I simply can't get excited about any recruiting until signing day. "Verbals" nowadays mean little. Sort of like telling the overweight cheerleader that, "yeah, we can probably meet up ..." Knowing that in reality you are keeping your options open for something better. Honestly, I can't imagine being a recruiter in today's 24/7 media/social-obsessed world we live in. High school kids being glorified on ESPN by which school hat they choose to put on. It's become a show. These kids are growing up in a social media driven world ... And several will change schools as often as you or I change our minds about what food to toss on the grill this weekend.
I don't blame kids for being flippant about their "verbal" commitments. It's the culture we created. Kids like to see their name on Twitter, or see their highlight videos on YouTube, etc. I like social media. I work in the world of communications and marketing. It just think too much attention is put on some of these kids by holding press conferences to announce they school they will attend ... And I get it, those press conferences are usually for the well sought-after players who ultimately, will never graduate from college (hello NFL, hello NBA).
Recruiting is still exciting. It's just overboard nowadays. When I see an 18 year old kid wearing a fancy suit, surrounded by a huge posse of people, with an ESPN camera in front of him ... and then the teasing of the audience to find the most creative way to announce my college of choice ... it's just overdone ...
This post was edited on 1/20 11:20 AM by DesMoinesHawki
