So, everybody keeps buzzing about this Eli Holstein guy lately. Recruiting guru, right? Talking football stars. Me being deep into sports stuff, figured I gotta figure out his deal for myself. Where do these recruiting legends even find these kids? Started simple, just like anyone else would. Hopped onto the computer late one night, coffee cold beside me, and just… searched. Started typing his name, seeing what popped up.
First thing hits you? The places he’s sniffing around. Forget just the big, shiny college towns everyone knows. I started digging through news snippets, social media bits – even some random forum threads folks mentioned him. Noticed a pattern real quick. Yeah, he hits the powerhouse high schools, the ones pumping out five-stars like it’s nothing. Obvious, right? But man, that ain’t even half of it.
So I kept tabs. Made a stupid little list on a notepad app:
- Florida & Georgia: Big-time schools for sure, but he’s also at these smaller places nobody talks about. Like, schools tucked away in towns you gotta squint to see on a map.
- California: Not just L.A., Bay Area. He’s popping up in the Central Valley way more than the other guys.
- Midwest: Ohio, Michigan – yeah, the usual suspects. But also hitting Nebraska, Iowa kinda hard? More than I expected.
- Texas: This one’s crazy. Everyone recruits Texas. But he spends weeks bouncing between San Antonio, Dallas, Houston… and going deep into the Rio Grande Valley.
Okay, cool, geography lesson. But why those spots? Took me a minute. Wasn’t just chasing rankings. Started comparing lists – his offers versus where those kids actually ended up playing. Big lightbulb moment came when I looked at some small-town kids from… heck, somewhere like rural Alabama maybe? Guys maybe ranked three-stars, sometimes lower. Holstein offered early, like really early. Before the hype sometimes. Then, boom. Kid blows up senior year, gets a dozen big offers. But Holstein was there first.
That’s his hook. The main thing I figured out after wasting way too many evenings staring at screens. He’s not just waiting for the stars to shine. He’s got scouts, sure, but he puts in the legwork himself to places others don’t bother looking until it’s too late. Finds them raw, offers early and shows serious love, and builds that connection way before Alabama or Ohio State comes sniffing. Seems simple, right? “Be early.” But man, it takes grinding. Out-hustling. Sleeping in cheap hotels and driving hours to see one practice. Found some quote where he basically said everyone misses gems hiding in plain sight if they don’t turn over every stone.
End of the day? The “top strategy” feels less like magic and more like old-school hard work mixed with a gut feeling for spotting potential before the crystal ball lights up. Just putting yourself everywhere, all the time, and actually watching, not just reading reports. Guess that’s why he finds them. Now, someone pass me another coffee… gotta catch up on last night’s tape from some school in Oklahoma.
