What’s up, college football fans? It’s time to dive deep into one of the most essential parts of College Football 26 — recruiting. Whether you’re a newcomer to Dynasty mode or a returning veteran trying to refine your strategy, mastering recruiting is the key to building a championship team. The game does an okay job of explaining individual features, but it never really teaches how everything connects. So this guide will take you from the basics all the way to advanced tactics — everything you need to dominate the recruiting trail in College Football 26. Having plenty of CUT 26 Coins will also be a great help.

Setting Up Your Recruiting Board

Every season begins with the preseason recruiting setup phase. Here, you’ll build your recruiting board and decide which prospects to pursue. The total number of “hours” or recruiting points available depends on your school’s star level — the better your program, the more hours you get.

For example:

5-star schools: ~1250 preseason hours → 1000 weekly

2.5-star schools (like Rutgers): 625 preseason hours → 500 weekly

Worst schools (Akron): 375 preseason hours → 300 weekly

That preseason drop-off means you need to plan carefully. If you’ll have 500 weekly hours, you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin. In most cases, targeting around 10 key prospects at the start is a strong strategy. Opening with “Send the House” (50-hour investment) gives a massive early boost in influence — perfect for establishing momentum.

Don’t aim to sign 35 players every year; it’ll overflow your roster. Unless you’re chasing a top-ranked class or the “Elite Recruiter” perk, keep your board lean and focused. Efficiency is everything.

Finding the Right Prospects

When adding prospects, the default filter shows Recommended recruits — typically players close to your program’s attainable talent level. You can press R2 (or Right Trigger) to use more specific filters, including star level, state, and position. The recommended list helps identify your realistic recruiting ceiling, but it doesn’t show every available player, so refine your searches to uncover hidden gems.

Next, consider your pipeline tiers — the lifeblood of recruiting success. Pipeline tiers (0–5) represent your program’s strength in a given region. Higher tiers mean a stronger “engine” in the recruiting race. If you’re a Tier 1 school competing against Tier 4 or Tier 5 powerhouses, even your best effort will struggle to catch up. Cut your losses early and refocus on players where your school has an actual advantage. Great recruiting isn’t just about chasing talent — it’s about maximizing return on every hour spent.

Scholarships and Scouting

Once your board is built, the next steps are offering scholarships and scouting. Always leave the preseason with every player on your board holding a scholarship offer. Scholarships generate a small but steady influence bump every week, so don’t skip this.

Scouting, on the other hand, should be used sparingly — especially if you’re a smaller program. For schools rated 3.5 stars or lower, the preseason is the only time you should spend hours scouting. Use L2 to filter unscouted players and quickly reveal their hidden attributes. Once fully scouted, you’ll uncover Gems (underrated talents) and Busts (overrated prospects). Promote gems to the top of your board immediately, and drop busts unless they fill a critical need or have exceptional raw skills.

In College Football 26, there’s one big change: development traits can now be upgraded in the offseason. This makes busts more viable than before, as you can still invest in their growth later. However, normal progression remains slower, so choose carefully.

Recruiting Phases Explained

Once the season begins, every prospect progresses through several recruiting stages:

Open – Available to all schools (except those filtered out by dealbreakers).

Top 8 – Cuts the field to the top eight schools.

Top 5 – The serious contenders.

Top 3 – The finalists.

Decision – Prospect makes their choice.

A new addition this year is Recruiting Battles, triggered when two schools are tied late in the process. This one-week showdown lets both teams make one last push — high risk, high reward.

The key is monitoring these stages closely. Once you’re cut from a recruit’s top list, all invested hours are wasted. Adjust your strategy weekly to stay alive.

Recruiting Actions and the Perfect Pitch

Once you reach a recruit’s Top 5 phase, advanced recruiting actions unlock — like Send the House, Hard Sell, Soft Sell, Sway, and Visit.

Each prospect has three “green checks,” representing what they care about most (their Perfect Pitch). Your job is to discover these as early as possible. Sending hours earns influence and reveals interests. Once you deduce the correct pitch, Hard Sell it for a huge boost.

If you’re unsure between two options, Soft Sell can reduce penalties for guessing wrong, but it’s weaker overall. Veteran players will notice that College Football 26 makes Perfect Pitch deduction tougher — dealbreakers no longer guarantee early reveals, so process-of-elimination logic is more important than ever.

Sway, often misunderstood, doesn’t give influence. Instead, it adds a new interest to a recruit’s Perfect Pitch if successful. It’s risky and situational — best used only when you’re weak in a prospect’s favorite categories.

Visits and When to Use Them

Visits return this year but now include sliding hour costs based on distance. Bringing in local players is cheaper, while flying in out-of-state prospects costs more. Visits also benefit from new skill tree upgrades that increase their effectiveness.

However, visits only help if you win the game that week — otherwise, you waste the investment. For smaller schools, that’s a major risk. Even at powerhouse programs, many top recruiters still land their classes before heavy visit weeks (around Week 8). Use them strategically, not automatically.

Optimizing Weekly Strategy

Throughout the season, constantly reallocate hours based on progress:

Cut hours from recruits you’re comfortably leading.

Double down on close races where you have a pipeline edge.

Drop hopeless cases (low-tier vs. high-tier competition).

Add replacements to your board when opportunities arise.

A quick rule of thumb:

Average B– or better grades → go for Hard Sell.

Around C to C+ → roughly equal to Send the House.

Below C → keep sending the house for pure influence gain.

Your pipeline tier remains the best indicator of success. Even if you’re in first place on the leaderboard, a rival with a Tier 5 advantage can overtake you fast. Conversely, if you’re behind but have the stronger tier, patience and smart hour allocation will win in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Recruiting in College Football 26 rewards patience, strategy, and adaptability. Focus on efficiency — don’t waste hours chasing impossible targets. Build around your pipelines, learn your prospects’ Perfect Pitches early, and adjust every week. Whether you’re rebuilding a small program or sustaining a dynasty, great recruiting sets the foundation for every championship. Having plenty of CFB 26 Coins will also greatly help you win.

Stay sharp, stay strategic, and remember — a great recruiter isn’t just lucky. They’re calculated.