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I am now technically an upper-class college football player, which apparently translates somehow into "leadership skills". This new state of being encompasses many confusing responsibilities, most of which I don't feel incredibly qualified for. I enjoy my role on this team, but it doesn't come without the occasional stress. A good portion of that stress comes from recruiting.

Once again last weekend, I was called upon by our (interim) fearless leader Coach Pedersen to host a football prospie for the night. Most guys don't seem to worry too much about it, but when I am entrusted with the well-being of another person, I take the endeavor quite seriously. A high school kid (not to mention his parents) is trusting me to show him what his life could be like for the next for years, and I obviously need him to think his life will be awesome here.

Admittedly, after a week of Grinnell's academic and athletic workload I'd rather spend a Friday night watching Zoolander and sleeping for 14 hours. My concern for the future of our team disabuses me of this notion, since adding a stud recruit helps us win more games than anything else I could be doing on the weekend (especially if what I'm doing is getting injured, as I've been doing lately). I try to ignore the flashing images of ambulance lights in my head when I agree to host a recruit, and think to myself: He won't die on my watch, I learned my lesson last time.

Having a prospie is a relatively new experience for me. I've had three so far this year, but they were my first three ever. I was supposed to have some the spring of my freshman year at Colorado College, but football recruiting stopped somewhat abruptly when there was no longer a football team to recruit for. Recruiting visits hit home for me because of the ridiculous amount of them I've had to endure as both a high school senior and a college freshman. This extensive exposure to the process has made me somewhat of an expert. I would be the Tom Lemming of Division III recruiting, if anyone cared enough about Division III recruiting for that person to exist.

I've learned firsthand how much work it is to host a prospie, but the real burden of recruiting falls to the coaches. A significant portion of a college football coach's waking hours are spent recruiting; the remaining moments are usually spent watching game film and becoming estranged from one's family. The sheer number of high school kids a coach has to contact on a regular basis in order to somehow magically rake 20 of them into this prestigious institution is nothing short of amazing.

That's why when I feel like complaining about giving up some of my relaxation on a Friday night, I stop short. Guys like Coach Pedersen make our collegiate experience possible, and if I can be a small piece of that experience for another young guy, I'm happy to do it. Besides, as long as the recruit makes it through the night alive, he usually has a good time. Usually.