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College Recruiting: We have met the Enemy, and he is us..
Every year, the cry for an earlier signing period for college football becomes louder. Usually it's football coaches who would like to see that change, but that would depend on how those coaches happen to be making out on any particular day in terms of securing pledges.
It would avoid the added pressure and concern of recruits "flipping" to another school.
It has its plusses and minuses.
Even Husky head coach, Steve Sarkisian has spoken of being in favor of an earlier signing period, but Sarkisian benefited from the fact that it's later this year, garnering commitments and letters-of-intent from recruits who were previously committed elsewhere.
You can't blame a coach for having this concern, but whoever the recruiting gods were who instituted the February signing date, they were obviously keeping things in mind such as after-bowl-game coaching changes, etc.
Back in the old days, before the craze of internet recruiting sites, these types of mind-changes and sudden-switches would happen regularly in college football.
One of the more famous switches was former SMU and NFL standout, Eric Dickerson, who initially committed to Texas A&M and then switched to Southern Methodist at the last minute on signing day.
For those on the receiving end of such flips, it's a great blessing -- for those on the losing end, it's a curse.
What's complicated it, however, and made it seem completely whacky, is the fact that it's happening right there in front of everyone's eyes on national television. The end result is that young, teenage boys are looking flaky, dishonest, and unable to do that one thing that every man of integrity is supposed to do: Let his word be his bond.
Husky fans saw it play out this year with Oaks Christian wide receiver, Jordan Payton. Payton went on national television on Tuesday to declare his love for and his commitment to Washington. He'd also done the same for Cal during the Army All American game on ESPN.
Last year, Payton had committed to USC.
By the time signing day came around, Payton was going to UCLA.
He was now looked upon as a guy who just commits to everyone, is wishy-washy, and can't keep his word. But in reality -- he's a teenager. Sure, by the time a young man is 17 or 18 years old, they should know something about the "word being the bond", but he shouldn't be made out to be a villain or public disgrace.
So is it his fault?
The embarrassment of these last-second switches tarnishes, what should be, a day of accomplishment and resolve for these young men.
As a society, we want young people to learn to make sound decisions, but as football fans, we scoff and mock them if they don't make the decision we want them to make.
The Jordan Payton story made me sad -- not because he didn't sign with Washington, but because I could only imagine the agony of worry that kid had about having to know his final decision would be met with so much criticism and disgust to those who follow recruiting.
Another example is that of Darius Philon who went so far as to sit at the table, on camera, and put on an Alabama hat, after having been committed to the Tide for several months. He even began to sign his letter -- but his hand began to drift away from the paper, and he dropped the pen. Then a spokesman took the mic and said that Darius was still undecided. The pain in that kid's face was evident. And it didn't help that he was sitting before a raucous audience screaming "Roll tide!".
Later that day, he would quietly sign a letter to Arkansas, instead.
So who's to blame?
The kids? Of course, they do make those choices to go on television and make their intentions known, but they are enticed by TV networks who want ratings and recruiting experts who want to "break the story".
Greg Biggins, who's considered one of the top experts in the business of West Coast recruiting, fell victim to a last-minute change when he was told by a relative of former FSU tailback, Lorenzo Booker, that Booker would be signing with Notre Dame. Then Booker took the stage, and the camera lens, and announced he was signing with Florida State.
Biggins took the heat for that -- he was "blamed" for "jumping the gun" and putting the report out prematurely.
But again -- who's to blame?
Yes -- we all love to get the "scoop", and anyone in the media who tries to pretend they don't is just lying to themselves and to the public, but one thing we have to keep in mind is that these are not grown, professional men we are covering -- they are teenagers. Sometimes only 17 years-old.
By the time they reach the first Wednesday of February, their brains have become mush with continual calls, not just from coaches, but from all of us in the media who are just dying to get that "scoop".
It truly does become the "Silly Season".
In considering all of this last night, I thought "After signing day I always feel like I have to take a long shower and repent of my sins".
I love covering recruiting -- don't get me wrong. Getting to know these kids and their families, whether they go to Washington or not, is such a blessing and I've made some wonderful friends over the years. But my concern is that the frenzy has gotten so far out of hand that the grown-ups have become the children and the children are still..well, children.
Fans are continually warned not to post direct messages to recruits on social networking sites, but they just thumb their noses at the schools they think they love and the NCAA, and do it anyway.
Coach Sarkisian, during his signing day press conference addressed the problems of social networking and internet message boards.
"Kids are able to express themselves more on Twitter", the coach said, "Fans are able to express themselves more on blogs and voice their opionion(s) when they use to have to vioce their opinions at the water cooler at the office. Now they're spreading it to the world. Sometimes those opinions can get expressed from fans (who) aren't neccessarily fans of your program, but act as if they are and can place a negative opinion on a kid. So in my opinion, it's an absolute mess and we have to figure it out."
I have befriended recruits on facebook before simply to be able to get photos and contact information for the sole purpose of covering them, but I see fans posting things such as "Please come to school X because we would love to have you and we need you".
The opposite happens if the young man chooses a different school -- the messages turn to venomous condemnations and insults.
Jordan Payton had been a much-loved recruit on Twitter, but after he changed commitments so many times, he finally had to delete the Twitter page because of angry fans posting completely inappropriate messages to him.
Arik Armstead was besieged by angry USC fans after switching up.
Shaq Thompson was getting his share of "hate mail" after signing with Washington this week from the hurt feelings of Cal fans.
"I feel for the kids and their families...that have to read things negatively written about them", Sarkisian said of the egregious posts on public message boards, blogs and social networking sites.
But you see -- we're the grown ups. It is our fault. We, in the media, keep this engine roaring as it hits the last lap of the "second-season" race. We are pouring out info from every internet orafice and fans just drink it down like a wanderer in the desert who is dying of thirst.
The kids see this too -- and many times they talk amongst themselves about it and decide it would be fun to drive fans even crazier.
We all are contributers to this insanity that grips the world of college football recruiting in late January.
So what can be done?
First and foremost, grown-ups can start acting like grown-ups and not do things they're specifically asked not to do.
Also, let's just accept the fact that we live in an age of fast and furious information being posted, and try to contain ourselves when the information posted about a teenager might not fall in line with what we would like it to be.
What teenager wouldn't want to be on Fox or ESPN? That enticement is a huge deal. But what about having them on after they've made their decisions?
I know...that wouldn't be as much fun. Right?
Perhaps the most honest, down-to-earth announcement came from the top safety in the country, Shaq Thompson, who just Tweeted, "Shaq Thompson just committed to the University of Washington."
"..for him to be on board and for us to be talking one night at 11 o’clock and for him to put a tweet out just to say hey, I’m going to the University of Washington, I think speaks volume", Sarkisian said of Thompson, "He could have had all the fanfare he wanted. He could have had every media member in the Bay Area there to see his announcement, but in the subtle way he did it, I think it speaks volumes to the type of kid that he is. That he was sitting on the couch with his mom and sent a tweet out to where he was going to school."
Then there was Hawai'i prospect, Shane Brostek, who talked to the media a little bit early on, but then shut down all forms of contact with the media.
Despite Brostek's accomplishments on the field, he probably suffered in the rankings department because he had "besmurched" the media.
Really?
It's all on us. We've created this monster, and now we need to find a way to tame it.
Here at Realdawg.com we've made it a priority to keep "recruit-bashing" completely unacceptable on our message boards.
We've also tried to make sure that if we know a young man doesn't want to talk anymore, to just send him a text. If he wants to answer? Great, if not? Oh well.
This is where you work with every source at your fingertips because the kids just aren't talking anymore and you would do well to stop bugging them.
Steve Schilling, the former Bellevue and Michigan offensive lineman of the 2006 class, told us that one day he'd received over 30 calls in just a couple of hours all from Scout.com publishers.
There's an old Spanish proverb; "Obra de comun, obra de ningun", which means, "Too many cooks spoil the broth"
The national and regional recruiting guys should just stick to what it is they're supposed to do: Rankings, evaluations and ratings.
Let the team sites cover their own team's recruiting efforts in terms of phone calls about decisions, etc.
If a kid wants to have a formal announcement ceremony, let it be at his school or with his family and friends, and if a local TV crew wants to cover it? Great. But enough of the big "signing day spectacular" stuff on national networks. Those kids will get enough national TV exposure when they get to college so don't sell them some bill of goods about how important they are to the national spotlight now. When they arrive at fall camp in August? That "stardom" will mean nothing and they'll have to face the reality of having to compete.
If you're a fan and you really love your program? Don't disgrace it by doing things you are not supposed to do. And don't disgrace yourselves by bad-mouthing a teenager who is just trying to make the most important decision of his young life.
We can all chip in to make this a little more enjoyable and not so agonizing both for coaches and recruits.
When I began covering recruiting my goal was to treat each recruit like a real person and not just another stat or star-ranking. As a mother, I couldn't do it any other way. And yes -- I love to break a big story and sell subscriptions. But let us learn to balance this out with some manners and the old-fashioned Golden Rule.
Coaches miss on certain recruits -- so what? It happens, and it doesn't make them suck as coaches. If an in-state guy wants to leave the state? So what? It doesn't make him any less one of our own here in this state. Treat him with some dignity. Treat his family with dignity.
If a kid changes his mind at the last second? So what. As Coach Sark says, "one kid doesn't make or break a program".
Coaches have learned to take the wins with the losses -- and they have more pressure on them than any fan can imagine.
But the most important thing to remember, more than any other, is that we are the adults. We should know better.
It is our job to not encourage bad behavior with young people and not to condemn them when they feed right back into that thing that we have encouraged.
Perhaps the old Pogo comedy strip tells the story better than any proverb or lecture..
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