College football recruiting has become its own cottage industry.
There are football recruiting services that purport to help high school players get scholarships.
There are numerous football recruiting websites that feed the football-loving public’s obsession with who is recruiting whom.
Sports talk radio is filled with talk of the size, speed and skill level of can’t-miss prep prospects.
Commitments and de-commitments are covered with breathless enthusiasm.
Players are ranked and rated, racked and stacked and assigned a certain number of stars as they advance toward the recruiting buff’s version of Christmas morning — national letter-of-intent signing day.
Signing day is filled with announcements from colleges across the country, followed by another round of rankings, as future national and conference champions are predicted based upon the quality of each school’s high school recruits.
And in the end, it all doesn’t mean very much.
Five-star recruits won’t all turn out to be five-star college players. Some won’t make the grade on the field, others won’t make it in the classroom. Highly ranked classes will be disappointing, while lower-ranked classes will surprise.
There will be players hardly anyone talked about who turn out to be superstars. And some can’t-miss prospects will, badly.
In the end, fans can only hope the hyped players are half as good as advertised, and the others are twice as good as everyone thinks.
In the 2004 rankings of the top 100 high school players in Texas, Bobby Reid was ranked No. 3. When Oklahoma State recruited him, he was touted as the next Vince Young, the quarterback who would lead the Cowboys to Big 12 prominence.
He didn’t, of course. The No. 2 prospect that year, Rhett Bomar, likewise didn’t do much for the University of Oklahoma after he forgot to go to work at a Norman car dealership, but didn’t forget to pick up his paycheck. No. 1 that year? Adrian Peterson, who did live up to his billing.
Conversely, nobody thought much about a skinny kid from Plainview when the Pokes signed him in 2008. He received only three stars from recruiting experts. Justin Blackmon will be a very rich young man when the National Football League comes calling.
Brandon Weeden was recruited only as a baseball player. Barry Sanders drew attention only from OSU and Wichita State.
The reasons young men choose to play football at a particular school are as varied as their personalities. Some are attracted by the chance to win conference or national championships, some sign with the schools they have rooted for all their lives, some are following in the footsteps of family members. Flashy facilities and snappy uniforms also have been known to attract college prospects.
And some are simply in it for the chicken.
Cassanova McKinzy, a linebacker from Birmingham, Ala., was ready to sign with Clemson last week, but chose Auburn instead because Clemson doesn’t have a Chick-fil-A on campus. Actually it does, but McKinzy apparently didn’t notice, so he’s going to be snarfing down waffle fries at Auburn instead.
College football coaches, take note. When you have prospects on campus next season, show them your fabulous stadium, luxurious locker room, stunning co-eds, and your list of former players who have gone on to greatness, and don’t forget to point out the proximity to campus of any number of fast-food joints.
Oh, yeah, and mention academics, as well, but only if they ask.
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