MBHORNSFAN
The Orange Report
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2011
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Obviously he is talking about A'shawn Robinson. Not a good report at all.
By Randy Galloway
Early on, one of the cool guys in the sports writing business offered me this advice: "Whatever else you do, ignore college football recruiting and National Signing Day. There's nothing more pathetic than seeing grown men [coaches] being yo-yoed and brutalized by 18-year-old brats."Granted, it was a valid point. As usual, however, I ignored good advice. Couldn't help myself. Even all these years later, high school recruiting still entertains me, although the cool guys in today's sports media mostly have the same disgust for it as my long-ago friend and adviser.
So there I was Wednesday morning, following along closely as the teen kings of 2013 scribbled their signatures on a pledge sheet and another National Signing Day wrapped up. Everybody did great. A hundred-something teams all had a massive haul, exceeding expectations, of course, and what happened Wednesday is a bullet-proof foundation class of recruits that will carry good ol' Rah Rah U. to unprecedented heights in the next four years. We also know the truth. About 40 to 50 head coaches involved in this year's high school scramble will be fired over the next four seasons partly because they busted this recruiting class.
But I've got one story for you today that relates to Wednesday. It involves a big, big-time recruit. His name will not be mentioned because it's not a positive story. I personally saw 4 1/2 high school football games this season (left at halftime of one because of a blowout). Based on the signatures that went down
Wednesday, in those 4 1/2 games there were only four major college recruits on the field, one of whom went to the Big 12, and the other to the SEC, with both ranked in the top 100 recruits in the nation. I said the nation. The other two went to Air Force and Louisiana Tech.
Of those two top 100 kids, one looked every bit the part. A wow player. Art Briles will love him. The other? He was much more highly rated at his particular position, so much so that before the game I told the opposing team's coach I was looking forward to watching him. "That will be interesting," he replied, dryly. "Take a close look. Keep an eye on him at all times."
The massive size of this kid in warm-ups filled both eyes. What a specimen. Then they kicked off and I stood ground level in the back of the end zone the whole game, a game that was played a lot in that end of the field. Now granted, my scouting expertise is extremely limited. And maybe it was just one game. But based on effort and production in that one game, one of the most highly rated players in the nation -- I said the nation -- performed like a guy who was borderline even for a walk-on offer from a small college. On some snaps, he wanted to play, and he dominated. But that wasn't very many snaps. Mostly, he was being controlled at the line of scrimmage by a kid who was 7 inches shorter and giving up more than 100 pounds, according to the program I purchased. No hustle, and very limited effort, and he also had the mope-around attitude, particularly on the sidelines. Some of his team's assistant coaches appeared to be jumping his butt, but the verbal lashing was followed with a disinterested shrug.
A week or so later I ran into the opposing coach from that night and gave him my "scouting" report. "Actually," he said, "that was one of his better games for effort. I'd say he was going hard on about two out of four plays. All the film we saw before that game, it was like one out of four or five plays."
After the season, the all-district teams came out in this paper. I took a look, looking for the name of this kid. Again, one of the highest-ranked players in the nation was not defensive player of the year in his own district. Actually, he was not even first-team all-district. Yes, the coaches vote, and there can be some politics involved, but in this case, who knows?
Obviously, college scouts are seeing the same thing I saw that night, yet a recruiting war continued for this particular player right up until Signing Day. In the end, he broke his verbal commitment to one big-time program and signed with another big-time program, a defection that was even noted nationally, and resulted in great glee for the school that got him. I know it's about size and potential, and I know it's about a college coach thinking he can "turn around" that bad attitude, but, man... Is it that easy?
"No way it's that easy," said one of the high school coaches in this player's district. "He won't cut it in college, particularly not with the coach he will now be playing for. That's my opinion."
If nothing else, I now have a high school recruit to follow closely as he embarks on his college career. It's intriguing that all the recruiting services had this player ranked that high, and all the top schools were after him, and then you see him play and it's a disappointing "ugh" reaction.
Are the high school coaches in his district right about him, or will the big-name college coach who eagerly accepted his signature be rewarded? It's another reason I like this football recruiting stuff. Even going against some long-ago, valid advice, I'm always hooked.
By Randy Galloway
Early on, one of the cool guys in the sports writing business offered me this advice: "Whatever else you do, ignore college football recruiting and National Signing Day. There's nothing more pathetic than seeing grown men [coaches] being yo-yoed and brutalized by 18-year-old brats."Granted, it was a valid point. As usual, however, I ignored good advice. Couldn't help myself. Even all these years later, high school recruiting still entertains me, although the cool guys in today's sports media mostly have the same disgust for it as my long-ago friend and adviser.
So there I was Wednesday morning, following along closely as the teen kings of 2013 scribbled their signatures on a pledge sheet and another National Signing Day wrapped up. Everybody did great. A hundred-something teams all had a massive haul, exceeding expectations, of course, and what happened Wednesday is a bullet-proof foundation class of recruits that will carry good ol' Rah Rah U. to unprecedented heights in the next four years. We also know the truth. About 40 to 50 head coaches involved in this year's high school scramble will be fired over the next four seasons partly because they busted this recruiting class.
But I've got one story for you today that relates to Wednesday. It involves a big, big-time recruit. His name will not be mentioned because it's not a positive story. I personally saw 4 1/2 high school football games this season (left at halftime of one because of a blowout). Based on the signatures that went down
Wednesday, in those 4 1/2 games there were only four major college recruits on the field, one of whom went to the Big 12, and the other to the SEC, with both ranked in the top 100 recruits in the nation. I said the nation. The other two went to Air Force and Louisiana Tech.
Of those two top 100 kids, one looked every bit the part. A wow player. Art Briles will love him. The other? He was much more highly rated at his particular position, so much so that before the game I told the opposing team's coach I was looking forward to watching him. "That will be interesting," he replied, dryly. "Take a close look. Keep an eye on him at all times."
The massive size of this kid in warm-ups filled both eyes. What a specimen. Then they kicked off and I stood ground level in the back of the end zone the whole game, a game that was played a lot in that end of the field. Now granted, my scouting expertise is extremely limited. And maybe it was just one game. But based on effort and production in that one game, one of the most highly rated players in the nation -- I said the nation -- performed like a guy who was borderline even for a walk-on offer from a small college. On some snaps, he wanted to play, and he dominated. But that wasn't very many snaps. Mostly, he was being controlled at the line of scrimmage by a kid who was 7 inches shorter and giving up more than 100 pounds, according to the program I purchased. No hustle, and very limited effort, and he also had the mope-around attitude, particularly on the sidelines. Some of his team's assistant coaches appeared to be jumping his butt, but the verbal lashing was followed with a disinterested shrug.
A week or so later I ran into the opposing coach from that night and gave him my "scouting" report. "Actually," he said, "that was one of his better games for effort. I'd say he was going hard on about two out of four plays. All the film we saw before that game, it was like one out of four or five plays."
After the season, the all-district teams came out in this paper. I took a look, looking for the name of this kid. Again, one of the highest-ranked players in the nation was not defensive player of the year in his own district. Actually, he was not even first-team all-district. Yes, the coaches vote, and there can be some politics involved, but in this case, who knows?
Obviously, college scouts are seeing the same thing I saw that night, yet a recruiting war continued for this particular player right up until Signing Day. In the end, he broke his verbal commitment to one big-time program and signed with another big-time program, a defection that was even noted nationally, and resulted in great glee for the school that got him. I know it's about size and potential, and I know it's about a college coach thinking he can "turn around" that bad attitude, but, man... Is it that easy?
"No way it's that easy," said one of the high school coaches in this player's district. "He won't cut it in college, particularly not with the coach he will now be playing for. That's my opinion."
If nothing else, I now have a high school recruit to follow closely as he embarks on his college career. It's intriguing that all the recruiting services had this player ranked that high, and all the top schools were after him, and then you see him play and it's a disappointing "ugh" reaction.
Are the high school coaches in his district right about him, or will the big-name college coach who eagerly accepted his signature be rewarded? It's another reason I like this football recruiting stuff. Even going against some long-ago, valid advice, I'm always hooked.
