When Curtis Blackwell was a promising defensive back at Detroit King in the mid-1990s, college football recruiting was a lot different than it is today.
Blackwell attended a few college camps the summer after his junior year. He played his senior season in 1995, when coaches watched his games. They invited him to watch their games. He had offers from a few schools, including Western Michigan and Central Michigan. But he chose Hampton, a historically black college in Virginia. His recruitment barely lasted a year. But that was 20 years ago.
Blackwell is now the recruiting coordinator for Michigan State’s football program, and the process of identifying, recruiting and obtaining talent — which will culminate Wednesday during National Signing Day — has become among the most drawn out, complex and highly competitive at any level of sports.