GeminiVy on effectively using RPEs
The first and most important rule of recruiting: Be true to yourself. Many of the "better" recruiting strategies only work if you're both thorough and thoughtful in your recruiting, and willing to re-evaluate and adapt as more information becomes available. There's no shame in four-max if you don't have much time to commit and are still having fun. In addition, being true to yourself also means being realistic in who you max. If you're adverse to risk, like myself, that means avoiding players that you know will be intensely recruited, however tempting they might be. It doesn't matter how studly the player is: if you're not willing to stay on the big tie, then don't get in to begin with because you're just wasting RPEs.
The following advice is targeted to Small Programs. The rest of you don't need any more help. :P
I'm going to throw out two semi-controversial statements, and by defending them, hopefully do a decent job of explaining my recruiting philosophy.
- Four-max is suicide in the long run.
How bad is four-max in terms of RPE usage? Let's say you max four players and give out ten scholarships (gotta save four for the maxes) in the first week. Your RPE yield would be 32*4 + 10*15 = 278 RPEs. Compare that to the other extreme: giving out 1 RPE to 35 different players. Your RPE yield would be 16*35 = 560 RPEs. That's more than TWICE the yield, without using a single scholarship, while also getting to carry over 33 (68-35) RPEs to the next week.
The lesson: maximize the bonus RPEs. Two-max is probably best, but three-max is a good compromise between effort and results. If you go four-max, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage right from the beginning of the recruiting season.
If you do decide to go two-max or three-max, that's when my second statement comes in.
- You should only give out 17 RPEs or 1 RPE before the W3/W12s come out.
The reason for this is simple: there's not enough information to justify any other RPE allocation. Why spend 9 RPEs on a recruit when he might show up on the Top 75 list the next day? Instead of spending 9 RPEs two weeks in a row, spend 1 RPE the first week, and then spend 17 RPEs the next week if he doesn't appear on the list. The number of RPEs is the same, but there's much less risk in the second approach.
There are exceptions to this. For example, you might spend 9 RPEs on a recruit in the first week, with the intention of maxing him the next two weeks if he doesn't show up on the Top 75 list, getting the upper hand on anyone who only spent 1 RPE the first week.
The lesson: have a reason for every RPE you spend. If you think you can get a lead, max out. If you're not sure, be sparing with your RPEs. You can always spend them later when you know more; you can't get them back when they're gone.
