In the world of college sports, terms like redshirt or walk-on are universally known. But, terms like greenshirt or blueshirt… What could those be? They're probably just more terms that further complicate the world of recruiting, right? While that's one to look at it. Greenshirts and blueshirts are just examples of the different ways athletes can get to college. Educating yourself on the many routes you can take to get to college is the best way to prepare yourself during your recruiting process. 

Related: How Many Times Can You Redshirt?

What is a Greenshirt?
Greenshirts are oftentimes the big-time names amongst each recruiting class. They are the ones who are slated by analysts to play immediately upon entering college. Because of this, many choose to graduate high school in December and enroll into college early for the spring semester. You see the term “early-enrollee” often, but the proper label in the sports world is a greenshirt. They receive their scholarship in the same way that they would if they enrolled in the fall, and can take classes full-time without any complications.

A great thing about greenshirting is that it allows an athlete to get into the college environment and start their development immediately. They have an extra semester to train with the team, participate in college practices, and work with coaches that others within their recruiting class don't get the opportunity to do; guys like Justin Field and Trevor Lawrence are two greenshirts who found success.

Related: 5 Best Walk-Ons in College Football History

It's worth noting that to be a greenshirts, you have to be pretty talented and heavily recruited. The immediate competition jump is hard to make, so with that comes a potential for injury. You might also ruin your standing with your coaches by making mistakes early on while you're still
“green.” But, if you think you can make the early transition and find success as a greenshirt, you're going to be on a track that will put you miles ahead of your competition.

Related: Redshirts, Grayshirts, Greenshirts, and Blueshirts

What is a blueshirt?
Blueshirts are one of the many strategies coaches use to navigate the recruiting system. Blueshirts are, on paper, walk-ons who receive scholarships that count towards a team's allotment for the next year. Coaches do this after a team has already used up all of their current scholarship allotments. The truth is that it's a way for schools to get around the limited scholarship amount and bring in more players with the promise of a scholarship. To qualify to be a blueshirt, a player cannot have been officially recruited by their school: this means that they have not taken an official visit prior to attending the school and have not signed a letter of intent. This does allow for someone to take an unofficial visit and reach out to coaches, which is great for maintaining a connection with the school you plan on attending.

As a recruit, blueshirting is something that you're not going to bring up; colleges are set on who they're going to offer and how they're going to go about it. Being a blueshirt means that a player is just short of being a part of the official recruiting class but is higher up on the recruiting board than grayshirts or PWOs. It's often given to specialists like kickers or long snappers, players who are essential to a team's success but are pushed to the side when it comes to recruiting. 

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities and Campus Visits

Once fall camp begins, a player identified as a blueshirt is quickly given their scholarship and treated like everyone else. If given the opportunity, a player should see a blueshirt opportunity the same as a normal scholarship offer.

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* Originally published on January 19, 2022, by Isaac Haney