University of Central Florida defensive back’s coach Kirk Callahan knows a thing or two about Hillsborough County football. Callahan was a 4 year letterman at Armwood High School where he played for his father, Sean Callahan. Coach Callahan is a rising star in college football coaching and has already held positions under Butch Davis, Will Muschamp, Urban Meyer and currently George O’Leary.
It was a privilege to be able to sit down with him this week and speak to him about several issues that every high school football player needs to know about recruiting. Big County Preps will have a special three part series revolving around this interview and the topics will consist of college junior days, how UCF decides what high school athletes to offer and finally the positive and negative aspects of social media.
Part 1: Junior Days
Question: Coach Callahan what is the purpose of college junior days?
Answer: Basically it boils down to getting kids on campus. We want to get as many high school kids on campus at UCF’s junior days as possible. We feel that there is a lot UCF has to offer and we want to show that to as many recruits as possible.
Q: What is the general schedule like once a recruit arrives on campus?
A: We will first give them a tour of our facilities. UCF has some of the newest and best training facilities in the state and we want potential recruits to be able to see what we have to offer. We will take them to areas such as the Nicholson Fieldhouse which is our indoor practice facility (UCF currently has the only IPF in the state), the athletic dorms, Bright House Networks Stadium and the Wayne Densch Sports Center. At the sports center our coaching staff will have a meet and greet with the athletes. This will be essential for both our staff and the potential recruits. The recruits will be able to gain a more interpersonal relationship with the staff and be able to talk to an academic advisor. Our staff will be conducting an eyeball test of each recruit and will be able to determine if his height, weight and frame has been accurately reported. We will also be trying to establish an overall feel for each recruit and where they stand in the recruiting process (To check out UCF’s facilities you can visit: http://www.ucfathletics.com/facilities/ucf-facilities-new.html).
Q: Are junior days invite only?
A: No, junior days must be open to the general public; however, we do send letters inviting kids that we would like to attend. We work very closely with high school coaches in order to get information about our junior days to the athletes that we feel would benefit most from attending.
Q: Will the high school players work out at all during the junior days?
A: No, high school players are only allowed to workout at camps and they have to pay to attend those. Even though the kids do not work out at junior day’s the coaches will be watching them closely to gain all kids of useful information about the prospect. If the recruit is interested in the school the junior days can be an important event to attend.
– Anthony Peace