Mike Judy is going into his 13th season at Smyrna (DE), 6th as head coach. Judy has amassed a 42-12 record, winning 3 state championships in 5 years.

Prior to Smyrna, Coach Judy served as Offensive Coordinator at Gar-Field HS (VA) and Hargrave Military Academy (VA) Post-Graduate Team. Judy has served as strength and conditioning coordinator at each of the schools, and worked one season in Major League Baseball as a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League teams.

A graduate of Wesley College (DE), with a B.S. Exercise Science, Judy served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater under former head coach Mike Drass. Mike was a 4 year starter at offensive line, 2x team captain, and was an all-conference, all-region, and all-American selection.

In this conversation, Coach Judy shares insightful and reflective wisdom on the college football recruiting process. Below you’ll find bullet points that reflect our discussion.

1) visit/photo ops– just because you put on the uni doesn’t mean they are actually recruiting you…probably recruiting your stud teammate OR just want to keep good relationships with your coach/school

2) offers– there was a time once when an offer meant that you’ve made it! Not anymore. Offers mean very little until the ink is dry. Check to see if the offer is committable or not- schools will offer to get you to camp OR to be able to recruit another stud at your school

3) mailings– between social media and mail you will get bombarded. Not all the schools actually will recruit you. But it costs nothing to fill out the info card and send it back. Hand-written letters mean more.

4) timeline– everything is pushed up. high likelihood that very little will happen FBS recruiting-wise starting fall of your senior year. Don’t stop working, but please realize holding out for that big offer may cause you to miss out on the right fit for you. Calculated risk


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5) recruiting questions– I’ve been asked this (in order of most asked):
– does he love the weight room?
– are there any issues with his parents and your staff?
– do his teachers like him/can I speak to his teacher?
– what’s his attendance like?
Be a complete person. They saw film.

6) Camps
You only have so many days in summer to get in front of coaches. 1 school told me 75% of all commits got offered in camp. With that said- don’t waste a weekend going 12hrs to a school that you don’t physically look like guys they recruit. Be real, go somewhere else

7) Film– this May be (besides GPA) the deciding factor. You HAVE to make “splash” plays that jump off the screen if you want to get $ for college. If the coach pulls up your film and there is no splash, there is no $. Put your craziest plays first. Film of 2-3min. No JV/7v7 film

You absolutely have to stand out & “splash” plays do that. However, any college that recruits you has a different need for that position. Tailor your film for different needs, then position yourself & your film for that need.

8) 7v7 – it is a SUPPLEMENT to your TRAINING regiment. Not for recruiting in most cases. I’m a fan of 7v7 if done properly. It shouldn’t replace other sports/training/camp schedule…

9) other sports– play other sports in HS if you love them. Coaches always ask if he plays other sports…it must mean something to them if they keep asking. Just be sure to compete hard and be a great teammate.

10) Weight room vs Indy training– you do what you need to do. Some schools do it well for free, other schools do not. Assess the situation and do what’s best for you. Caveat- having a 1v1 trainer helps you but not your team, and the sum total of everyone’s effort dictates success

11) GPA-3.0 or bust. Let’s be real-the #1-20 ranked player at your position may not need anything other than to qualify. But many FCS schools cannot get you in with a GPA below a 2.75 (there are exceptions). Hard to call yourself a future college athlete when you can’t perform in high school classroom.

12) Never ignore a coach that reached out to you. Coaching careers often look like a scatterplot-they are all over the place. You never know – the coach you ignored could eventually end up being your position coach… And he won’t forget!