ICM006: Inside the World of Football Recruiting Analysis with expert “Edgy” Tim O’Halloran

 

Before ESPN Recruiting Nation, Scout.com or 247Sports.com commercialized the recruiting analysis industry, there was a lone cowboy roaming the internet (and fax machines before .com).

His name is Tim O’Halloran. Or for subscribers of his website, edgytim.com, he is known as Edgy Tim.

Since 1995, Edgy Tim has been the premier voice in the Chicago area for high school football fans ravenous for information about the college destination of their favorite Jimmy’s and Joe’s.

You can listen below on iTunes or subscribe to the show using your Android or iOS podcast app.

Read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights of our conversation:

• How Tim worked his day job as a trader in Chicago while building up his recruiting analysis business.

• In the early days of the internet, there was no such thing as a recruiting analyst. Tim listened to his audience which demanded more. How the evolution of his community helped shape the business model.

• A partner with the Rivals network, how Tim distinguishes himself from competitors with a subscription model.

• There is so much free content on the internet these days. How delivering unique content to a niche audience is a key to keeping subscribers.

• No one has shaken up the current recruiting landscape quite like Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh. We talk about Harbaugh’s methods and the challenges coaches have with connecting with the modern teenage recruit.

You can learn more about Edgy Tim by visiting his website, www.edgytim.com. He is also the recruiting expert for csnchicago.com. He is on Twitter @edgytim.