This hands-on 16-week experience goes far beyond the classroom. You’ll get real-world tools, personalized mentorship, and career-building access that prepares you to scout at the highest levels.
▸▾ Week 1: Introduction to Talent Evaluation
Key Focus: Foundational scouting philosophy + how to “think like a scout”
Covered Topics:
- Dane introduces his background and what students should expect over the 16 weeks.
- Emphasis on evaluating traits vs. production – scouts must look beyond box scores.
- Explanation of grading vs. ranking players.
- Identifying transferable traits from college to the pros (e.g., body type, athleticism, mental makeup).
- Discusses how pro scouting departments organize and assign responsibilities.
Takeaway Quote:
“Scouting is about identifying what a player can become—not just what they are today.”
▸▾ Week 2: Offensive Football Organizations
Key Focus: Understanding offensive structure and its impact on evaluation
Covered Topics:
- Overview of offensive personnel groupings (11, 12, 21, etc.) and how they impact scheme.
- How offensive philosophy (spread, pro-style, RPO-heavy) changes what to look for.
- Discussion of alignment, motion, shifts, and play design.
- Dane emphasizes learning to contextualize a player's role within their system before evaluating them.
- Introduction to how scouting departments share terminology and communicate internally.
Takeaway Quote:
“You can’t scout in a vacuum. You have to understand how the offense is using that player.”
▸▾ Week 3: Quarterbacks
Key Focus: Scouting the most important position in football
Covered Topics:
- What NFL teams look for: arm strength, accuracy, timing, decision-making, poise, leadership.
- Dane walks through QB evaluation traits using All-22 film clips.
- Introduces concepts like “anticipatory throws,” “functional mobility,” and “off-script creation.”
- Breakdown of evaluating QB footwork and processing speed.
- Common scouting mistakes with quarterbacks (e.g., overvaluing stats, ignoring context).
Takeaway Quote:
“You’re betting your job on these guys—so you better know what makes them tick.”
▸▾ Week 4: Running Backs & Fullbacks
Key Focus: Evaluating versatility, vision, and impact beyond the box score
Covered Topics:
- Traits to scout: burst, balance, vision, contact courage, hands, blocking ability.
- Differences between zone vs. gap scheme runners.
- Evaluation of third-down backs and special teams contributors.
- How fullbacks are used differently across systems—and why they’re still valuable.
- Role of size vs. skill and how to weigh physical traits against performance.
Takeaway Quote:
“RBs get used up quickly in the league—you’re looking for guys who can contribute early and do multiple things.”
▸▾ Week 5: Wide Receivers & Slot Receivers
Key Focus: Evaluating WR traits, separation ability, and role fit
Covered Topics:
- Key traits: release off the line, route running, separation quickness, hands, and catch radius
- Differences between X, Z, and slot receiver roles
- Dane breaks down how to evaluate WRs in timing-based vs. vertical passing schemes
- Evaluating YAC (yards after catch) ability and how physicality plays into scouting
- Recognizing traits that project well to NFL usage (e.g., versatility, contested catches)
Takeaway Quote:
“The best WRs aren’t just fast—they’re technicians. They win before the ball is even thrown.”
▸▾ Week 6: Tight Ends (Y/F)
Key Focus: Hybrid position that demands versatility in both the pass and run game
Covered Topics:
- Breakdown of Y vs. F roles (in-line blocker vs. move TE)
- How to scout functional strength, hand placement, and leverage in blocking
- Traits for evaluating pass-catching ability: burst off the line, route discipline, ball tracking
- Importance of alignment versatility (can they split out? play H-back?)
- Dane emphasizes how tight ends are evolving in today’s game and what that means for evaluations
Takeaway Quote:
“The more ways a tight end can be used, the more valuable he becomes to a coordinator—and to you as a scout.”
▸▾ Week 7: Offensive Tackles
Key Focus: Scouting footwork, pass protection, and edge control
Covered Topics:
- Identifying traits like balance, bend, anchor strength, and hand timing
- Foot speed vs. body control when mirroring rushers
- Differences in left vs. right tackle responsibilities in different schemes
- Dane provides All-22 examples showing good vs. bad tackle technique
- How to assess recoverability after initial losses (a major pro projection trait)
Takeaway Quote:
“Good tackles don’t panic. They redirect, recover, and keep their QB upright.”
▸▾ Week 8: Interior Offensive Linemen
Key Focus: Center and guard evaluation in zone vs. gap schemes
Covered Topics:
- How to scout leverage, hand usage, footwork, and mental processing (especially for centers)
- Evaluating pull movement, reach block ability, and blitz pickup
- The importance of communication and pre-snap awareness
- Dane compares OL traits across successful NFL guards and centers
- Special focus on combo blocks and double teams—how interior OL create movement
Takeaway Quote:
“Interior guys don’t have to be flashy—they just need to be smart, tough, and technically sound.”
▸▾ Week 9: Defensive Football Organizations
Key Focus: Understanding defensive schemes and how they affect player evaluation
Covered Topics:
- Introduction to base fronts (3-4 vs. 4-3) and hybrid defenses
- Overview of gap responsibilities, alignments, and how fronts affect second- and third-level defenders
- Dane explains how to factor scheme into your scouting reports—what fits in one system might not in another
- Importance of identifying a player’s mental processing, communication, and positional versatility
Takeaway Quote:
“Scheme fit can make or break a player's career. Great scouts know how to project beyond the system they’re in.”
▸▾ Week 10: Interior Defensive Linemen
Key Focus: Evaluating nose tackles, 1-techs, and 3-techs
Covered Topics:
- Traits to scout: initial quickness, pad level, hand usage, anchor strength
- Gap discipline and ability to play vs. double teams
- Differences in skill set between a 0/1-tech space-eater vs. a disruptive 3-tech penetrator
- Dane walks through film clips to show IDL executing stunts, absorbing blockers, and collapsing pockets
- How to identify DL who can rush the passer from inside (a premium trait)
Takeaway Quote:
“Interior guys who can stop the run and rush the passer—that’s where value explodes.”
▸▾ Week 11: Edge Defenders
Key Focus: Identifying premier traits in pass rushers and edge-setters
Covered Topics:
- Key traits: first-step explosiveness, bend/flexibility, length, hand combat, motor
- 4-3 DE vs. 3-4 OLB responsibilities
- How to evaluate pass-rush plan, counters, and ability to set the edge vs. the run
- Dane shows edge players winning reps through technique vs. raw athleticism
- How to project college edge defenders into NFL alignments and sub-packages
Takeaway Quote:
“Great edge rushers have two things: a plan—and the traits to execute it when it matters most.”
▸▾ Week 12: Linebackers
Key Focus: Scouting modern LBs in the era of spread offenses
Covered Topics:
- Traits to evaluate: read/react speed, block shedding, tackling, coverage instincts
- Role of LBs in zone drops, man coverage, and blitz packages
- Dane discusses the importance of movement patterns, play recognition, and finishing
- Breakdown of differences between MIKE, WILL, and SAM roles in different schemes
- Emphasis on scouting for positional versatility (e.g., can the LB cover a slot WR or TE?)
Takeaway Quote:
“The modern linebacker has to play in space. If he can’t run, he can’t stay on the field.”
▸▾ Week 13: Cornerbacks
Key Focus: Scouting cover skills, footwork, and route anticipation
Covered Topics:
- Key traits: fluid hips, recovery speed, ball tracking, press technique, tackling ability
- Differences between man and zone responsibilities and how to evaluate each
- Dane walks through film showing transitions, hand placement, and mirror technique
- Understanding how alignment, leverage, and cushion impact a DB’s performance
- Emphasis on instincts and how quickly a CB can process the route and adjust
Takeaway Quote:
“Corners need confidence and short-term memory. One false step at the wrong time and it’s six points.”
▸▾ Week 14: Safeties
Key Focus: Scouting versatile defenders in deep and box alignments
Covered Topics:
- Single-high vs. split-safety systems and what traits fit each
- Evaluation of range, closing speed, angles, tackling form, and ball skills
- How to assess communication and leadership (safeties are often the QB of the defense)
- Dane uses examples to show good vs. bad pursuit angles and decision-making
- Discussion of hybrid safety/LB types and how NFL defenses value versatility
Takeaway Quote:
“A safety who can play deep, in the box, and cover tight ends—he’s a weapon in today’s game.”
▸▾ Week 15: Specialists
Key Focus: Evaluating kickers, punters, long snappers, and returners
Covered Topics:
- What scouts look for in specialists: consistency, mechanics, operation time, trajectory
- Identifying special teams players with NFL traits—gunners, jammers, and returners
- Dane discusses how specialists are graded differently from position players
- Emphasis on mental toughness and how to evaluate clutch performance
- Role of punter hang time, directional ability, and field control
Takeaway Quote:
“You don’t hear about specialists—until they win or lose the game.”
▸▾ Week 16: Wrap-Up & Career Pathways
Key Focus: Final reflections, scouting professionalism, and breaking into the industry
Covered Topics:
- Recap of major scouting themes across all positions
- Tips for writing polished scouting reports and assembling a portfolio
- How to brand yourself as a professional scout
- Q&A session with Dane about his path through the NFL and advice to aspiring scouts
- Next steps: resumes, networking, internships, and real-world applications of what was learned
Takeaway Quote:
“This apprenticeship is just the beginning. Now you have to put yourself out there.”
Learn More About Apprenticeship Mentor Dane Vandernat, Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) Director of Pro Scouting
Dane Vandernat is the current Director of Pro Scouting for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. He spent 4 years as the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl’s Director of Player Personnel. He brings 10 years of NFL personnel and scouting experience to this role, having worked his way up the ranks within the Oakland Raiders organization. Vandernat first joined the Raiders in 2008, serving as a training camp intern in the Internet department prior to completing a salary cap and agent administration internship with the NFLPA. He then re-joined the Silver and Black as a player personnel assistant in 2009 before becoming a pro scout for the team two years later. In 2015, Vandernat was promoted to Oakland’s director of pro personnel, where he oversaw daily operations, worked closely with the team’s general manager, and evaluated prospective players. The Upland, Calif., native graduated from Cal Poly Pomona and earned a master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco.
APPROXIMATELY $1950
PAYMENT METHODS:
Prerequisites: Must be 18 or older to participate and have a passion for sports.
CALL TODAY: 1-877-SMWW-NOW
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