I don't think the coach was ripping at D3 football, or his program so much...partially maybe his program, but not the level I assume. The coach is a really nice and honest kind of guy for whatever that's worth as most recruiting coordinators try to be like that any ways. I will say that my feeling on him is that he is a decent guy.
I just want to get an objective opinion about the D3/NAIA levels of play. UMHB is a very good program as I've seen their record as of the last few years. We've opened the door to all possibilities as far as playing level because I can appreciate the smaller class sizes afforded at the smaller schools. Bottom line is I want my son to get his degree first, play some quality football second and tear it up so that transferring is an option if he is afforded the opportunity and wants to. We went on a official visit to an NAIA and I was pretty impressed with the schools academics, the program, it's achievements and booster support/fan base. It's far off however and the scholarship amount offered because as they said 'they've recruited so many kids prior to us' is small in comparison to other offers we've been given. To me anyone can go play football, but if you're going to play you should be able to enjoy it as well. So I guess a perfect small school to me would have smaller teacher to student ratios, a good fan base (even though our high school stadium is almost double the capacity of that NAIA school), a winning program (they won their conference the past two years) and academic support. D2's are emerging again and offering, but I think a small school will be the better choice for my son as a scholar. I'm going to either nudge my son towards D3, or NAIA at least for a year, or two so his feet can be firmly planted in college expectations. After two years if football isn't so shiny he can come back home and I'll put him through TSU, UTSA, UIW or some other respectable academic school. There is a very close D3 nearby, but there's a kid on their team that has bad blood with my son and I would never put him in a situation where he might have to do something stupid to defend himself because the other kid has feces for brains. What are your thoughts on a supposedly "strong NAIA" program? I can imagine as D3 supporters not much lol...

My son was recruited at the FCS level, but like so many of our young men, he had trouble with the ACT and failed to meet D1 FCS standards. We began to explore our options and many D2's rosters already were filled up by signing day and the few that weren't...well they stunk even with a great scholarship package offered. I began to look into a D3 that was relatively close (within 6 hours drive) that had reached out to my son very early in the process and built a good relationship with the RC. He was very honest and very candid about what he perceived as the realities of D3 football, at least at his school. The things he said will no doubt ruffle a few feathers possibly, but I've read similar comments elsewhere on this board so I thought I'd solicit some other opinions on this matter. Here's what he said:

1. D3 football is basically the equivalent of a city All Star Game.
2. They recruit players who may actually never play in a game for sake of depth.
3. It's basically glorified high school football.
4. Sometimes they pick up kids who love the game more than it loves them. (basically they aren't good players)

What I find contradictory is statements 1 and 4. How can it be an All Star HS team if some of the kids (#'s 2 and 4) aren't good enough to field? Initially I figured #1 was the case, but after talking with an actual coach I began to wonder. I see all too well how kids can be overlooked, or just not in a position to go where they want because they themselves had a flawed test score. What kept lingering for me is this...if D3's can only offer academic money for recruitment, wouldn't that be a factor that hinders recruitment? I know it has for us and how to pay for college is not a concern of mine. I'm of the thought process that wouldn't the better players capable of getting athletic and academic scholarship money go elsewhere to help pay for school instead of missing out on big money to go a D3?
Every level has it's flaws. D1, D2, D3 and NAIA... every level has kids that will end up on permanent practice squad because of talent disparity. It seems to me though, that D3's really have it worse off when it comes to recruiting good players. The coach actually told me 'We figured we'd never have a chance with your son, but we reach out because sometimes kids slip up and we can get them here.' It seems rather opportunistic, but it is true. Lord knows D2's were never on our radar, yet alone D3. I assume everyone here has a kid playing D3 ball, so enlighten me please about the real true blue levels of talent on a typical D3 roster and where it stacks up in comparison to D2 and NAIA. I want unbiased and realistic feedback please. If we go the D3 route and find out it really is just glorified high school ball I'd be disappointed. So is the coaches statement correct?