The Comprehensive Emoji Guide to Football Recruiting

As recruiting season hits its full stride, prospective recruits on social media can sometimes be a puzzle within a puzzle. A casual emoji drop on Twitter can sometimes mean little more than a casual emoji drop on Twitter. But oh, can it mean more than that.

That’s why we’re here to help with an updated emoji guide. If you’re on social media and enjoy following recruiting, keep the guide below handy at all times. Emoji’s have evolved into pure internet slang, but it’s everything you need to know on the recruiting trail to help you de-code cryptic messages by recruits and keep you in the loop of the social media happenings. We did one last year, but as the emoji game evolves, it’s time to update.

The most used you’ll see on the Twitter streets usually involves the top 25 programs. Not many prospects will be vocal about teams like Western Kentucky, for example, so here’s a look at the most frequently used in order of last season’s final AP top 25 poll.

1. Clemson ???

2. Alabama ??

3. USC ✌?♥️?

4. Washington ???

5. Oklahoma ⭕️??

6. Ohio State ⭕️?

7. Penn State ??

8. Florida State ??

9. Wisconsin ??⚪️

10. Michigan 〽️?

11. Oklahoma State ???

12. Stanford: ??

13. LSU ??

14. Florida ??

15. Western Michigan ??

16. Virginia Tech ??

17. Colorado ??

18. West Virginia ???

19. South Florida ?✅

20. Miami ???

21. Louisville ?⚪️

22. Tennessee ??

23. Utah ?⚫️

24. Auburn ⚔️?

25. San Diego State ??

With a major iPhone software overhaul over the last year, OSU’s go-to emoji — the pistol — has been changed to ?. It’s hard to convince recruits to throw their water pistols up, thus the change this year.

Now that you’ve been fully informed and up-to-snuff on the slang of emoji usage on social media, I expect OSU fans to be some of the most woke humans on Twitter when it comes to staying in the know with the happenings of football and basketball recruiting.