If you’ve ever wanted to dominate Dynasty Mode in College Football 26 without needing a powerhouse program, this guide is for you. Recruiting top-tier talent is the key to building a championship team, but competing against schools like Alabama, Georgia, or Ohio State can feel impossible - unless you know how to find underrecruited stars. With the right scouting strategy, a few smart resource moves like choosing when to buy College Football 26 Coins, and some early-season effort, you can stack your class with four- and five-star prospects for almost no cost. Let’s break down exactly how to do it.

Step 1: Understand How Pipelines Work

Before you even start scouting, you need to understand pipeline states - regions where your program has established recruiting connections. Schools with a pipeline in a player’s home state gain a significant weekly bonus to interest points when investing recruiting hours. The CPU heavily prioritizes recruits from its pipeline states, often ignoring talented players outside of them until later in the season.

That’s where your opportunity comes in. If you target players from states with no major pipeline schools nearby, you can start recruiting them before the big programs even notice. By the time powerhouse schools start showing interest, you’ll already be so far ahead that they won’t catch up.

Step 2: Identify Underrecruited Five-Star Prospects

To find hidden five-star gems, sort your recruiting board by overall rating and start looking closely at their home states and top schools. You’re looking for patterns like these:

· Mismatch between home state and top schools: For example, a recruit from New York listing Georgia, Miami, and Ohio State as favorites. None of those programs have a strong pipeline in New York, meaning they’ll likely focus elsewhere early on.

· Limited pipeline representation: Check each player’s top eight programs. If only a few schools have pipeline boosts - or none at all - that recruit is likely to be ignored early in the cycle.

· Smaller-school favorites: Sometimes a five-star’s top list is filled with mid-tier programs like Missouri, Arizona, or SMU. Those recruitments are far easier to win because elite schools won’t jump in right away.

When you find players like that, add them to your board immediately. These are the recruits you’ll be able to “steal” while the AI focuses on its pipeline players.

Step 3: Apply the Same Logic to Four-Star Recruits

Four-star players follow the same patterns - but they’re even easier to land. Filter your list to only show four-stars who have mutual interest in your program. Then, look for:

· Players leaving their home state (e.g., a Louisiana kid listing Mississippi State and Texas Tech).

· Recruits from non-traditional football states (e.g., Massachusetts, Colorado, or Hawaii).

· Top lists with mostly smaller programs or schools that lack pipelines in the player’s home state.

These four-stars often get zero scholarship offers for the first few weeks. That’s your cue to pounce early and start building a lead.

Step 4: Scout by State for Hidden Talent

One of the most efficient methods is to sort recruits by state and target lesser-represented regions. Certain states produce very few prospects, meaning no major school has an active pipeline there. Examples include:

· Hawaii – Often features a few highly rated players with no local powerhouse competition.

· New Mexico – Great spot for underrecruited four-stars.

· Massachusetts and Connecticut – Consistently overlooked by major programs.

· South Dakota or North Dakota – Occasionally produce solid recruits that no one else touches.

Add any four- or five-star player from these states who doesn’t have multiple scholarships listed. You’ll usually be their only offer through the first month, giving you a massive advantage.

Step 5: Offer Scholarships Early and Manage Hours

Once you’ve filled your board with 20–25 promising recruits, offer them all scholarships immediately. The earlier you extend offers, the faster interest builds. Then, allocate your 50 weekly recruiting hours strategically:

· Prioritize players with no offers yet.

· Put 50 hours into two to three of your most promising five-stars.

· Use smaller hour investments (20–25) on four-stars who already favor your program.

Check weekly progress - if a player isn’t showing interest after a few weeks, remove them and replace them with another underrecruited prospect.

Step 6: Use Visits and Hard Sells Strategically

When you enter a recruit’s top five, schedule a visit during a big home game or rivalry week for the maximum bonus. Combine visits with hard sells (focused recruiting pushes) to lock in your lead. Don’t waste hours on recruits with F-grade interest or elite schools in hot pursuit - focus on the ones you’re already winning.

Step 7: Advance and Watch the Results

As the season progresses, you’ll start seeing five-stars with only one or two scholarship offers - often yours being the first. The CPU will eventually wake up and chase them, but you’ll already be ahead by hundreds of points. Even as a two- or three-star program, you can finish with multiple elite commitments just by targeting the right players early.

Final Thoughts

Recruiting in College Football 26 doesn’t have to be a battle against the big dogs. By understanding how pipelines shape CPU behavior and learning to identify underrecruited states and mismatched prospects, you can build a powerhouse roster without spending extra resources or loads of cheap CFB 26 Coins. Scout smart, act early, and you’ll be signing blue-chip players before Alabama even knows they exist. With this method, landing four- and five-star talent is no longer a dream - it’s a repeatable system that can turn any small program into a national contender.