Most young athletes who take an interest in football have envisioned participating in the hyped up game environment they’ve seen on ESPN or experienced live at a college football game. Tens of thousands of fans intently watching and cheering while highly accomplished athletes battle it out on the gridiron makes the game that much more intense and competitive.
In this article, I’m going to explain to you how to become a D1 college football player, including what numbers you need to hit athletically (i.e. speed and strength) to play the various positions on a college football field. I’ll discuss the skills and experience you need to add to your high school football resume. I’ll also talk about the recruiting process, which (especially for athletes who are “on the bubble”) makes a big difference in landing a spot on a team in the highest level of college football.
When I first started playing football at age 14, I was convinced I would someday play college football, hopefully on my way to the pros. Neither of those (college or pro football) worked out for me.
I should have been able to pick up on that early on in my high school football career. I was 5’9″ at my freshman year of high school, and I thought I’d end up growing to at least 6 feet tall. That never happened. My body never added even a fraction of an inch of growth.
I played outside linebacker in my freshman and sophomore years at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida. Then, after my family moved to Utah, I switched to inside linebacker. My Orem Tigers went undefeated my senior year until we lost a close 7-3 game in the Utah state championship game to a team whose quarterback (Brandon Doman) would go on to a successful college career at BYU. (I’ll embed that game below just for fun. Look for the short, stout linebacker: #1)
While my high school football career was successful, I wasn’t on track for becoming the D1 college football player I had hoped to become. I was a 5-foot, 9-inch tall, 200-pound linebacker whose best 40-time was 4.94. Those numbers don’t match what D1 college football teams are looking for when they recruit linebackers. That’s why I’m writing this article.
I now have two sons who are determined to play D1 football. My 5’9″ (and still growing!) 15-year-old wants to be a quarterback, and my 5’7″ 14-year-old wants to play wide receiver. Those are ambitious goals for our family, which hasn’t in the past been known for taking athleticism to the D1 college level.
As I walk you through how to become a D1 football player, hopefully the things I share here will give you motivation to hit the numbers you need to hit to achieve your goal.
Obviously there is a wide spectrum of personas on a college football field. You have your heavyweights on the offensive and defensive line. Qualifying for those positions depends heavily on size and strength. Your skill positions – quarterback, running back, wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense – depend much more on speed.
So, if you’re 5’8″ tall, it will be almost impossible for you to become an offensive or defensive lineman. Most lineman at the D1 level of football are at least 6’2″ tall.
Making it to the D1 (which is actually comprised of two divisions known as FBS or Football Bowl Subdivision and FCS or Football Championship Subdivision) level for football involves developing the size, speed, and strength typical of whatever position you’re hoping to play at the next level.
Here is some data that should be helpful for understanding the size range for the various D1 college football players. Clearly there are outliers, but as you think about your prospects for playing on an FCS college football team, it’s helpful to compare your size to what you see listed below.
While it’s nearly impossible (we think) to change your height, gaining or losing weight can be done if either of those is required to get to the target weight range for a particular position.
| Position | Height Range | Weight Range |
| Offensive Line (OL) | Height: 6’2″ – 6’7″ | Weight: 290 – 330+ lbs |
| Quarterback (QB) | Height: 6’2″ – 6’5″ | Weight: 200 – 230 lbs |
| Tailback (RB) | Height: 5’9″ – 6’2″ | Weight: 190 – 220 lbs |
| Fullback (FB) | Height: 5’10” – 6’2″ | Weight: 230 – 250 lbs |
| Wide Receiver (WR) | Height: 5’11” – 6’4″ | Weight: 180 – 220 lbs |
| Position | Height Range | Weight Range |
| Defensive Line (DL) | Height: 6’2″ – 6’6″ | Weight: 260 – 320+ lbs |
| Inside Linebacker (ILB) | Height: 6’1″ – 6’4″ | Weight: 240 – 260 lbs |
| Outside Linebacker (OLB) | Height: 6’0″ – 6’3″ | Weight: 220 – 250 lbs |
| Safety (S) | Height: 5’11” – 6’3″ | Weight: 195 – 220 lbs |
| Cornerback (CB) | Height: 5’10” – 6’2″ | Weight: 180 – 200 lbs |
Over the past several decades, as the game has evolved to be more than just up the middle dive plays, the ability to run fast has become extremely important for most positions, especially skill positions. As you likely already know, the 40-yard dash is the most commonly used metric for assessing player speed. Below are the typical ranges for the various offensive and defensive positions on D1 college football teams.
I’ve also included vertical leap ranges, since that assessment is frequently used alongside 40 times to assess a player’s athleticism.
Pocket passing focused quarterbacks are sometimes exceptions to these (Tom Brady’s 40 time was 5.28 seconds), but even if you’re planning to play D1 college football as a quarterback, you’ll want to try to run at least a 4.9-second 40-yard dash.
| Position | 40-Yard Dash Time | Vertical Leap |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive Line | 5.1 – 5.3 seconds | 24 – 28 inches |
| Quarterback | 4.7 – 4.9 seconds | 28 – 32 inches |
| Tailback (RB) | 4.4 – 4.6 seconds | 32 – 36 inches |
| Fullback (FB) | 4.7 – 4.9 seconds | 30 – 34 inches |
| Wide Receiver (WR) | 4.4 – 4.6 seconds | 34 – 38 inches |
| Position | 40-Yard Dash Time | Vertical Leap |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive Line | 4.8 – 5.1 seconds | 28 – 32 inches |
| Inside Linebacker | 4.6 – 4.8 seconds | 30 – 34 inches |
| Outside Linebacker | 4.5 – 4.7 seconds | 32 – 36 inches |
| Safety | 4.5 – 4.6 seconds | 34 – 38 inches |
| Cornerback | 4.4 – 4.5 seconds | 35 – 40 inches |
| Position | Squat | Power Clean | Bench Press | Deadlift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Line | 500 – 600+ lbs | 300 – 350+ lbs | 350 – 450+ lbs | 600 – 700+ lbs |
| Quarterback | 350 – 450 lbs | 225 – 275 lbs | 225 – 300 lbs | 400 – 500 lbs |
| Tailback (RB) | 400 – 500 lbs | 275 – 315 lbs | 300 – 400 lbs | 500 – 600 lbs |
| Fullback (FB) | 450 – 550 lbs | 275 – 315 lbs | 300 – 400 lbs | 500 – 600 lbs |
| Wide Receiver (WR) | 350 – 450 lbs | 225 – 275 lbs | 225 – 300 lbs | 400 – 500 lbs |
| Position | Squat | Power Clean | Bench Press | Deadlift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive Line | 500 – 600+ lbs | 300 – 350+ lbs | 350 – 450+ lbs | 600 – 700+ lbs |
| Inside Linebacker | 450 – 550 lbs | 275 – 315 lbs | 300 – 400 lbs | 500 – 600 lbs |
| Outside Linebacker | 400 – 500 lbs | 275 – 315 lbs | 300 – 400 lbs | 500 – 600 lbs |
| Safety | 350 – 450 lbs | 225 – 275 lbs | 225 – 300 lbs | 400 – 500 lbs |
| Cornerback | 350 – 450 lbs | 225 – 275 lbs | 225 – 300 lbs | 400 – 500 lbs |
You may have heard of an organization called NCSA (Next College Student Athlete). NCSA is a for-profit organization that has filled an important role of connecting aspiring athletes (high school as well as middle school) with college coaches with the intention of having the athletes earn scholarships. As you can tell from the very existence of this organization, the process of matching football players with D1 football teams tends to be longer-term than you might expect.
It was my understanding (or lack of understanding) when I was playing high school football that I would just play hard, and that college football recruiters would see me on the news making tackles and doing big things, and they’d pursue me. That’s not how it happens for most athletes who want to play D1 college football. You have to do what it takes to get noticed by coaches, to stand out from the crowd, and to sell yourself to them, including with your size, strength and speed information as well as with your track record as a high school football player.
Here is a summary of what the NCSA has published as guidelines for high school football achievements that will get you to the D1 college football level.
To be recruited for a D1 college football program, players need a combination of skill sets and experience. Here are some levels of achievement NCSA recommends for having the best chance at a D1 football program.
Achieving the All-State level is a key element of getting recruited to be a D1 college football player, but there are also other ways to demonstrate proficiency, including attending football camps held at colleges. Football camps are normally held in the summer, most often in June. If there are specific colleges you’re interested in playing for, do a quick Google search for that school and “football camp”, and you’ll find an opportunity to make connections with the coaches with the potential for becoming part of their program.
It should be clear that the earlier you start on this process the better. It’s hard to be a 3-year varsity starter if you don’t start playing high school football until your junior year. At the same time, some kids don’t even develop physically enough to excel in football until they’re older teenagers (15 to 17), but they can catch up quickly, making serious, even breakout progress in one season.
You might know Richie Contartesi as a motivational speaker. His credentials, among other things, include earning a D1 football scholarship at Ole Miss as a 5’7″, 150-pound wide receiver who had to do some scrapping to earn that privilege.
In his video below, Richie describes the college football recruiting process, including how to use the college football recruiting system to make sure that you’re tracking towards the college football experience you want.
Here is a summary of Richie’s suggestions, which are fairly typical of what you’ll hear from recruiting consultants:
I hope this overview of how to become a D1 college football player have been helpful.
Now go hit the weights!