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Chasing a football scholarship is a daunting process, so it helps to remember it only takes one coach at the next level to believe in a prospect.
And when there are 80 of them representing colleges across the country standing on your home field and taking notes, the likelihood of a meaningful connection increases exponentially. Players from Stepinac and Iona Prep drew a crowd of logoed evaluators on Wednesday during the final leg of the Northeast Football Show Days caravan.
“We’re reaching a range of coaches we don’t normally reach, which I think is a necessity in this day and age,” Gaels coach Joe Spagnolo explained.
College coaches from around the country observe Iona Prep football players at Iona Prep High School in New Rochelle on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Recruiters haven’t always made this neck of the woods a high priority stop.
The Crusaders had five players from its 2014 team sign professional contracts. Malcom Koonce, now a defensive end on the Las Vegas Raiders, is the only member of that team who received an offer from a major Division I school.
“It gives the college recruiters a chance to see these kids run around and meet them in person,” Stepinac coach Mike O’Donnell said. “We have been doing this for two years now in partnership with Iona Prep. The NCAA has a new rule where colleges can only visit each school once in the spring season and this gives them a chance to hit our area and see some the top student-athlete football players at one time.
“This has definitely changed the way the country sees New York football.”
Show Days took root last year when prep schools in Massachusetts and Connecticut banded together. Avon Old Farms coach John Wholley reached out to Spagnola this year about looping in some of Catholic powers in the Metropolitan area.
This year’s tour started Monday in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iona-prep-stepinac-football-prospects-092848402.html
Author : Lohud | The Journal News
Publish date : 2024-05-16 09:28:48
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