one I had the 50th ranked class, year two 9, and then year three I focused all my time on ten guys and got a #4 class. Quite an improvement.

 

Has anyone played as someone other than nebraska in their dynasty? I just transferred to a different team and they really made the pipeline states important this year.

[Manhattan]

I have some recruiting questions that nobody can seem to figure out:

 

1) If the interest bar is full, does it actually make a difference if you get a +500 call? Does it matter to call them? I used to think that it does, but after noticing that all the schools on a particular recruit filled the bar, all of the other schools in the race were just "-1" behind me, as if we all had reached a cap.

 

2) Is there a way to gauge a prospect's potential? They implemented it in this game according to the developers, whereby some recruits would grow amazingly over the years and others would not improve much. I guess it is random, but you can't even control this when creating your own prospect.

 

3) How come there are some 4 and 5 star recruits that end up being flops when you get them? I had a 4-star WR end up being only 68 OVR when he got on my roster.

[Enhance]

That is great to know, because I had/have the same problem and year one I had the 50th ranked class, year two 9, and then year three I focused all my time on ten guys and got a #4 class. Quite an improvement.

 

Has anyone played as someone other than nebraska in their dynasty? I just transferred to a different team and they really made the pipeline states important this year.

I started a dynasty with Tulane and put them in the Big 10 instead of Northwestern. I have a lot of fun with it, especially since you can increase your prestige and get more top rated recruits interested in your school. And yes, pipeline states are extremely important. All of my focus goes towards pipeline recruits and I only go after non-pipeline recruits if they have me in their top three schools. Otherwise, it is way too difficult to get those kids.

 

I have some recruiting questions that nobody can seem to figure out:

 

1) If the interest bar is full, does it actually make a difference if you get a +500 call? Does it matter to call them? I used to think that it does, but after noticing that all the schools on a particular recruit filled the bar, all of the other schools in the race were just "-1" behind me, as if we all had reached a cap.

 

2) Is there a way to gauge a prospect's potential? They implemented it in this game according to the developers, whereby some recruits would grow amazingly over the years and others would not improve much. I guess it is random, but you can't even control this when creating your own prospect.

 

3) How come there are some 4 and 5 star recruits that end up being flops when you get them? I had a 4-star WR end up being only 68 OVR when he got on my roster.

I don't know the answer to your first two, but I know the answer to the third one. According to an EA blog I read, they are going to be patching the fixes in recruiting numbers. Apparently, people were recruiting three and four star players and getting guys with only 50-60 overall ratings. It became a more common problem when you got into later years of recruiting (i.e. a 4+ year dynasty). Within the next week or two, they are supposed to have a patch that will fix this along with other issues.

[Never Skerd']

I have some recruiting questions that nobody can seem to figure out:

 

1) If the interest bar is full, does it actually make a difference if you get a +500 call? Does it matter to call them? I used to think that it does, but after noticing that all the schools on a particular recruit filled the bar, all of the other schools in the race were just "-1" behind me, as if we all had reached a cap.

 

2) Is there a way to gauge a prospect's potential? They implemented it in this game according to the developers, whereby some recruits would grow amazingly over the years and others would not improve much. I guess it is random, but you can't even control this when creating your own prospect.

 

3) How come there are some 4 and 5 star recruits that end up being flops when you get them? I had a 4-star WR end up being only 68 OVR when he got on my roster.

 

I have no information on this but this is what i think.

1)I would figure you need to keep it up, because he is down to his final decision, it pry says top 3 also. I would keep calling him.

 

 

2) Look through his overalls. Check the 40 times, gauge his height and take in his footwork and all that jazz. Try to get everything as close to C's as you can and if any category is higher than that-great. I have noticed Awareness never seems to get back up there! So frustrating. I am in year 4 and no one on my team knows whats going on, and I mean no one.

 

3) I think the last patched addressed this issue. If it keeps happening I would say the patch didn't work. Sometimes 4-5 stars really do flop. Don't go by the stars look at their stats(footwork and stuff) I have noticed there isn't much difference sometimes between the 4 stars and a 3.

 

This is how I recruit----- all-american

1)Specific Search

PREREQ "Pipeline"(try to pipeline into Texas-Cali-Florida

 

 

2) Go through positions looking for what you need. Check interest level by points. This is more important than position(top 2 10 etc). I do not go after anything I am more than -500 behind. HINT: Sometimes there are recruits that seem to be completely wide open- check these guys interest levels too-although you may not be in the top 10-- The bottom guy may only be 250 points from the top- so at an HR a day you could be at the top in a week or 2.

3) Teams usually do not need that much so find around 12 recruits that you need or would really like. Now use 40-60 minutes on each recruit. Offer them a scholarship right off the bat because sometimes they pull they trigger right away, plus it is usually 100+ points so why not? You may be saying "oh there are 35 spots on my board why only 12?" check the computer recruit reports. the CPU does exactly what I just said- so if you arn't using and HR per recruit, the odds of you pulling them pry arn't that high.

4) Always compare when you can- but say you are in the 3 spot and the 1 2 positions are neck and neck- make sure you down grade them evenly. I have learned that if you just dog on one of them, the REC tends to commit to the other guy faster.

 

If you fall over 500 points behind- drop the rec. don't waste your time on the call. Even with an HR a day- you can not win them all. Accept that you will only have so many 5-4 stars, EA intended teams to be built mostly of 3 stars(unless you're alabama ;/)

My recruiting classes usually look like this 2 5* 3 4* 19 3* 2 2* 1 1*(usually a fullback :/)

[gmoney88]

I finally got the #1 recruiting class in my Nebraska Dynasty in year 3. Ended up with 8 , 13 , and 2 . It unlocks a trophy (PS3) for Best Class Ever. Got the number one ATH, OT, WR, DT, MLB, and QB. The ATH ended up being an 84 overall Fullback as a freshman. Kinda pumped to play with some of my new toys

[GSG]

I really suck at this recruiting business. I'm always 6-8 guys under the roster limit cuz I can't convince guys to come to my school. I wonder if it has anything to do with 2 undefeated seasons and being left out of the BCS NC game both years

[Never Skerd']

try going for the pipeline and use those promises!

[GSG]

try going for the pipeline and use those promises!

 

That's what I've started doing in my 3rd year. It's nice to have more promises available too!

[Enhance]

try going for the pipeline and use those promises!

 

That's what I've started doing in my 3rd year. It's nice to have more promises available too!

People have said this but I will reiterate it because it has worked for me. I just had my first number one recruiting class after having the CPU do all of my recruiting the first couple of years.

 

1) Always go for guys from pipeline states. If you want some more highly rated players, then only go for out of state guys that have you in their top three. I got lucky with a couple of guys who had me in their top 8, but it doesn't happen often.

2) Find guys who have you as their top school at the beginning of the year. The last two seasons I have had one call guys commit as soon as I offer the scholarship because I am their number one choice pre-season. Even if they don't fill one of your position needs, sign em.

3) The CPU constantly tells you only the bare minimum of players you need to sign, and this will usually cause you to be significantly under the roster limit. Last year, it told me I needed only one strong safety, yet this year I realized only two are on my roster and my recruiting levels tell me my safety position is rated a C-. I'm currently trying to recruit two more. Plus, the previous season told me I needed to sign two wide receivers for the next year. Yet when graduation time rolled around, I lost four to graduation. Do your own research of your roster.

4) Spend about four topics on each player each week, which should allow you to talk to around 15 players.

5) If a player has you ranked -500 or less in their top school rankings, it is past mid-season, and you have already had them for an official visit, then drop them. They are a waste of time and will more than likely not sign. In fact, I can almost guarantee they will not sign with you.

6) Last but not least if you are having recruiting difficulty turn the settings downs. No shame in that. I have difficulty recruiting sometimes and I'm only on Varsity. I tried Freshman level for one season and even that can be a challenge at times.

[Never Skerd']

I noticed the CPU not telling me what I really need too. So I usually just go through and see how many seniors I have and then decide how many players I wish to recruit. Although I emphasize going after only pipeline, I would suggest checking the country for some interest levels. There always seems to be a lot of interest in some strange areas.

[Enhance]

I noticed the CPU not telling me what I really need too. So I usually just go through and see how many seniors I have and then decide how many players I wish to recruit. Although I emphasize going after only pipeline, I would suggest checking the country for some interest levels. There always seems to be a lot of interest in some strange areas.

You hit the nail on the head with that last part. Pipeline stats are important, but you can get some very talented recruits from odd places in the country who are very interested in your program.

 

As for your first part, I also noticed the CPU will automatically assign the wrong players into your depth chart. For example, the third guy on the depth chart at my full back position was a left tackle. My recruiting levels said I had three full backs and I didn't worry about it. In reality, my third full back would have been a really crappy full back.

[Never Skerd']

I noticed the CPU not telling me what I really need too. So I usually just go through and see how many seniors I have and then decide how many players I wish to recruit. Although I emphasize going after only pipeline, I would suggest checking the country for some interest levels. There always seems to be a lot of interest in some strange areas.

You hit the nail on the head with that last part. Pipeline stats are important, but you can get some very talented recruits from odd places in the country who are very interested in your program.

 

As for your first part, I also noticed the CPU will automatically assign the wrong players into your depth chart. For example, the third guy on the depth chart at my full back position was a left tackle. My recruiting levels said I had three full backs and I didn't worry about it. In reality, my third full back would have been a really crappy full back.

 

interesting, are you sure you were looking at the correct roster? I noticed once you red shirt a player- to actually view the FULL roster you have to select edit rosters? and then it will show possibly a redshirt FB. I am sure you knew this already but just throwing it out there.

 

Is anyone else getting frustrated with the damn Awareness in this game??? I can have a 5th year senior with awareness of 50-60, I am sorry but if he has been in my program that long, he should easily be in the 80-90 range.