College Football 25’s Dynasty mode is all about building a long-lasting football empire. And at the heart of any successful dynasty? Elite recruiting. This comprehensive guide is your playbook to mastering recruiting in CFB 25, ensuring you consistently land top talent and stay ahead of the competition. Whether you’re new to dynasty mode or a seasoned veteran, these strategies will help you build a powerhouse program.
I. Preseason Recruiting: Setting Up Your Dynasty for Success
The preseason is the foundation of your recruiting year. Smart moves here will pay dividends throughout the season and beyond.
1. Mastering Your Recruiting Board: Scholarships, Pipelines, and Dealbreakers
Setting up your recruiting board effectively in Week 1 is crucial. Here’s how to optimize your initial setup:
DO offer at least 35 scholarships during Week 1. This is not just a suggestion, it’s a cornerstone of effective recruiting. As highlighted by Max Plays CFB, the 5 recruiting points spent on scholarships are the most valuable investment you can make. Scholarships are your primary tool to signal serious interest and get the ball rolling with top prospects.
DO leverage Pipelines extensively. Pipelines are geographical areas where your program has established recruiting advantages. Navigate to My Pipelines and sort by Rank to identify your strongest pipeline states. Pipelines act as multipliers for your recruiting efforts, making it significantly easier to recruit players from those regions.
There are five pipeline levels, each indicated by a color:
- Pink: Level 5 (Best)
- Blue: Level 4
- Gold: Level 3
- Silver: Level 2
- Bronze: Level 1 (Still beneficial)
Pink and blue pipelines offer a substantial advantage compared to gold, silver, and bronze. Be realistic about your chances with recruits outside your strong pipelines, especially against schools with stronger pipeline connections. While you can still offer scholarships to out-of-pipeline prospects, understand it will be an uphill battle if top pipeline schools enter the fray.
DO remember Playing Time is a Dealbreaker. Be mindful of roster management as you build your recruiting board. Offering too many scholarships at a specific position can trigger the “Playing Time” dealbreaker for some recruits, causing them to lose interest in your program. Always check for potential dealbreakers if a recruit’s interest suddenly wanes. Other dealbreakers like “Championship Contender” can also impact your recruiting success down the line.
DO NOT fill your board with anything below 3-star prospects in Week 1 (if possible). For established programs, consider focusing on 4-star recruits and above right from the start. You can always target 2-star recruits later in the recruiting cycle when needed. The initial weeks are best spent pursuing higher-rated talent. The exception is if you are playing with house rules as a lower-rated school, in which case focusing on 3-star and below within your pipeline is a viable strategy.
2. Strategic Scouting for Gems: Balancing Discovery with Action
Scouting is important, but it shouldn’t overshadow active recruiting, especially after Week 1.
DO scout during the first week, but DO NOT over-scout after that. Focus your initial scouting efforts to uncover “gems” – players with hidden development traits. As detailed in another guide on gems in CFB 25, these traits significantly impact player progression. However, remember that recruiting hours are your most valuable resource.
Early in the season, especially for smaller programs with limited hours (600-900 in Week 1), prioritize scholarship offers and initial contact. Allocate a portion of your hours (e.g., 175 for 35 scholarships) and then decide how much to dedicate to scouting in Week 1. Full scouting reveals gem status, but it’s time-consuming.
As you become more experienced, you can refine your scouting approach. Focus on key ratings and archetypes that align with desired abilities. Abilities often outweigh raw ratings, especially top-tier abilities.
Here’s a breakdown of highly valuable abilities to look for:
- Top Tier Abilities: Side Step, Shifty, Takeoff, Jammer, 360, Road Dog
- Great Abilities: Quick Jump, Ballhawk, Field General, Mobile Deadeye, Headfirst, Wrap Up, Blanket Coverage, Pocket Disruptor
Identifying players with these abilities, or understanding the rating baselines for them, can save scouting hours and streamline your process.
For powerhouse programs like Alabama or Georgia with abundant recruiting hours (1200+), a more thorough scouting approach is feasible. You can afford to fully scout more prospects and focus on elite “green gem” 4-star and 5-star recruits.
3. Navigating the 300-Player Limit: Finding Hidden Talent
DO NOT let EA fool you: the 300-player screen limit is real. Dynasty mode screens can only display 300 players at a time. Since there are typically around 400 4-star recruits annually, simply sorting by “4-Star Recruits” under the “Any” tab will hide some prospects.
To ensure you see all potential recruits, DO sort by position when filtering by star rating (4-star, 3-star, etc.). The same applies when sorting by “My Pipelines” – add position filters to see all pipeline recruits within each star level. This prevents missing out on valuable players hidden beyond the 300-player limit.
4. Position Flexibility and Needs: Think Archetypes, Not Just Positions
DO target positions of need and position groups, but DO NOT over-fixate on specific positions like HB. While positional needs are important, remember that player positions can be changed during the offseason. Running Back (HB) is a position particularly easy to fill by converting players from other positions, especially Wide Receivers.
Wide Receivers are incredibly versatile. They can be converted to Running Backs, Tight Ends, Cornerbacks, and Safeties. Consider player archetypes when evaluating position changes. Certain archetypes translate better to new positions.
This flexibility doesn’t mean ignoring a top-rated HB prospect, but recognize alternative pathways to filling positional needs. If you identify a group of talented offensive tackles but need interior offensive linemen (guards and centers), don’t dismiss the tackles. They can be effectively converted to guards and centers once on campus. The same principle applies across the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary.
5. Understanding Mental Abilities: Locked Potential
DO understand that Mental abilities are locked from the start. Unlike physical abilities that can be developed, Mental abilities in recruiting are fixed and cannot be upgraded throughout a player’s career in Dynasty mode.
While most Mental abilities are not game-changers, DO take note of “Road Dog” and “Field General.” These are highly impactful, especially at the Platinum level. Recruits with these mental abilities bring immediate leadership and on-field intelligence that can elevate your team.
6. Understanding Basic Player Progression: Development Traits and Skill Caps
DO understand basic player progression concepts. While a detailed player progression guide is forthcoming, grasping the fundamentals is crucial for informed recruiting.
- Star Rating and Initial Ratings: Higher star recruits generally have higher initial ratings upon arriving on campus. Star ratings provide a general range for starting ratings.
- Development Traits and XP: Development traits (Elite, Star, Impact, Normal) determine how quickly recruits earn XP. XP is used by players to purchase rating and ability upgrades. Prioritize recruits with Star or Elite development traits.
- Skill Caps vs. Development Traits: These are separate but related. Development traits dictate development speed, while skill caps define a player’s maximum potential in each rating category. Even an Elite development trait player might have skill caps limiting their overall potential. Coaching upgrades can help raise skill caps.
- Coaching Abilities and Progression: Coaching skill trees offer upgrades that boost XP gain and even raise skill caps, further enhancing player development.
Example Scenario: A 2-star recruit with an Elite Development Trait might develop quickly but have lower skill caps and a lower ceiling than a 4-star recruit with an Impact Development Trait, even though the 4-star develops slower initially. While “red gem” Normal Development Trait recruits are generally less desirable, a 5-star recruit with a Normal trait will often still outperform a lower-rated recruit with a better development trait.
Prioritize Star and Elite Development Traits, ensure these players see playing time to maximize their development, even if redshirting them initially.
7. Schedule Awareness for Visits: Strategic Timing
DO be sure to at least look at your team’s schedule when planning visits. While scheduling visits is secondary to consistent weekly recruiting actions, strategic timing can provide an edge.
Aim to schedule home game visits around Week 4-6, ideally during an “easier” home game. This allows you to leverage the game day atmosphere and potentially secure early commitments. While bye weeks are less impactful, they are still better than scheduling visits during tough away games.
II. In-Season Recruiting: Executing Your Recruiting Strategy
Once the season begins, consistent execution is key.
1. Recruiting is a Marathon, Not a Sprint: The Long Game
DO remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Recruiting is a phased process involving cut-down lists: Top 8, Top 5, and Top 3. While instant commits can occur, the real competition intensifies during the Top 5 and Top 3 stages.
Your initial goal is simply to make the cut lists and stay in contention. At the start of the “real” recruiting season (after preseason scouting and scholarship offers), be prepared to invest heavily (minimum 50 hours, potentially more based on coaching abilities) to break into a recruit’s Top 8 if you aren’t already listed. Once in the Top 8, you can adjust your intensity based on the competition.
DO NOT be tricked by green and red arrows next to recruiting actions. EA’s green arrow system indicates action strength but isn’t directly additive across different action types.
“Send the House” (5 green arrows, 50 hours) is the most powerful influence action. Actions like “DM the Player” or “Contact Friends and Family” are less impactful individually, even though they might seem more efficient based on green arrows per hour. Focus on the most potent actions at each stage of the recruiting process.
2. Mastering the Influence Bar: Visualizing Progress and Competition
DO understand how the influence bar works. This is vital for analyzing your recruiting progress each week.
Key elements to analyze on the influence bar:
- Darker Influence Area: This represents the influence gained in the previous week for your school. A small increase despite significant hour investment can be a warning sign.
- Pipeline Tier: Pay close attention to pipeline tiers of competing schools. Stronger pipelines (pink and blue) pose a greater threat. If you are a non-pipeline school or have a weaker pipeline and are leading, be aggressive to lock down the recruit before stronger pipeline schools gain momentum.
- Influence Bar Resets: The influence bar resets at each cutdown (Top 8, Top 5, Top 3). However, hours invested “overflow” and contribute to the new influence bar in the subsequent stage. Reaching the top of the influence bar triggers the cutdown.
Visual Example Breakdown (Weeks 1-4 from Original Article):
Week 1: Oregon’s progress bar shows their influence gain (darker green).
Week 2: Cutdown to Top 8 occurs. Oregon’s influence bar is already halfway full for the Top 5 stage due to overflow from Week 1 actions. Alabama enters the Top 8 despite no pipeline.
Week 3: Top 8 stage continues for another week. Alabama moves into the Top 3 with significant influence gain, closing in on Oregon (blue pipeline).
Week 4: Cutdown to Top 5. Alabama surpasses Oregon in influence for the week, although Oregon remains a pipeline threat.
This visual example demonstrates how influence bars evolve, the impact of pipelines, and the importance of consistent effort throughout the recruiting cycle.
III. The Final Push: Securing Commitments
As you narrow down to the Top 5 and Top 3, new recruiting actions become available for the final push.
1. Hard Sell and The Rule of 19: The Ultimate Closing Tool
DO remember that Hard Sell and Send the House are now your best choices. In the later stages, Hard Sell becomes the most powerful tool if it meets “The Rule of 19,” a strategy popularized by Max Plays CFB.
“The Rule of 19” leverages the motivation grades (A+ to F) in Hard Sell pitches. Convert letter grades to numerical values (A+ = 13, F = 1).
If the sum of numerical values for the three green checkmark motivations in a Hard Sell pitch is 19 or greater, Hard Sell is more effective than Send the House.
Example: A Hard Sell pitch with grades A+ (13), B+ (10), and D- (2) totals 25 points, exceeding 19. In this case, Hard Selling is the optimal action. You can combine Hard Sell with a smaller action like “DM the Player” to reach your desired weekly hour investment (e.g., 50 hours).
2. Solving the Hard Sell Puzzle: Identifying the Perfect Pitch
The challenge with Hard Sell is identifying the correct three motivations to pitch.
- Leverage the Dealbreaker: The Dealbreaker motivation (visible on the Overview screen) is always one of the green checkmark motivations.
- Identify Existing Green Checks: If you see a green checkmark motivation that isn’t the Dealbreaker, you know two of the three motivations.
- Process of Elimination: With two motivations identified, you can often deduce the third through elimination. Test potential pitches.
Example Scenario: You know “Playing Style” is the Dealbreaker. You see a green checkmark for “Time To Get To Work,” and a gray box for the third motivation. Try a Hard Sell pitch assuming the third motivation is “Playing Time.” If that doesn’t work, consider alternative pitches.
If the process of elimination is inconclusive:
- Soft Sell: Use Soft Sell on a potential pitch to reveal the best pitch next week if incorrect. This costs 20 hours.
- Sway: Use Sway on a potential pitch, hoping to convert a gray box into a green check. This costs 30 hours and isn’t guaranteed.
- Schedule a Visit: Schedule a visit using the Dealbreaker motivation (since you know it’s correct). This costs 40 hours upfront but can be a strong closing move.
In most situations, defaulting back to “Send the House” is a reliable option if the Hard Sell puzzle is too complex.
3. The Role of Soft Sell, Sway, and Schedule Visits: Secondary Tools
DO NOT use Soft Sell, Sway, or Schedule Visit as primary recruiting tools. They are supplementary actions.
- DM, Social Media, Friends and Family: Use these for minor boosts when hours are limited or as additions to Hard Sell or Send the House.
- Sway: Rarely use Sway. Its niche is attempting to flip a red “X” motivation into a green check, potentially creating four green checks. Only use Sway when you already know at least two of the green checkmarks. Avoid using Sway repeatedly if it fails.
- Soft Sell: Primarily useful in specific Sway scenarios or as a cheaper way to identify the correct Hard Sell pitch when hours are tight.
- Schedule Visits: A “sometimes” option. Visits are 40 hours upfront, so use them decisively.
DO NOT schedule visits far in advance. Aim for visits within the next week or two, ideally securing the first visit. Scheduling a Week 11 visit in Week 4 is inefficient. Use the Dealbreaker motivation for on-campus pitches if unsure of other green checks, or the highest-graded motivation if multiple are known.
Complementary Visits: Scheduling visits for position groups (QB/HB/WR/OL together or defensive groups) can be beneficial. Competitive Visits: Avoid scheduling multiple players at the same position in the same week, as it can create negative outcomes.
4. Continuous Prospecting and Big Dog Threats: Staying Ahead
DO NOT forget to add more prospects throughout the year. As recruiting progresses, continuously replenish your board. The best way to find new prospects is to sort the Prospect List by the “Offer” column and look for N (0).
These are prospects who haven’t received scholarship offers and are often receptive to immediate interest. Regularly check 4-star and 3-star prospects with no offers to fill out your class.
DO NOT forget about the big dog schools. Even if you feel secure with lower-rated 4-star or 3-star prospects who haven’t received much early attention, be aware that top programs will eventually turn their attention to these players as their primary targets commit. Pipeline schools can quickly become a threat even for seemingly “safe” recruits.
Verbal Commitments and Dealbreakers: A verbal commitment isn’t a signed contract. Until Signing Day, recruits can decommit. If a committed player’s dealbreaker (e.g., Championship Contender) is no longer met by their committed school (due to poor performance), they might decommit and reconsider your program (if you finished second). Keep track of key recruits on your board even after verbal commitments, especially if dealbreakers are in play.
IV. Transfer Portal and Offseason Recruiting: Rebuilding and Reloading
The Transfer Portal and offseason recruiting are accelerated versions of the regular recruiting cycle.
1. Dominating the Transfer Portal: Speed and Efficiency
DO NOT overthink the Transfer Portal. The rules are the same as regular recruiting, but everything moves faster, and you have more recruiting hours available.
Offer scholarships immediately, schedule visits as soon as available, and invest heavily in your top targets. The Top 8/5/3 cutdown process is bypassed. Influence at the end of the transfer window determines commitments. Be in first place by the final week for uncommitted portal recruits.
2. Staff Management and Coaching Abilities: Enhancing Your Program
Staff management, while not a core focus of this guide, plays a role. Stacking coaching abilities (having multiple coaches with the same abilities) provides bonuses. Distributing abilities across different skill trees through assistant coaches is also a viable strategy.
3. Persuading Players and Position Changes: Final Roster Tweaks
Persuading players to stay is straightforward, with success depending on coach abilities and player motivations. Coaching abilities in the CEO and Program Builder trees increase persuasion chances and the number of players you can persuade.
Position changes in the offseason are a valuable tool. Remember the versatility of positions like WR.
As illustrated, a WR can be effectively converted to other positions based on need and player archetype.
Conclusion: Your Dynasty Awaits
Mastering recruiting is the key to building a dominant dynasty in CFB 25. By understanding these mechanics, implementing strategic planning, and consistently executing these techniques, you’ll consistently attract top talent, out-recruit your rivals, and create a college football program that reigns supreme for years to come. Utilize this guide to optimize your recruiting strategies, experiment with different approaches, and innovate to forge your own path to dynasty glory. Good luck, coach!
