My son wants to attend University of Chicago and has the grades to get in and is above average in football. He is very interested in playing football but has not heard back from the Coaches and has reached out a few times. Seems like they are not interested in him. Is there such thing as a walk on process for football at University of Chicago? If he gets in, will the Coach be more responsive? How competitive is the football program? Do good players not “make the team” or does anyone who walks on and has football acumen on the team? Trying to figure out how competitive it is.
Has he reached out to other programs, and if so, what was their response?
I have no clue about football, but wouldn’t the won-lost record, national ranking, players’ backgrounds etc let you assess program strength?
1 Like
What year is your son? Do his current coaches think he can play college ball, and if so what level?
He might try contacting the U Chicago coaches (head coach and appropriate position coach) via twitter.
Not sure if the team takes walk-ons or not, but walk-ons are not uncommon in D3 football.
A few comments:
– We have no details as to your son’s academic stats, grade in HS, etc. Has there been interest from coaches at other colleges?
– Please do not allow your son to fixate on one college that is hyper-competitive in terms of admissions. Instead, work to create a well balanced application list with reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that he would be happy to attend.
– If your son has not had interest from the coach he can see if he can try to and walk-on but he should not count on making the team or getting meaningful playing time. Being “above average” in HS football (depending on the HS, position, etc.) may not be enough to make a college team.
1 Like
I know a kid that played there a few years ago. My recollection is that they were competitive within their conference but not top level D3 by any means. He was recruited to play there, but I’m unsure what level of support he got through admissions. I know that there were several walk ons there.
What year is your son? A freshman or sophomore may be too early to get responses as they are not yet focused on recruiting your class yet. A senior, it may be too late.
If he is intent on playing football in college, he needs to cast a wide net and not focus on one school. I know a lot of football recruiting happens on Twitter/X. Good luck to him!
1 Like