Alright, so I decided to dive into Draft Day Sports: College Football 2025 recently. Been meaning to check it out, see what the fuss was about, you know?
First thing I did was fire it up and get my coach set up. Spent a bit of time tweaking the name and appearance, trying to make someone who looked like they’ve seen a few tough seasons. Decided against going for a powerhouse team right away. Thought it’d be more fun, more of a challenge, to start lower down the ladder. Picked a team in one of the smaller conferences, figuring I’d try and build them up. Felt more rewarding that way, if I could pull it off.
Getting Started
Once I landed on the team screen, the first big task hit me: recruiting. Man, this is where the game really sinks its teeth into you. It’s not just clicking buttons; you actually gotta put in some work.
- I started by looking at my team’s needs. Obvious stuff, like where we were weak from graduating players.
- Then I hit the recruiting map. Filtered prospects by position, state, interest level. It’s a lot to sift through.
- Spent a good chunk of time just scouting. Reading reports, watching virtual “film” snippets. Trying to figure out who the real gems were versus the guys who just looked good on paper.
- Started making calls, sending out scholarship offers. You only have so many points or so much time each week, so you gotta prioritize who you chase hard. Made a few mistakes early on, offering guys who clearly weren’t interested. Lesson learned.
Parallel to recruiting, I had to manage the current team. Setting up the depth chart took some fiddling. Moved players around, tried to get the best guys in starting spots based on their ratings and my planned schemes. Also had to set the basic offensive and defensive playbooks. Didn’t get too fancy initially, just stuck with some balanced approaches.
The Season Grind
Then the season actually started. Week by week, it’s a cycle.
Game Day: I mostly simmed the games to keep things moving, but I’d often jump in to watch the play-by-play, especially for conference games or rivals. Made a few adjustments mid-game if things were going sideways – changing playbook focus, telling the defense to get more aggressive, that kind of thing. Won some, lost some. The losses with a small school sting a bit more, felt realistic.
Weekly Tasks: Between games, it was back to recruiting – making calls, scheduling visits for prospects. Also had to set the practice focus for the week, trying to improve specific areas or prepare for the next opponent. And of course, dealing with the inevitable injuries or player discipline issues that popped up.
Off-Season Shuffle
Made it through the first season. Didn’t win the championship or anything, obviously. The off-season felt just as busy, maybe more so.
- Finalized recruiting. Signed a few guys I was happy with, missed out on some top targets. That’s how it goes.
- Handled players leaving – graduating seniors, and yeah, had a couple transfer out. Had to check the transfer portal myself, see if there was anyone worth grabbing.
- Spent time on training, assigning points to returning players to hopefully boost their skills for next year.
- Reviewed my coaching staff, decided to keep everyone for continuity, at least for year two.
So yeah, that’s basically been my process with it so far. It’s deep. Lots of moving parts to manage. Recruiting is definitely the core, and it takes time. But honestly, it feels pretty rewarding when you land a player you spent weeks chasing, or when your game plan actually works out on Saturday. It scratches that management itch, for sure. Looking forward to seeing if I can actually build this program into something respectable over the next few virtual years.
