Registration is open for our 2026 College Recruiting Course. 8 sessions. 8 practitioners. Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout May. Course runs once a year.
Course Overview
Schedule
Instructors
Course Overview
Objective
Building upon our Film Evaluation Course, the College Recruiting Course is an 8-week learning program that provides insight into what it takes to identify, qualify, and recruit High School prospects for Colleges and Universities. The CFB landscape is ever-changing and there are more jobs available in college football than the NFL and CFL put together. Furthermore, the NFL sees college recruiting positions as a developmental space for their future scouts and have been heavily hiring those with that background. As such, we are here to provide insight into what it takes to help a recruiting operations department from identifying prospects, getting them through the NCAA Clearinghouse, how to help a coaching staff, and recruiting players while maintaining compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.
We will teach you how to think about the process and pipeline, not what to think, and will give you the tools necessary to hit the ground running in your career. We will not be teaching individual CFB program recruiting processes as they vary greatly and this would not be a productive use of your time. Instead, we are going to focus on presenting you with the vantage points of those engaged in the process, from coaching to personnel to Athletic Directors to compliance, so you have a well-rounded view of everyone involved.
8 sessions, twice weekly in May
Live Tuesdays & Wednesdays,
May 5-27, 2026
Hear from those currently running personnel departments
Speakers come from the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and more
CFB has more jobs than the NFL - Learn from those filling them
No prerequisites required
Tuition: $250
Sessions begin May 5. Join before the first session to be part of the live cohort and get direct access to Q&A with each speaker.
This course runs once per year and the 2026 cohort is forming now.
8-week course
Live weekly webinars
Stay on top of current trends
Hear from guest speakers currently working in the industry
Be prepared for your next opportunity
CFB is its own job market and a focus of NFL hiring
Tuition: $300
Discounts apply for past Scouting Academy students and payment plans available! Learn more.
Course Overview
Objective
Building upon our Film Evaluation Course, the College Recruiting Course is an 8-week learning program that provides insight into what it takes to identify, qualify, and recruit High School prospects for Colleges and Universities. The CFB landscape is ever-changing and there are more jobs available in college football than the NFL and CFL put together. Furthermore, the NFL sees college recruiting positions as a developmental space for their future scouts and have been heavily hiring those with that background. As such, we are here to provide insight into what it takes to help a recruiting operations department from identifying prospects, getting them through the NCAA Clearinghouse, how to help a coaching staff, and recruiting players while maintaining compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.
We will teach you how to think about the process and pipeline, not what to think, and will give you the tools necessary to hit the ground running in your career. We will not be teaching individual CFB program recruiting processes as they vary greatly and this would not be a productive use of your time. Instead, we are going to focus on presenting you with the vantage points of those engaged in the process, from coaching to personnel to Athletic Directors to compliance, so you have a well-rounded view of everyone involved.
Logistics
The College Recruiting course is built off live, online webinars that occur weekly hearing from current and former CFB recruiting leaders and coaches. Each session allows for back and forth between the students and the instructors/guest speakers to maximize the learning experience.
Each session is taped so students can review them later on or catch up on any classes they need to miss (life happens!)
There are no assignments that students need to submit in the course. We ask that you prepare for each session by researching speakers/their areas of expertise and be prepared with questions to help you better understand the everchanging landscape.
Prerequisites
The College Recruiting course is available to everyone with no prerequisites. Come spend 8 weeks with us to invest in your football future.
Dan Hatman
Lead Instructor | Director of Scouting Development
A former NFL scout with experience at the Giants, Jets, and Eagles, including the Super Bowl XLVI front office. Now dedicated full-time to the professional development of the next generation of evaluators.
The evaluation methodology in this course is built around reducing human error in the subjective assessment of players, drawing from the military, data science, exercise physiology, and psychology in addition to 29 years of collective NFL scouting practice. These processes have trained 91 NFL scouts to date.
This curriculum also serves as the foundation of the Senior Bowl Scout School, where Dan has served as curriculum expert under two consecutive executive directors.
Skills in this class:
Player Identification | Player Qualification | Player Evaluation | Player Recruitment | Time Management | Staying in Compliance | Mass Media and Graphic Design | Process Efficiency | Major College Recruiting | Mid-Major College Recruiting | Small College Recruiting
2026 course schedule – Tuesdays & Wednesdays in May – Sessions begin at 7:00 or 7:30pm ET
TopicIdentification, Qualification, and Evaluation Material DiscussedPlayer Personnel Philosophy, Duties and Responsibilities, Recruiting Calendars, Qualifying Rules, On and Off Campus Recruiting Rules, Home Visitation, International Recruiting, Walk on Programs SpeakersJohn Peterson and Dan Hatman . . . |
TopicMass Media and Graphic Design in the Recruiting Process Material DiscussedHow has the landscape changed with the widespread adoption of graphic design in recruiting? How can the personnel, coaching, and graphics staff aid each other? SpeakersRobert Judin – Graphic Designer previously with Oregon State and University of Miami . . . |
TopicThe role of internal compliance and impact on recruiting staff Material DiscussedNCAA rules and regulations in the recruiting process. Tools/processes used by teams to stay compliant. How to avoid common pitfalls. SpeakersBrent Blaylock – Associate AD for Compliance, University of Arizona . . . |
TopicMid-major recruiting: How to stand out and maximize smaller budgets Material DiscussedWhile still competing for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series, how do mid-major programs build competitive processes with smaller budgets and staff sizes? SpeakersRicky Ciccone – Director of Player Personnel/Recruiting Coordinator – University of Toledo . .. . |
TopicThe intricacies of major College Football recruiting Material DiscussedRecruiting process from the personnel director’s point of view. How staff can assist/aid in those processes. SpeakersSaeed Khalif – Director of Player Personnel, University of Wisconsin . . . |
TopicFCS and Division II Recruitment Processes Material DiscussedEach level of football presents its own personality and challenges as it pertains to recruitment. What is life like at these levels? SpeakersColby Carthal – Head Football Coach Stephen F Austin State University . . . |
TopicCoordinating the football program’s recruiting program Material DiscussedWhat does the coaching staff need from the personnel staff to maximize the ability to identify and recruiting the best prospects for the program? SpeakersScott Vestal – Linebackers Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Rice University . . . |
TopicThe Head Coach: How to aid the final decision maker Material DiscussedHow each aspect of the program interacts, how to delegate/integrate, how staff can best make their lives easier. SpeakersMike Riley – Former Head Coach, Nebraska and Oregon State . . . |
Course Instructors
Jerry Angelo Louis Riddick Mike Martz Howard Mudd Chris Palmer John Peterson Mike Sullivan
Steve Fairchild Ken Flajole Steve Loney Bobby April Earnest Byner George Catavolos Jerald Ingram
Charlie Coiner Matt Sheldon Dan Hatman Robert Judin Wade Phillips Tom Walsh Ed Marynowitz
Mike Riley Drew Hughes Brent Blaylock Ricky Ciccone Scott Vestal Bobby Merritt Jeff Behrmann
Alex Brown Phil Hedrick Roger Marandino Maria Peden Saeed Khalif Colby Carthal
Ready to signup?
Register for the next semester of our College Recruiting course.
Discounts
Previous Scouting Academy students receive $50 off registration. Previous Scouting Academy students can email Dan Hatman at [email protected] for the discount information.