Bobby Acosta Recaps Year 1 as IMG Academy Head Coach
Pressure and expectation are synonymous with IMG Academy football. So is talent, exposure and eye-rolls from outsiders behind closed doors.
It's part of the reason Bobby Acosta took the head job at the Bradenton, Fla. prep program in January. That last part was a challenge he was especially excited to confront ahead of the 2020 season.
Despite the usual circumstances combined with the pandemic and the typical uphill battles for any first-year coach, he feels the mission was accomplished on and off the field.
IMG went 8-0 without any close calls, is ranked as the consensus top high school football team in America, clinching a mythical national championship along the way.
When the Ascender program began hitting the national spotlight nearly a decade ago, as a college football or even NFL-style program complete with housing, state of the art facilities and much more -- many around the country scoffed at the idea and some top programs even refused to play the program.
"I want to get rid of that stigma that we're just stealing kids from programs," Acosta told SI All-American. "I think we offer an opportunity that I wish I had as a young kid. I think IMG can change the next four or five generations of families' lives. It takes a certain fit, though, it's not for everyone. Now I have high school coaches calling me and saying, 'hey I'm gonna send my kid over there because it's what's best for him.'
"Behind the gates of IMG we have to get all these kids on the same page. Kids from all over the country. Rich kids, poor kids, kids with no dads. We just stuck to the structure every day and just talked about the core values the players came up with."
In looking back on the 2020 campaign amid the roster-construction and challenges of putting together a staff, mostly virtually, the question was never about the blue-chip recruits it would suit up.
"We knew our kids would perform on the football field but they could take it to a higher level if they took care of their academics," he said. "When they have a lot of clutter in their life, they're not organized. So any successful company or group of people are organized in their vision. As soon as you're organized in your vision, on 3rd-and-1, you know you're going to get the first down because of practice and discipline.
"We had zero discipline problems all year. We had maybe one kid late for class the entire year. That's the biggest difference. I told the seniors, I thanked them for putting the culture where it should be."
One doesn't have to scroll deep into the SI99 prospect rankings to see IMG show up, from Alabama-bound offensive tackle JC Latham to future Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy and dozens of others, the program should have gone undefeated with the average margin it won with (37.3 points per game).
[Related: JJ McCarthy caps senior season at IMG Academy]
There was so much talent that Acosta and his staff didn't have to shift the X's and O's philosophy much in between games. They ran just 26 different offensive plays all year long.
Acosta admits he was taken back by the amount of talent but also the mental ability and capacity of the roster. From McCarthy calling half of the third-down plays in 2020 to junior offensive lineman Tyler Booker leading pre-practice drills unprompted.
"When that happened I just stepped back and watched the team grow," he said. "Holy cow, that kid. When he said something, it meant something more. That's when I saw something coming together and it became a player-led team. They started leading the show, the walks to the football field, everything."
Listening extended to the star-studded IMG coaching staff, full of former NFL players, a big adjustment from some of the coach's most recent stops as an assistant at The College of St. Scholastica, Bucknell and Cornell over the four years prior.
He says that process wasn't common at previous stops.
"That was the hardest thing for me," he said. "I didn't have that skill last year. I was doing everything. But here I didn't micromanage.
"The biggest thing I learned was to allow your coaches to coach. We have Coach (George) Hegamin, Pepper Johnson, Chris Dishman, Mike Sellers, those are pros. As soon as I allowed the coaches to coach, you saw our coaches become positional head coaches. There was another culture built within the position room that took off."
After Thanksgiving break, there remains work to be done in regards to the future of the seniors on the IMG team. Not every class of 2021 prospect knows their collegiate destination just yet. The goal is for 100% placement in the senior class.
The coach raves about his top prospects but also those under the radar like slot receiver Ari Allen, who led the team in receptions but has yet to collect an FBS scholarship offer.
Following that phase of December into the New Year, the process for getting the next crop of IMG football players on the field continues.
The success and notoriety of the head coaching gig at IMG, with previous coaches Chris Weinke and Kevin Wright now Power 5 assistant coaches, begs the question when it comes to Acosta's future.
Previous to 2020, he would have been calling all around the college football landscape after the campaign he just led. Now, not so much.
"I found myself chasing," he said. "As I was chasing, people were closing the door. I don't know if I was too aggressive. Now, we have a platform where we can all show our talents. I hit the lottery coming to IMG. I'm surrounded by the best coaches and the best players. Now we need to get more of those people in our program.
"I get a lot more phone calls now (laughing)."
Acosta says now he is focused on the current gig with all of his effort with the security of success leading to opportunity. While college interest will likely remain on both sides of the coin, the focus appears to be on the 2021 IMG football season.
"I was looking at players for IMG on the plane so we can start building the second national championship team," he said.
More from SI All-American
Chief Borders named Freak of the Week
No. 1 QB Works Out with No. 1 WR Recruit
Ala. RB Deshun Murrell Down to Penn State, UCLA
2021 Dream On-Field Matchups Series Part 1 | Part 2
QB Jake Garcia is back on the Market
Thankful for Football: Seniors Making the Most of 2020
--
Follow SI All-American's college football and basketball recruiting coverage here on SIAllAmerican.com as well as on social media, @SIAllAmerican on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and now on YouTube.