Football recruiting has its own language, and coaches notice which recruits speak it. You'll talk to head coaches, area recruiters, and position coaches, and each one can answer different things. These fifteen questions cover the ones that matter: the offer, the scheme, the depth chart, year one, and the money process. Ask two or three per call, debrief after, and save the rest for camp visits and official visits. If the call itself makes you nervous, start with what to say when a college coach calls.
The offer, the scheme, and your fit
Offer means different things at different programs, and scheme decides your job description. Pin both down early.
Why it matters: offer language varies wildly. Asking which one this is shows you know the difference and saves you months of confusion.
Why it matters: an EDGE in a three-down front lives a different life than one in a four-down front. Scheme is your job description.
Why it matters: it turns interest into a checklist you can train against this season.
Why it matters: recruiting boards are ranked and staffs work them in order. A blunt question here gets respected, and the answer tells you where to spend your time.
The position coach and how they develop players
Head coaches recruit you. Position coaches develop you. Make sure your questions reach the person who would actually run your meeting room.
Why it matters: you're joining a position room more than a program. You want reps with the person who runs it.
Why it matters: almost every freshman needs a physical development year. A real plan comes with numbers: weight, lifts, timeline.
Why it matters: a serious health question is never out of place in football, and how a staff answers it tells you plenty.
The depth chart and the first-year plan
FBS rosters are capped at 105 under the House settlement, replacing the old 85-scholarship model, and every spot at your position is accounted for. Roster math beats recruiting talk, so ask for the math.
Why it matters: the depth chart predicts your first two years better than any promise on a call.
Why it matters: it tells you whether high school recruits are the plan at your spot or the fallback.
Why it matters: special teams is the honest first path to the field for most freshmen. A coach who names the units has a real plan for you.
Why it matters: the old answer was redshirt, and that answer no longer exists. The 5-for-5 guide has ten questions on the new math.
The money conversation
Since July 2025, schools that opted into the House settlement can share revenue directly with athletes, and scholarship structures now vary program to program. What that means for a recruit differs by school and level, which is exactly why you ask about process, not amounts.
Why it matters: a process question is mature at any level, from FCS to the top of FBS. Numbers wait for real mutual interest.
Life beyond football
Football takes more hours than any other college sport's calendar suggests. The off-field answers deserve real weight in your decision.
Why it matters: the honest version of the academics answer includes trade-offs. Listen for whether you get one.
Why it matters: culture answers should be specific. If it sounds like a poster on a wall, it probably is one.
Why it matters: most college careers end at college. Degrees, jobs, and a network are the real payout, and good programs answer this one proudly.
Questions coaches will ask you
Football has no club circuit. Your varsity season, your 7v7 team, and the camps you hit are the whole evaluation surface, and coaches will ask about all three. Prep these out loud, not in your head.
Prep note: snap counts, role, results, and one honest sentence about what got hard. Know your own numbers cold.
Prep note: have the schedule ready and say where they can see you next. Camps are where staffs verify you in person.
Prep note: exact height, weight, and verified times. They will measure you at camp, so rounding up costs you twice.
Prep note: honest and precise, including which offers are committable. Staffs compare notes.
Prep note: know your best three plays by heart, and name one real weakness with the work attached.
Prep note: never say no. Bring three from this page, including one for the position coach.
A generic list is a floor, not a script
Every recruit on an area coach's call list can find a list like this. The questions that get you remembered come from knowing that program: the coordinator they just hired, the three-deep at your position, the tackle who left in the winter portal window. That research is what a CALLTIME call kit is: one school's roster moves, staff changes, and portal activity turned into your questions and talking points, then rehearsed in graded reps until the script is yours.
Soccer or basketball athlete in the family? There's a version of this list for soccer and basketball too.
What not to ask
- Anything the website answers. Conference, stadium, last year's record, majors offered: that's homework, not a question. Asking it burns a slot and shows you didn't look.
- "Will I start?" Ask what earns snaps; never demand them. On a 105-man roster, guarantee-seeking from a recruit ends conversations.
- "Why should I pick you over [other school]?" Coach-versus-coach comparisons read as leverage games. Compare programs in your own debrief, not on the call.
Quick answers
More quick answers on DMs, NIL, and the family talk in the CALLTIME recruiting FAQ.
How do I know if my football offer is committable?
Ask the coach directly: if I committed tomorrow, would you take it today? A committable offer has a clear yes. Anything else, still evaluating, a camp invite, a preferred walk-on spot, is a different conversation, and it is better to know which one you are actually in.
Should I ask the head coach or my position coach?
Both, with different questions. Head coaches and area recruiters can answer program, roster, and money-process questions. Your position coach is the one to ask about scheme, technique, and how your meeting room works. If you can never get time with the position coach, that itself is information.
How many of these questions should I ask in one call?
Two or three. Recruiting calls are short, and coaches notice how you use the time. Pick what matters most for where you are with that program, ask it cleanly, and debrief afterward: write down the answers and what you would ask next time.
Can I ask about revenue share as a high school recruit?
Ask about process, at the right moment. Since 2025, schools that opted into the House settlement can share revenue directly with athletes, but how that touches recruits varies by school and level. Once there is real mutual interest, ask how that conversation works and who has it. Don't open with numbers.