Athletic Aid Agreement
An agreement tied to a student-athlete's athletic financial aid.
Glossary category
College Football Recruiting & Roster Glossary
These entries explain how players join programs, move through rosters, preserve eligibility, and affect team talent.
Back to all glossary termsTop Recruiting & Roster Terms
Athletic Aid AgreementAn agreement tied to a student-athlete's athletic financial aid.Blue-Chip RatioThe percentage of a roster or recruiting class made up of blue-chip recruits.Blue-Chip RecruitA high-end recruit, usually a four-star or five-star prospect.BlueshirtA roster-management term for a player who may join a program under specific scholarship-counting conditions.CommitmentA recruit's public pledge to join a school.Composite RatingA combined recruiting rating that blends evaluations from multiple recruiting services.Contact PeriodA recruiting calendar period when coaches may have certain forms of direct contact with recruits.Dead PeriodA recruiting calendar period when in-person recruiting contact is restricted.
All Recruiting & Roster Definitions
60 terms
Blue-Chip Ratio
The percentage of a roster or recruiting class made up of blue-chip recruits.
Blue-Chip Recruit
A high-end recruit, usually a four-star or five-star prospect.
Blueshirt
A roster-management term for a player who may join a program under specific scholarship-counting conditions.
Commitment
A recruit's public pledge to join a school.
Composite Rating
A combined recruiting rating that blends evaluations from multiple recruiting services.
Contact Period
A recruiting calendar period when coaches may have certain forms of direct contact with recruits.
Dead Period
A recruiting calendar period when in-person recruiting contact is restricted.
Decommitment
When a recruit backs away from a previous commitment.
Depth Chart
A position-by-position list of players and their projected roles.
Early Enrollee
A recruit who enrolls before the fall semester, often in January, to join the program early.
Early Signing Period
An earlier signing window that allows recruits to formalize their college choice before the traditional signing date.
Eligibility
A player's status as allowed to compete under NCAA, conference, academic, transfer, and roster rules.
Eligibility Clock
The timeline governing how many seasons or years a player has available to compete.
Evaluation Period
A recruiting period when coaches may evaluate prospects, such as at games, practices, or events.
Five-Star Recruit
A top-tier prospect in recruiting-service rankings.
Flip
When a recruit changes commitment from one school to another.
Four-Star Recruit
A highly rated prospect below the five-star level.
Graduate Transfer
A player who transfers after graduating and uses remaining eligibility at another school.
Grayshirt
A roster-management approach where a player delays full-time enrollment or scholarship timing.
Hard Commit
A recruit who is strongly committed to a school and less likely to consider others.
JUCO Transfer
A player transferring from a junior college program.
Medical Redshirt
A hardship-related eligibility concept for players who miss significant time because of injury, subject to NCAA rules.
Midyear Enrollee
A player who joins a program between seasons rather than waiting until summer or fall.
Name, Image, and Likeness
An athlete's ability to earn compensation from their personal brand.
National Signing Day
A major date when recruits can formally sign with schools during a signing period.
NIL Collective
An organization that helps arrange or fund name, image, and likeness opportunities for athletes.
NIL Deal
A compensation arrangement tied to an athlete's name, image, and likeness.
Offer
A school's indication that it wants a recruit, though the exact meaning can vary by program and context.
Official Visit
A campus visit by a recruit that is arranged under NCAA recruiting rules and may include school-provided expenses.
Portal Class
The group of transfer players a school adds during a transfer cycle.
Portal Commitment
A transfer player's commitment to a new school after entering the transfer portal.
Preferred Walk-On
A non-scholarship player who is invited to join the program and often has a clearer roster path than a standard walk-on.
Prospect
A potential recruit who may be evaluated by college coaches or recruiting services.
Quiet Period
A recruiting period when certain in-person contact is limited, often to campus-based interactions.
Recruit
A prospective student-athlete being evaluated or pursued by college programs.
Recruiting
The process by which college programs evaluate, contact, offer, and sign high school, junior college, and transfer players.
Recruiting Class
The group of players a school signs or adds during a recruiting cycle.
Redshirt
A season used to preserve a player's eligibility while playing limited or no games.
Revenue Sharing
Direct school-related compensation to athletes under modern college sports settlement and governance structures.
Roster Limit
A cap on how many athletes a team can carry under applicable roster rules.
Roster Retention
A program's effort to keep current players from transferring or leaving.
Scholarship Limit
A cap on scholarship awards under older or non-settlement roster models; modern Division I rules may use roster-limit frameworks instead.
Scholarship Player
A player receiving athletic financial aid.
Scout Team
Practice players who simulate the upcoming opponent's schemes for the starting offense or defense.
Signing Period
A window when recruits can officially sign with schools.
Silent Commit
A recruit who has privately committed to a school but has not publicly announced it.
Soft Commit
A recruit who is committed but still considering or visiting other schools.
Star Rating
A recruiting-service grade that groups prospects into levels such as five-star, four-star, and three-star.
Starter
A player expected to begin the game at a specific position.
Team Talent Composite
A roster talent ranking based on the recruiting ratings of players on a team.
Three-Star Recruit
A solid prospect rating often representing a broad middle tier of recruited players.
Transfer Portal
The NCAA system through which athletes declare their intent to transfer.
Transfer Window
A period when athletes may notify their school of transfer intent and enter the transfer process.
True Freshman
A first-year college player who has not redshirted.
Two-Deep
A depth chart showing the top two players at each position.
Unofficial Visit
A campus visit by a recruit that is not funded in the same way as an official visit.
Verbal Offer
An offer communicated verbally or informally rather than through a binding document.
Walk-On
A player on the team who was not initially awarded an athletic scholarship.
Years of Eligibility
The seasons a player has remaining to participate in college sports.