College Early Enrollment Growing in Popularity

Many high school seniors who enrolled in college early, like Tim Tebow back in 2006, are finding it much easier to become acclimated with their college surroundings when enrolling in college in January. This definitely has its benefits. Tim Tebow became a team leader early on and helped lead the Florida Gators to the 2006 National Championship. His success was due to early preparation.

Early enrollees have the first-hand opportunity to get a jump start on their fledgling football careers by being able to participate in winter workouts, learn the playbooks and participate in the 15 spring practices. Additionally, they have the opportunity to show their skills at their annual college spring football game.

Another outstanding athlete that enrolled early and later became a standout for the Ohio State Buckeyes was Maurice Clarett. Maurice was one of the major impact players that helped lead Ohio State to the 2002 National Championship. He also inspired former Florida State standout Myron Rolle to consider an early start.

In January 2005, receiver Derrick Williams joined the list of those that took advantage of an early start. He enrolled in January at Penn State, and his leadership helped the Nittany Lions strengthen their football program that helped put them back on track. Compared to only 35 early recruits in 2004, the 2010 class had an amazing 141 early enrollees.

One of the greatest benefits that the early enrollee reaps is the ability to work with the strength and conditioning coaches. College football is much faster than high school and it gives the kids a chance to work on their strength, agility and speed. This enables them to get a head start on those that join them later at summer practices. By summer, those that enrolled in January, already have a great head start and have worked extensively with their position coaches. There are many advantages to enrolling early and it seems as if this will continue on for some time.