From the Bench - Seediness of College Recruiting Seeps Into High Schools in Arkansas

[Robert Shields]

Seediness of College Recruiting Seeps Into High Schools in Arkansas

Robert Shields

Coaching legend Bobby Bowden once blamed his demise on recruiting services. To some degree, he started to rely on them too heavily instead of his own due diligence. After all, how could all these services be wrong with their estimations on a kid's abilities? If Rob Shields Prep Services says a child is four stars along with all the other services, they must be right.

Anyone who pays even a little attention to these recruiting reports and websites knows these rankings are not exactly a science and that there is a lot of groupthink when it comes to rating recruits.

On National Signing Day (NSD to recruitniks), it just seems to keep getting worse. A few years ago, there was the player the Razorbacks were trying to sign, yet his mother ran off with his signing papers. It's just turned into a nasty business. The nasty business this year raised its ugly head at North Little Rock High School (LR 1, NWA 0).

It seems the youth today all think they are starring in their own reality show. All they want is followers. These highly prized kids are being taught self-confidence, which is great, but with no humility. These athletes are getting so much attention just for being good in a sport (which can make a coach and university millions) that it ends up building ego, arrogance, and a lack of self-discipline, which never hold up well to adversity. How can you think these kids will ever be normal when being met by a helicopter and fed food like a rock star upon his demand? These kids are being fed a false reality by grownups. It's not even marginally real and it won't be that way once he steps foot on campus as a student.

I don't even get these in home visits where creepy coaches go read to the siblings of the prized recruits, pet the dog, and yuck it up on the back deck with family. Once your kid signs, this isn't going to happen anymore. It's a farce. It's a business transaction cloaked to look like a church social. Maybe after all the hand wringing, Cam Newton's father had it right.

I get excited for recruiting about as much as 7-on-7 summer football. Yet once a year I have to write a column on it as some fans wring their hands over lost kids and others rejoice over getting Johnny My-Head-is-Too-Big.  A few years ago, the big get on recruiting day was Dorial Green Beckham who even had his own acronym in DGB. He ended up at Missouri. Then left that school for another.

This year the big get was a receiver from North Little Rock. He committed to the Razorbacks earlier in the year. By January, he is announcing to the world through Twitter that he had decommitted from the Razorbacks. I knew at that moment this was not a Bret Bielema type of player.

Word started breaking about bad news at North Little Rock a week or more before NSD. Then in the days after NSD, it hit the fan when North Little Rock High School had self-reported to the Arkansas Activities Association that it had recruited a player illegally. The North Little Rock coach, Brad Bolding, is engrossed in a termination proceeding now. North Little Rock forfeited its basketball games and football games the receiver participated in. This included the state championship won by the Charging Wildcats in basketball.

Many have been whispering for some time what was going on in North Little Rock as great players at other local schools were transferring there to play football. Now, we know a lot more.

The seediness of college recruiting has really started to seep into high school athletics. These shenanigans have gone on for some time, but I think it has arrived in earnest.

Often, the private schools like Shiloh Christian and Pulaski Academy were blamed for recruiting. Now we know no place is immune, not even the public school systems in the state.

This will get worse and you can figure if it's in high school at this level then it's already occurring at lower levels of sports as adults leverage children for their own benefit.



Send your recruiting solutions to fromthebench@yahoo.com.

[ricepig]

Hmm, who says you have to write a column on recruiting? Don't do it for our sake.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

Robert Shields be like:

[Dark Helmet Hog]

It's insulting that you would attempt to group the incident with AC's mother and the LOI to the "nasty business" of recruiting. One has nothing to do with the other. You can not fault a mother for wanting her son to stay close to home. Maybe she didn't handle it well, but it was by no means "seedy". You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

Won't happen.

[The_Iceman]

[BearsBisonsBoars]

"yahoo.com"

opinion piece passed as fact

atrocious grammar for a "journalist"

lol

[ricepig]

Won't happen.

He wouldn't have time for anything else, wait, that would be good.

[hobhog]

I fail to see the comparison between "seedy college recruiting" and some kid transferring high schools. There has been zero proof, or even accusation, that this has anything to do with college recruitment.

But nice try.

[Vantage 8 dude]

I fail to see the comparison between "seedy college recruiting" and some kid transferring high schools. There has been zero proof, or even accusation, that this has anything to do with college recruitment.

But nice try.

Exactly what I was thinking. Can't see how the accusation that KJ's step-dad accepted some type of financial inducement to have the young man play for NLR has having anything to do with where KJ finally chose to go to college.

[26.2Hog]

"yahoo.com"

opinion piece passed as fact

More like an opinion piece passed as gas . . .

[Missooie]

 Enough said

[pfrg999]

I opened MMQB and I just knew where this pic belonged!

[Seebs]

I swear your articles give me the same queasiness as Bot Fly larvae videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPuiv3f4DuQ

[GuvHog]

It's insulting that you would attempt to group the incident with AC's mother and the LOI to the "nasty business" of recruiting. One has nothing to do with the other. You can not fault a mother for wanting her son to stay close to home. Maybe she didn't handle it well, but it was by no means "seedy". You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

I can't fault AC's mother for wanting him to play close to home but I can and do fault her for insisting that what was best for her was far more important than what was best for him. Honey coat it all you want but the truth is she was very selfish and way out of line.

Robert makes some good points but this isn't one of his better efforts.

[HOGINTENNESSEE]

Robert Shields is the definition of Never Yield

[Cresthog]

[DeltaBoy]

Robert 'recruiting is bad now days with smaller schools dumping kid who get hurt for the next one.

[Cresthog]

Can you just PM your posts to Delta and Guv from here on out?

[The_Iceman]

Can you just PM your posts to Delta and Guv from here on out?

they may be the only two people that care.

[Dr. Starcs]

Re-titled:

From the Bench - Crapiness of Robert Shields Seeps Into Message Boards in Arkansas

[Dark Helmet Hog]

I can't fault AC's mother for wanting him to play close to home but I can and do fault her for insisting that what was best for her was far more important than what was best for him. Honey coat it all you want but the truth is she was very selfish and way out of line.

Robert makes some good points but this isn't one of his better efforts.

Honey coat? Hardly needs it.

There is no question that the situation was not handled well, but cut the woman some slack. AC stated that he had not informed his family of his decision ahead of time. She was surprised and did not react well. So what? Big deal. It certainly doesn't rise to the level of a scandal or any other "nasty business" as Shields tries to associate it with in his diatribe.

In fact, to try and associate that in the way he did was unnecessary and just plain asinine. It's complete garbage. AC is a class act, and it's embarrassing that a supposed Hog fan would use the situation that happened to him in this manner.

Someone should move this thread to the trash where it belongs.

[BadHog]

Someone should move this thread to the trash where it belongs.

But then we would miss out on all the hilarious replies! I love a RS thread especially on a snow day.

[ricepig]

Honey coat? Hardly needs it.

There is no question that the situation was not handled well, but cut the woman some slack. AC stated that he had not informed his family of his decision ahead of time. She was surprised and did not react well. So what? Big deal. It certainly doesn't rise to the level of a scandal or any other "nasty business" as Shields tries to associate it with in his diatribe.

In fact, to try and associate that in the way he did was unnecessary and just plain asinine. It's complete garbage. AC is a class act, and it's embarrassing that a supposed Hog fan would use the situation that happened to him in this manner.

Someone should move this thread to the trash where it belongs.

So, AC's Mom didn't see him commit to us on national TV on FSS?

[Dark Helmet Hog]

So, AC's Mom didn't see him commit to us on national TV on FSS?

That I'm not sure about, but here is some information on the aftermath.

Not as shocked as Collins' mom was when her son picked Arkansas. Most around the country thought it was some overprotective parent trying to hijack her child's dreams. It turns out Alex shoulders some of the blame too.

"I never told my family where I was planning to go," he says.

So Collins' mom, Andrea McDonald, feared the worst. When the two talked it out and she learned the deeper reasons for his choice, she relented and Collins was off to Fayetteville."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--the-truth-behind-alex-collins--letter-of-intent-debacle-exposes-another-ncaa-rule-in-dire-need-of-an-update-060934596.html

[ricepig]

That I'm not sure about, but here is some information on the aftermath.

Not as shocked as Collins' mom was when her son picked Arkansas. Most around the country thought it was some overprotective parent trying to hijack her child's dreams. It turns out Alex shoulders some of the blame too.

"I never told my family where I was planning to go," he says.

So Collins' mom, Andrea McDonald, feared the worst. When the two talked it out and she learned the deeper reasons for his choice, she relented and Collins was off to Fayetteville."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--the-truth-behind-alex-collins--letter-of-intent-debacle-exposes-another-ncaa-rule-in-dire-need-of-an-update-060934596.html

Well, not doubting you or Alex, but I'd find it hard she didn't know this:
http://www.katv.com/story/20963550/alex-collins-commit

[goodguytex]

Re-titled:

From the Stench - Crapiness of Robert Shields Seeps Into Message Boards in Arkansas

[RazorbackToTheFuture]

Who the hell is Robert Shields?

[Dark Helmet Hog]

Well, not doubting you or Alex, but I'd find it hard she didn't know this:
http://www.katv.com/story/20963550/alex-collins-commit

She could have known. I only know what I have read about it. Regardless, AC certainly didn't deserve for it to be the object of Shield's affection.

[ricepig]

She could have known. I only know what I have read about it. Regardless, AC certainly didn't deserve for it to be the object of Shield's affection.

Well, thankfully for AC, only about 35 people actually read Shield's drivel, the rest just come for the pictures.

[Inhogswetrust]

But then we would miss out on all the hilarious replies! I love a RS thread especially on a snow day.

The ONLY reason to read a RS thread is for the reply's! Normally that's ALL I read of his threads.

[Dark Helmet Hog]

Well, thankfully for AC, only about 35 people actually read Shield's drivel, the rest just come for the pictures.

Ha! The mistake was mine for reading it to begin with. I should have stuck with the pics!

[OTTER]

Well, doggies Robert!  You have just proven that you actually do have your head stuck in the sand.  Seediness in recruiting in Arkansas and every other state has been around since well before your inept writing ability evolved into total gibberish.  However, congrats for figuring it out.

[Hog Fan from Camden]

Now this is funny!!

[zane]

[hogman78]

Woooooooh!!! LOL!!

[tc_mem]

Good try Robert, with a little more dedication and practice you might just get it. 

[TomasPistola]

I swear I picture Shields writing this while sitting in his sunroom while making sure those kids stay off his lawn.

[PORKULATOR]

I swear I picture Shields writing this while sitting in his sunroom while making sure those kids stay off his lawn.

Now that's funny. That's how you respectfully disagree with someone and don't look asinine doing it.

[BadHog]

Better than a Robert Shields post:

[Inhogswetrust]

But then we would miss out on all the hilarious replies! I love a RS thread especially on a snow day.

The ONLY reason to read a RS thread is for the reply's! Normally that's ALL I read of his threads.

[Hoggish1]

It's insulting that you would attempt to group the incident with AC's mother and the LOI to the "nasty business" of recruiting. One has nothing to do with the other. You can not fault a mother for wanting her son to stay close to home. Maybe she didn't handle it well, but it was by no means "seedy". You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

Amen

[Hoggish1]

It's insulting that you would attempt to group the incident with AC's mother and the LOI to the "nasty business" of recruiting. One has nothing to do with the other. You can not fault a mother for wanting her son to stay close to home. Maybe she didn't handle it well, but it was by no means "seedy". You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

And maybe you should look up seedy before you use the word again.

[Hogfaniam]

The only way this could be better is for someone to shop in a piece of paper that he drops the elbow on.

[Dark Helmet Hog]

NM

[theFlyingHog]

NM

[Pork Twain]

It's insulting that you would attempt to group the incident with AC's mother and the LOI to the "nasty business" of recruiting. One has nothing to do with the other. You can not fault a mother for wanting her son to stay close to home. Maybe she didn't handle it well, but it was by no means "seedy". You should apologize for your ignorant remarks.

We cannot start having Robert apologize for every poor effort he makes in writing, that would grind Hogville servers to a halt.

[NaturalStateReb]

Complaints about recruiting at the high school level aren't new, and they aren't just limited by school type or geography.  I remember pervasive complaints about recruiting were leveled at Osceola back in the 1990s.

My concern isn't a proliferation of recruiting tactics at the high school level, it's the increase of pressure on younger and younger kids.  One of the recruiting services listed a couple of 6th graders the other day.  That's just completely ridiculous.  The pressure on some of these kids is already pretty huge, and now we're ratcheting it up even farther, even younger.  Some kids like the attention, sure, but not all do.  And some start off liking it, only to be quickly disillusioned by it. 

The end result of all this is that, at some level, we're commoditizing these kids.  We've got middle-aged guys obsessed with whether our university is going to get this WR or that LB.  People rail at these kids about being "traitors" or "hometown heroes" with little to no regard for the fact that these are teenagers making decisions that will impact them for the rest of their lives.

There's something extremely distasteful and dehumanizing about the entire process.  It's right at the core of what's wrong with us as fans.

[RT1941]

I thought the admins no longer allowed Robert Shields to post his writings on this board?

[BadHog]

I thought the admins no longer allowed Robert Shields to post his writings on this board?

It's probably time since the sarcastic humorous replies have dwindled. The RS posts are now just a waste of space.