Opinion: Go Scout High School Football

I’ve often thought that one way to improve as an evaluator is to go scout high school football.

I know it sounds crazy. But I’ve been doing it for 13 straight years. If you are currently scouting in the NFL or want to scout in the NFL and are desiring to grow in your skills, I would highly recommend scouting high school football.

It makes watching college prospects a lot easier. 

Last year, when typing up evaluations and watching players for the Hula Bowl, it felt odd for a long time to watch the same guy play the same position every snap, after spending so many years watching high school players play multiple positions.

Most college-to-NFL prospects are not making huge, wholesale positional changes. Sure, some might move from OT to OG, or DE to OLB. 

That is not the case with high school football players who are looking to land a college scholarship. Many high school players are a blank slate. I have seen four-star quarterbacks become corners, defensive ends become offensive tackles, and safeties become running backs. And vice-versa.

Last Saturday, I saw a 6’5, 200-pound 7th grader. He is a freakish athlete. His future head coach and I started talking about him. The player himself thinks he can play tight end. I think he could play defensive end. The coach, meanwhile, wants him to eat a bunch of steaks and be an offensive tackle!

Trying to find where he might fit in the future is one of the challenges we face as evaluators.

So if you’re an NFL scout right now or want to be, the next time you’re at your son’s high school game, take a pen and paper with you. Look at each team’s Hudl page and check out their film. Evaluate their best two players on each team. Produce an eval and track the results. You might be surprised to learn how much it stretches you.