2017 Son first seen in summer after freshman year at tournament where he played with his HS summer team on campus of Div I he ended up signing with. He is a catcher that was actually catching his 4th game of the day due to an injury of the other catcher that day. He wasn't even suppose to catch that game. Volunteer coach who was in charge of field maintenance asked his summer coach about him. Volunteer coach became full time RC for same Div I team the next year. Invited him to a once a week skills camp during the fall which he attended after HS football practice. Conversation with RC and HC continued during the camp. Watched him play about 5 games during the summer at PG events of his sophomore year. Received an offer from another Div I school during summer of sophomore year on UV after RC saw him play about 3 games at PG events. Two weeks after offer from 2nd Div 1, 1st Div 1 asked for him to come in for UV. 1st Div 1 offered on UV and son committed Sept of his junior year. Perfect fit, great coaching staff and team is a mid major who has been to playoffs and is consistently ranked in top 30. Great academic fit as well. Not to mention 45 minutes from home makes his parents happy.
I am sure what first stood out to coaches was his catching skills, but I firmly believe that coaches seeing him catch his 4th game of the day and choosing to attend skills camp after practicing football for 2.5 hours gave them indication of his mental and physical toughness and what they were looking for in a catcher. Every conversation that son had with coaches this was always mentioned.
As far as grades go son is also 4.0 student who has managed to balance academics and athletics. Summer coaches were very supportive and had numerous discussions with all of the coaches recruiting him. Highly respectable summer program, who have numerous contacts with college coaches.
My point in such a lengthy post is that usually before making an offer schools will not only evaluate you on your athletic skills but also your mental toughness, work ethic, academics and how you play the game. They even mentioned watching how he interacted with other teammates when not in the game. All I can say is that the Div I he signed with did a thorough vetting before offering. This in itself was appealing to son as a recruit and us as parents. Not only were we looking for the right fit but it is just as important to the coaching staff that the recruit is the right fit.