How much anguish caused by media slant?

#1
J

Jhop

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#1
I read the boards on here a lot. And as most of you know I talk to a lot of these kids personally. I read so many articles or pieces of them that seem to imply Tenn is on top for a kid or really in it for a kid even though the kid only mentions Tenn as an offer or something like that. It's easy on my side to call a kid, ask him 15 questions about one school and make it sound like the kid loves that school, is that accurate reporting? Now if I call a kid and he starts rambling about Tennessee out of the box on his own, what can you do there... nothing, roll with it. My point is this, some of you are hung up on star power and what a kid says in articles. Some of you have to look at actions, and realize that at this point in the game of recruiting, if the Tennessee staff is recruiting a kid, no matter his star rating, THEY WANT HIM. When January rolls around and they start going after no name players then there is a potential problem. But not now, not in July or August.
Pay attention to the kids who visit on their own dime, talk about more than tradition or some vague comment about Tennessee's big stadium.
I'm not ranting, just trying to help some of you sift through the BS you may read, here or elsewhere.
 
#2
#2
Jhop bringing sanity to a mad, mad world. Thanks for the insight. Its true the media can slant just about any story they want. :good!:
 
#4
#4
It thoroughly feels like in today's world of college football recruiting, with the hype, drama, and the showcase that it's simply become that perception is reality. "Fan" insiders look for just one morsel to report on for their favorite school and suddenly that morsel becomes a silent commitment or a "firmly in his Top 3." Can the end justify these statements?

Absolutely.

But I think fans take these and run with them because it shows that one school can proudly wear on their sleeve that they recognize a player's talent and that they want him. (i.e. "Painting the Rock"). They feel like they themselves become a recruiting pitch. Why would you go to ____, they don't even discuss you on their messageboards?

But Jhop is spot on here. It should seriously only take one day of watching and reading about National Signing Day to realize that there are multiple ways of reaching the end result.

A player can commit early to a dream school and completely shutdown recruiting. A player can commit to a staff or a coach and then when something changes they look elsewhere. A player can commit to whoever is showing them the most attention and continue to bounce around until NSD. A player can seem like a lock for months and then simply decide he fits better somewhere else. A player can say the same nice commentary about every school he visits and then just choose the one closest to home.

And a million other variants exist.

It's this that makes recruiting exciting for me, I really believe that if everything were as cut and dry as "player A commits to ____ and cannot change his mind ever" it would be as dull as watching paint dry and I would just read the paper after Signing Day instead of following along all year round.
 
#5
#5
I agree EFB, I follow because of the opportunity at almost every kid, I was just wanting to warn some about jumping off the ledge or assuming a kid is a lock at a moment's notice. LOL
 
#6
#6
Thanks Jhop. I got ripped on here a few weeks ago by suggesting this is a fluid process. Commits in July do not all equate to signings in February.
 
#7
#7
Jhop said:
I read the boards on here a lot. And as most of you know I talk to a lot of these kids personally. I read so many articles or pieces of them that seem to imply Tenn is on top for a kid or really in it for a kid even though the kid only mentions Tenn as an offer or something like that. It's easy on my side to call a kid, ask him 15 questions about one school and make it sound like the kid loves that school, is that accurate reporting? Now if I call a kid and he starts rambling about Tennessee out of the box on his own, what can you do there... nothing, roll with it. My point is this, some of you are hung up on star power and what a kid says in articles. Some of you have to look at actions, and realize that at this point in the game of recruiting, if the Tennessee staff is recruiting a kid, no matter his star rating, THEY WANT HIM. When January rolls around and they start going after no name players then there is a potential problem. But not now, not in July or August.
Pay attention to the kids who visit on their own dime, talk about more than tradition or some vague comment about Tennessee's big stadium.
I'm not ranting, just trying to help some of you sift through the BS you may read, here or elsewhere.
Click to expand...

This is what most of the fans need to look at in the recruiting game. Things will change before NSD. There maybe guys we are not in on now suddenly come into the picture. It happens every year. Also commits most likely will not have the same rating either come NSD. It's way to early to be flipping out.
 
#9
#9
Agree. Most people on here believe that they are more in the know about things like: scouting, player potential, talent, etc. which is totally not true. If a guy commits to us in July it is because the coaches have made their pitches, the players have visited UT on their own time with their families, they love the school, and are ready to get the recruiting experience over with early.

I am not worried about any kid we have committed so far as far as them up and switching their commitment in the future like i have been in the past. The coaches saw something they liked and pursued the player. We should be glad that solid players thoroughly enjoyed our school enough to commit early.

We have to stop getting caught up on stars and realize there is more to recruiting than being able to brag to our friends on signing day that we finished ahead of them on rivals recruiting rankings.
 
#10
#10
It is also worth considering that generating more buzz from MORE schools can boost a player's perceived worth, through looking more demanded. If he makes it sound like 6 or 7 schools are all going hard for him, when in reality he holds 6 or 7 offers but only a couple are really pushing him to commit any time soon, he may be hoping to generate a buzz that could translate to higher rankings and more prestige. Also, it may manipulate the other schools to start pushing for him to commit to them.
 
#15
#15
Excellent post Jhop.

Part of the reason why I never got too fired up over Luatua or Hayes was because I wasn't buying any significant interest until they made the effort to get to Knoxville. There's definitely so much more to wade through when following recruiting than just reading quotes and assuming the kid's a Vol lock.
 
#16
#16
Great post, JHop.

One thing I find among the stuff that recruits say that's worth paying attention to is their remarks about who is recruiting them the hardest. But like JHop said, actions speak way louder than words. Rarely is a school a really serious contender to land a recruit's commitment unless and until he visits -- best indicators are timing, duration and frequency of unofficial visits on his own dime.
 
#17
#17
Honestly, I think people simply need to learn to take things with a grain of salt. We are talking about young teenagers here. Media slant can cause anguish if people make more out of the situation than there really is or simply take it as gospel. Like EFB said, the roller coaster ride of recruiting is what makes it fun.
 
#19
#19
Jhop said:
I read the boards on here a lot. And as most of you know I talk to a lot of these kids personally. I read so many articles or pieces of them that seem to imply Tenn is on top for a kid or really in it for a kid even though the kid only mentions Tenn as an offer or something like that. It's easy on my side to call a kid, ask him 15 questions about one school and make it sound like the kid loves that school, is that accurate reporting? Now if I call a kid and he starts rambling about Tennessee out of the box on his own, what can you do there... nothing, roll with it. My point is this, some of you are hung up on star power and what a kid says in articles. Some of you have to look at actions, and realize that at this point in the game of recruiting, if the Tennessee staff is recruiting a kid, no matter his star rating, THEY WANT HIM. When January rolls around and they start going after no name players then there is a potential problem. But not now, not in July or August.
Pay attention to the kids who visit on their own dime, talk about more than tradition or some vague comment about Tennessee's big stadium.
I'm not ranting, just trying to help some of you sift through the BS you may read, here or elsewhere.
Click to expand...

This post makes way too much sense to hold any credibility on this board.
 
#24
#24
So now we need another excel spread sheet announcing unofficial visits per recruit. Bring on the stats! ERIC!! Where are You?
 
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