A parent’s take on high school recruiting? Adam Snyder shares his experience.
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Football recruiting is often chaotic at best, with the landscape constantly changing. This goes for both the school and the player. It’s difficult enough for high school players to pick a college, let alone trying to decide where to play football. Parents can lend their thoughts, but ultimately, the decision lies with the athlete. But to add another layer, some parents have been through the recruiting process already.
That is the case with former NFL offensive lineman Adam Snyder. He is the father of 2027 Boise State quarterback commit, Kael Snyder. Adam was kind enough to share his thoughts on the recruiting scene as a parent and someone who went through the process himself years ago. Also, he shares some insight on how a former NFL player prepares his sons for college football.
MWCConnection: Thank you for agreeing to answer some questions for us, Adam. For readers who may not be familiar with you, can you please start by providing some background about yourself? What position did you play during your football career, and where did you play in college and the NFL?
Snyder: I grew up in Whittier, CA. I played high school football at La Serna High School. I was an Offensive Lineman from the first time I stepped foot on the gridiron. I played college football at the University of Oregon. Through my college career, I was 1st Team All Pac-10 twice, I was an All-American, and I won the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week award. I also won the Morris Trophy. The Morris trophy is my greatest reward. It is an award not voted on by media or coaches, but voted on by the players I played against. I always only wanted the respect of my teammates and my opponents. I was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. I played eight total seasons in San Francisco. I played one season in Arizona with the Cardinals and one season in New York with the Giants. I started at all 5 positions throughout my NFL career, and ultimately, my versatility is what kept me in the league for 10 years.
MWCConnection: You have an interesting perspective on going through the college recruiting process first as a player and now as a parent. Can you describe your own recruiting process and how you ended up choosing a college? Now, with your own sons, how have you seen the recruiting process change?
Snyder: I was not a very highly sought-after recruit if I remember correctly. The California schools, USC and UCLA never took a chance on me. It was mostly the PAC-10 schools of the Northwest, Hawaii, and a few smaller schools. When I took my trip to the University of Oregon, there were many factors. The coaching staff that recruited me had been there for 15-20 years prior to me being there. They were rooted at UO. My OL coach had been there for longer than that. That was very appealing. It felt like home. The coaching staff treated me like their own, and it was palpable; you could feel it. I was also recruited with 4 other OL. I liked that. I liked that we were going to go through everything together. I had a group of young men who would understand how I was feeling and what I was going through.
My wife, who I met at the University of Oregon, was also an athlete. She played Volleyball for the Ducks. She and I used our experiences to help our sons. We were the “guard rails” per se on their journey. They are steering the car, but every once in a while, when they bump the guardrails, we get them back on track. In this current landscape of recruiting, we can see how easily a young man or woman can get off the path with all the money and logos around the country. We wanted our sons to keep the main thing the main thing. It was fairly simple for us. The culture of a program and a locker room is a non-negotiable. You will find that all over the country. The key is finding the culture that fits you and your priorities. Development. Who will turn you into the position player you want to be? Opportunity to play early. Do they recruit high school players or do they go to the portal first? A place that feels like home. You will spend most of your time at the facility. Where can I leave a LEGACY? Our sons laid out THEIR vision, and we helped build the map.
MWCConnection: Your oldest son, Kael, committed to Boise State relatively early (October 19th, 2025). As a father, what do you think it was about the Broncos that made them an attractive school to have your son commit to?
Snyder: The men at Boise State are some of the greatest men we have come across. They walk what they talk. They protect what matters. They stayed loyal to my son. They told him that when they first started the recruiting process, they found their guy. They stayed true to that. They have a vision and plan for him and his future as a Bronco. Their motto is Built Different, and that is exactly what they are. Boise State checks every single box that my son was looking for. They did a phenomenal job in their recruiting process by recruiting my entire family and building relationships with them. There is a reason the staff is so well respected as recruiters. When Kael decided to commit, my wife and I fully supported his decision. He found home. It was honestly the perfect time for him as he could enjoy his senior year of high school and just work towards going to Boise State and competing day one.
MWCConnection: How is the recruiting process playing out for your younger son, Zane, so far? Are you noticing any changes in the process for him, and what do you think about those changes?
Snyder: He is only a freshman, so his process has not quite started yet. He is a WR, so varsity film will be huge for him. He was just brought up to varsity full-time and will get to play one season with his brother. I made sure to bring Zane with Kael and I to all of Kael’s recruiting trips so he has seen what the process looks like. I have a feeling that if Boise State comes into the recruiting picture, he may get to play some more seasons with his brother.
MWCConnection: As a former NFL player who was able to live your dream of playing football at the highest level, did you encourage your sons to play football, or what was their journey to playing the sport?
Snyder: Kael is our oldest, so he was born while I was still playing. I made sure to bring him into the locker room or on the field any time I could, so he quite literally has been around football his entire life. Zane experienced a little of the NFL life, but he was too young to remember much. As kids, they played all sports. But football is in their blood. My wife and I never forced them to play football; in fact, we made them wait much longer than they wanted to. When all of Dad’s friends are football players, and they got the kind of access they did in their early years, it was kind of inevitable that they would end up playing football. We have 4 children, the two older boys, a 12-year-old daughter who was a bad ass gymnast and is currently a bad ass volleyball player, and a 10-year-old boy who swears he is the next Christian McCafferey. So sports are kind of what we do.
MWCConnection: Knowing they are both talented enough to play at the college level, how have you been able to prepare them based on your own experiences? Do you discuss mostly on-field things or off-field preparation as well?
Snyder: My wife recently wrote a book called “Dance with Somebody,” where she gives her perspective from an NFL wife’s view as she enters her third generation of football. Her Father was an NFL coach and executive, she lived my journey with me, and now has children that, God willing, will have a chance to live their dreams. In the book, she describes how we raise our kids based on our experiences on and off the field and the life lessons we learned through my NFL journey. I am also the varsity Offensive line coach at my son’s high school. I help them with the on-field information that is relatable to offensive line play for the QB and WR, but they have their own position coaches who coach them on their craft. I do not engage in many conversations about position specifics.
Preparing our children off the field is a main focus of ours. My wife and I teach them that nothing is given to you; everything is earned. She and I apply what we learned in our years in the NFL about work ethic, being coachable, and the importance of how you treat people and the relationships you build matter.
MWCConnection: You didn’t experience NIL or the transfer portal, but you did go through contract negotiations and free agency. Do you think those things have some similarities, and is that helpful now as you guide your sons through this process?
Snyder: We have not gotten to that in their process yet. I was a client of Athletes First for 10 years, so both of my boys will be a part of the Athletes First Family. They will help with this process as we navigate this new college football landscape, but it is for sure like free agency and the NFL. We are learning as much as we can and will help guide them with decision-making in the near future.
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