Recruiting Has Gone Coo Coo for Photoshop

The world of recruiting has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. It once was a quiet, coaches to players system that fans knew little to nothing about.

Now, it has grown into one of the most followed individual aspects of any one sport. It has grown so much that it has allowed grown men (I\’m talking guys with kids, homes, and 401ks) to call, text, and connect via social media to high school players all around the nation as young as 14 and 15 years old, and not many people thinks it\’s creepy, weird, or invasive.

That\’s when you know something has hit the big times.

With the fast paced growth of the game, plus the obvious youth involvement, coaches and programs have had to step their efforts in order to appeal to the talented youngsters.

Enter, Photoshop.

One of the easiest ways to shock your grandparents and, now, best ways to show how important a recruit is to your program, Photoshop is the wonderful world of editing photos with graphic design (shortest definition possible). It allows talented computer artists to take a players pictures and edit them to show the recruit what their future could look like at that school.

It may sound a little silly to some, but the recruits love it.

Thanks to Twitter, the recruits are able to show off which schools and fan bases are being proactive with their recruitment efforts.

Some of the schools excelling with their photoshop skills includes:

  • Michigan
  • Ohio $tate
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Florida State
Here are some of the best we have seen from schools and fans:

Work everyday towards my dreams #GoBlue #136 pic.twitter.com/O7KELf0Dgx

— Tyree Kinnel (@Tkinnel_2) May 7, 2014

#DraftDay pic.twitter.com/lT6aKoEcEt — Matthew Burr€ll Jr!! (@__Triumphant) May 8, 2014

Only Gators Get Out Alive! #comeplaywrforthejoker pic.twitter.com/PxCNwvFOUN — Joker Phillips (@jokerphillips) April 25, 2013

Ready for this #NoFlyZone pic.twitter.com/TWNhZuKKfu

— ✈️DerwinJames Jr✈️ (@derwinjames6) May 16, 2014

Too sick 〽️〽️〽️ pic.twitter.com/5YiMeSqRip

— Keisean South1⃣6⃣ (@KLSouth16) May 6, 2014

Jabrill Peppers Design @JabrillPeppers #Michigan #GoBlue #sourcemag #UAAllAmerican #football #graphicdesign pic.twitter.com/JdRFBf6EmP

— Aaron Bills (@AaronBDesigns) January 3, 2014

Obviously, most of the other schools and fan bases are recruiting with photoshop but I have yet to see any that stand out quite like these. They are unique, creative, and, in Florida\’s case, hilarious.

Recruiting has become a multi-million dollar industry in a short time period. So, expect the efforts of the coaches and the fans to increase over time thanks to more involvement and better photo/video editing technology.

Garrett Fishaw