When a blue-chip high school player is seeking a college to attend and advance his football career at the next level, he goes through all the offers. Then, the athlete makes a decision. If his childhood school did not offer him a scholarship, then he would either become a walk-on and pay his own tuition and housing instead of receiving the free ride, or he would accept a scholarship from another school.
The bottom line is, the player decides where to go to play. The respective colleges make the ultimate decision to give him a scholarship offer or not, but they don’t decide if the athlete accepts and becomes a roster member.
The player does.
At the professional football level, it is the complete opposite. Individual clubs either select athletes via the draft or sign players who are deeme