Hear from four high school athletic directors about how Hudl’s recruiting tools modernize college recruitment and allow athletes to market themselves.
High school athletic directors are always looking for ways to win–for their athletes, coaches and community. How are they doing it?
We interviewed athletic directors from four different programs to find out. No matter the school size, the sports their school offers or the number of teams they serve, the resounding answer was a Hudl athletic department package.
In this blog series, we explore how a Hudl athletic department package is the most accessible and affordable way to level up their department’s ability to serve athletes, coaches and their community throughout the school year.
0.01% of Divison-I eligible high school football recruits receive the vaunted 5-star prospect tag. That equates to roughly 30 high school seniors out of a possible 300,000 or more. It’s an unfathomable against-all-odds scenario.
In 2023, St. Louis University High School (SLUH) senior wide receiver Ryan Wingo received the distinguished honor of being labeled a 5-star recruit. Wingo, a six-foot-two generational talent with certified track speed, became the Jr. Billiken’s first-ever upper-echelon college football prospect. He had college scholarship offers from the most elite programs in the sport, ranging from SEC powers Georgia and Alabama to eventual national champions Michigan. Wingo later signed with the University of Texas and is expected to contribute after a strong start to spring ball.
Wingo may be an outlier, but you don’t have to be a 5-star to get noticed anymore. Hudl’s tools help thousands of recruits at all levels in all sports - by automatically capturing games, making it easy to create highlights and providing simple contact tools for reaching recruiters.
“We’re in a day and age video is being used by student-athletes to share clips in the recruiting process,” said St. Louis University High School athletic director Chris Muskopf. “To have what Hudl offers us, and what coaches can capture and then share, it allows our student-athletes to promote themselves to a wider audience.”
Keeping Up With the Changing World of Recruiting
Bridge City High School (Texas) head football coach and athletic director Josh Smalley is no stranger to college recruiting. As a football coach with nearly 25 years of experience, he’s seen the evolution of the college recruitment process.
What used to be a hyper-localized practice, has since evolved into limitless possibilities for student-athletes today. He credits Hudl film and the new Hudl recruiting tools included in an athletic department package as catalysts for modern recruiting and the level of ownership athletes can now take in their own recruiting journey.
“In the old days, coaches would actually come in and sit in your office to watch game film,” Smalley said. “For the most part, that doesn’t happen anymore. They want Hudl highlights and Hudl film. And Hudl just makes it easy for our kids to create their own highlight package on their own profile and they can send it to any college or coach they want to…It just gives kids ownership.”
Libertyville High School (Illinois) athletic director John Woods echoed Smalley’s sentiments about athlete ownership in the recruiting process. He added that Hudl film and social media have made it easier for student-athletes to unlock new opportunities through sports scholarships.
“Hudl is just a powerful tool to help kids be able to follow their dreams,” Woods said.
