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In his column yesterday, Dave Hooker had some interesting insight and dialogue regarding Brian Butler and his potentialplayers.com website. Butler is representing one of the top running back prospects in the nation, Bryce Brown, who has yet to sign a letter of intent with a college program but still has Tennessee listed among his favorites.
What is potentialplayers.com? From their website:
“To assist student-athletes in making positive decisions by recognizing the impact their lives have in our world; while preparing them physically and spiritually to overcome the challenges of life. “
Butler has been called a “street agent” and “handler” by some but Butler considers himself only a mentor and a trainer and says he has no interest in becoming an agent.
How does Butler make his money? It is my understanding that the kids’ families pay Brian Butler for his services, which is all legal according to Butler. It is interesting, however, that at one time potentialplayers.com charged for access to their site but now offer full access for free — NCAA issues possibly?
At this time we’ve determined that offering subscriptions is not the best approach to help us achieve our initial objective. Going forward, we’ve decided there will be NO CHARGE to access information from potentialplayers.com. We will continue to research different avenues that will make it more convenient to navigate this site, while attaining our company initiatives.
What is interesting about players affiliated with Butler is that they do not typically speak to the media. It’s unclear whether this stems from kids seeking protection from the barrage of reporters that surround today’s top high school athletes or if it’s some sort of prerequisite for membership to Potential Players.
One thing is clear, Butler prefers to be the center of attention. Hooker asked Butler if Bryce Brown would be interested in speaking with the News Sentinel:
“When I asked Butler if Brown would be interested in speaking to the News Sentinel about his recruitment, Butler asked why Brown would want to talk to me considering he’s too busy to talk to so many college coaches.”
Brown isn’t the only one not talking. It has been discussed on local talk radio recently that another Tennessee prospect, David Oku, also refuses to speak with any media as of late. Is it any surprise that according to their website, Oku is also affiliated with potentialplayers.com?
I tend to agree with Ted Miller’s take. I do not believe Butler’s “exploits” of Brown have done anything to improve Brown’s stock. In fact, the negative publicity has probably accomplished the opposite.
In the end, street agent/handler or mentor/trainer debates aside, fans of college football still want to know if Bryce Brown is coming to their school and they are anxiously awaiting his announcement.
Brown will visit Miami on March 3rd and will announce his college choice on March 16th. It’s unknown exactly when David Oku plans to make an announcement but some speculate that it could come sometime soon after Brown’s.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]