Difference Between D1 Players & D3 Players
- Grant Caraway
- Aug 28, 2025
- 2 min read
Below we will be discussing the difference between D1 players and D3 players. I hope this is able to help!
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So besides the obvious thing, which is size, one of the biggest difference between guys who get recruited to play D1 and guys who end up going to a smaller school is usually the plays they make on film. At the D1 level it is tremendously hard to get the attention of a college coach. At college camps the guys who stand out are dudes who run a 4.5 or below 40 or guys who are 6’5. If you’re not that guy, on tape you need to be an explosive playmaker. So what does that mean? I talk about that a lot. And that simply means making plays coaches don’t expect you to make. Let’s use a QB and a WR for example. There are thousands of QBs across the country who can take a 3 step drop & hit a post that’s wide open. That’s common. You want to be uncommon. If you can take a 3 step drop, step up in the pocket or scramble (AKA extend the play) and deliver a strike downfield… that’s something thousands of kids can’t do. That’s how you separate yourself. As a college coach, I wouldn’t want to see a receiver catch a wide open fade on a busted coverage. Yes it’s great you got a touchdown but I think any receiver 7th grade and above can do that. That’s not a highlight. That’s a routine play. So your film shouldn’t consist of that. A receiver who catches a slant, makes somebody miss or breaks a tackle then takes it up to a TD… that’s an explosive play. So I think your mindset this year, if you want to play college football, should be being an explosive playmaker. Can you make those types of plays? In the days of the transfer portal, that’s what it takes to stand out a division 1 level.
