July 19, 2019
Greetings! 

This email is directed at anyone in the pro and college football business. Already a client? Here's a review of the week. Not a client? We'd love to have you aboard.
The Week in Football: July 13-19
Agent Week 2019 has come to a close, and for us, it's been a pretty eventful last two months. We published six blog posts at Succeed in Footballtweeted more than 20 times on the exam, passed along dozens of testimonials, and even produced a short whiteboard ad on our study materials. But enough about us. What did the people taking the exam say about it? Was it harder than expected? Easier? Did it take a long time to finish? Or was it relatively quick? 
 
Here's a sampling of what we've heard from some of the test-takers:
  • "Just walked out of the test. We started a bit late and most people are still taking it. I thought it was very fair and not difficult. They definitely tested strict knowledge of the rules and around 1/3 of the questions were a bit tricky if you didn't check up on the exact language. . . .I feel really confident I passed. Ten days until the bar exam. . . Thanks!"
  • "Exam was easy thanks to the resources available on ITL. Study guide laid everything out perfectly and the tests helped a lot too."  
  • "I think it was fair based on the information they provided us and the study materials I had from you. Some questions were definitely a bit tricky and I spent extra time on them but I finished about 10 minutes early. Best part is they allowed you to utilize your laptop so all my study materials were PDF'd and I "CTRL F'd" everything from yesterday's notes and study materials. I definitely left feeling challenged but overall I'm happy I had your materials to work off of these last few months. Time wasn't an issue for me. I think the way they worded some questions and answers caused me to pause on a handful of questions. Handful of questions I was able to answer without looking at the materials."
  • "Pretty sure (former NFL running back) Marshall Faulkwas taking the exam with us. He was sitting one table over from me. If not taking the exam he was definitely sitting in the seminar yesterday and today. . . I'd bet money. . . the guy next to me also noticed him."
  • "Your materials were on point! I feel pretty confident."
  • "I feel much better about this year test than last year."
  • "Your outline was all the difference. Thanks!! Felt bad for people that didn't have ITL at their disposal."
  • "My situation was, I think I feel real good about 38-39 of 'em. But I did finish. I do know 10 I had to scramble back because the time caught up with me. Of those 10, I kinda figured out three, and the other seven, I just had to bubble in. I only had to really guess on 10 of the 60. Of those 10, I went back and did three I feel good about. But I don't know what that number (I guessed correctly on) was. They unnecessarily overcomplicated the question on Players, Inc. There was a question on them that was about a page long." 
  • "(It was) horrible, but I finished. If you can miss 12, I may be OK."
  •  "I think it went OK . . . your tests helped for sure."
  • "(It was) good! Eight questions that were questionable. Your materials had all the answers."
  • "I'm pretty sure I did well. It wasn't bad. . . I'll be pretty disappointed if I didn't pass."
  • "Man, it was tough bro! I wouldn't have even been in the ballpark if it wasn't for the ITL stuff. Overall I feel pretty good about it. Maybe two or three that I was completely blindsided by."  
 
Results will be available in 4-6 weeks, when we'll find out if the results match up with the post-test reactions. As of today, there are 799 contract advisors certified by the NFLPA. How many will there be come November? We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, here's a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said in the business of college and pro football this week.
 
The ITL Scouting Department:  Slowly but surely, our new reports are gaining in popularity as they come with more regularity. It will be a big week for us as, for the first time, we're slated to take a look at the top 10 prospects at five schools: Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi St., Missouri and Nebraska. In other words, every
Our scouts see Michigan State DE Kenny Willekes as a second- or third-rounder.
school we profile will also have its own prospect breakdown. Check out our most recent report, Michigan State, here; we also had Miami (Ohio) and Michigan this week. In all, our team counted two players with first-round grades, seven with second-day projections and 12 who look like third-day picks, so check out all our reports. With three SEC teams and two from the Big Ten, it looks like another week of talented players. In the meantime, maybe you need something a little more in-depth. As always, we are ready to do individual report on any player in college football for $100 plus tax, and we can turn most over in 72 hours or less. Ready to order? Drop us a line.We're ready to go.
 
See you in Nashville:  We're gearing up for the 2019 Personnel Symposium set for Aug. 5-6 in Nashville. We'll be presenting there, and we're interested in what the nation's college personnel professionals want to know about. Got ideas? Let us know. We are definitely looking forward to meeting the evaluators we've developed text, cell and social media relationships with over the years, and getting a better feel for how we can serve them and help them make lasting (and fruitful) connections. ITL's Neil Stratton will head a panel of professionals who'll bring perspectives on who's getting hired, why they're getting hired, what schools and NFL teams are looking for, and how to find the best opportunities. We're excited! We hope you are, too.
 
The ITL Rising Contract Advisors Newsletter:  Today, shortly before 1 p.m. EST, we sent our final letter of encouragement and instruction to the 200-odd people taking the 2019 NFL Agent Exam. It caps seven weeks of daily missives to this year's agent hopefuls. You can review almost every one of our emails over the past two months by clicking here. We'll take a break for the next several weeks until the results of today's exam are posted and the new agent class is ready to get going. 
 
The ITL Newsletter on the NFL Draft Process:  Though one series is ending, another is starting. In a few days, we'll begin Session 2 of our series for the parents of the coming NFL Draft class. So far, the parents of about 40 top prospects will receive our four-week series on how NFL scouts work, how the all-star game invitation process works, what to expect of the combine, how to choose an agent, and plenty of other topics relates to the business. As you know, it's free, and we've been offering it for almost 10 years. If you're someone who might benefit from our series, we're happy to add you. And by the way, if you're ready to bypass the intro course and go straight for your "master's" in draft knowledge, check out our book, Moving the Chains: A Parent's Guide to the NFL Draft Process.
 
Rep Rumblings:  Though most of the football world wrapped up vacations or started bearing down on pre-camp training, we turned up enough info to post three reports this week. On Monday, we had a first look at the schedule for this week's NFLPA seminar in advance of today's exam. We also had the first whispers that the Raiders may be looking to augment their scouting department, and discussed an accomplished contract advisor who might be on the market this summer. Tuesday, we were silent, but Wednesday, we came back to break news that the Raiders had found their midlands scout; he brings a load of experience and a huge name in football to his new post. We also chronicled two big moves: the addition of NFL Draft Diamonds' Damond Talbot to the College Gridiron Showcasepersonnel team, and a key staff exit for one of the hottest training facilities in combine prep, McKinney, Texas-based Michael Johnson Performance. Finally, on Thursday, we had an update on the number of people taking the exam this year, an interesting person who's among those taking it, and a couple of notes on members of the '20 NFL Draft class. Give a look to all the reports from this year by clicking here.
 
Next week:  The 2019 agent certification exam has been front and center over the last three weeks, but we'll return to a broader focus on the football industry starting this week. Granted, we'll look at the number of active NFL clients by agent on Monday, providing our monthly look at which contract advisors are doing the most business. We'll also have a post-mortem on the NFLPA exam in our weekly blog, Succeed in Football, and we'll have expanded reactions from this year's agent hopefuls on their time in our nation's capital and maybe even a look ahead to 2020. However, the rest of the week will look a lot more like our traditional programming schedule. We'll have our Rep Rumblings, in which we'll focus more on the 2020 NFL Draft class and the recruiting race. We'll also have info on anything else we can turn up: the XFL and alternative leagues; hirings and firings among NFL players; the latest from the college all-star landscape; rising coaches and who represents them; and anything else we hear or see. We'll have five more Profile Reports, including one team that was set to be on the calendar for this week, Middle Tennessee State, plus Minnesota, MississippiMississippi State and Missouri. We're also hoping to finally start making progress on our next Agent Changes report, as we're getting farther and farther behind. Finally, we'll also be reviewing the 2019 Scouting Changes Grid to make sure there's nothing we've missed and maybe even making a few observations on how scouting departments are being built this year as opposed to previous years. And very soon, it will be time to start monitoring the mock drafts of all the top experts to see who they say will be the top picks in 2020. We'll also continue to update and sharpen the ITL 250 and ITL 100, adding and subtracting until we have the perfect list. It's still hot outside, and TV is limited when it comes to football, but be of good cheer: seven teams have already started camps, at least with rookies. It's almost time to kick things off again. That makes it a great time to try us out, or come back, as the case may be.



Inside The League is the consulting service for the football industry. We work with the contract advisors for about two-thirds of active NFL players as well as the combine trainers, financial planners, scouts, coaches and other pro league organizers that make up the game. Cost is $29.95/month, and you can cancel at any time. To register, click here. Also check out our new free blog, Succeed in Football. Copyright Neil Stratton and ITL 2015.

Sincerely, Neil Stratton
President
Inside the League

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