(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)
As I sit here writing this, I actually have no clue when National Signing Day is for high school football players to officially declare where they are going to play in college. OK, I have a clue. I probably would not have been asked to write this if it wasn’t coming up soon.
As it stands right now, National Signing Day hasn’t inspired me enough to enter “When is national signing day?” into my computer’s search engine.
I don’t really care either.
I’ll admit that I followed the recruitment of former CU tailback Darrell Scott with fervor. I checked the recruiting Web sites, watched him walk the sidelines during his recruiting visit, and even tried to pull information from his uncle, also a former CU player, Josh Smith.
But those days are over.
Why? If anything, the recruitment of Scott taught me that trash talking conference opponents over the destination of a kid who hasn’t put on his prom tuxedo for the final time is just a waste of time. In Scott’s case, the opponent was Texas and the recruiting battle went on until the very last moment when Scott went on to national television to announce that he was going to be a Buffalo.
Mudslinging ensued. Rumors and accusations of foul play arose from the Texas football message boards. Not that such places are a source for credible information, but the whole ordeal had turned into a show. Scott was followed around by a New York Times reporter in the days leading up to his announcement and ESPNU arranged for him to come on live to tell the country where he was going to school.
But why do we care? Where is Darrell Scott right now? Seriously, where is he?
I have no clue.
The five star, “best running back in the country” was a complete bust for the Buffaloes. I know you’re probably saying, “But it wasn’t all his fault. What about Dan Hawkins’ role in not playing him?” This is valid but can be quickly brushed off by the fact that Hawkins has, so far, been a complete bust of a coach here in Boulder, a figurehead of wasteful spending.
My point is why do we focus so much on where high school kids decide to go to college? They have proved nothing until they arrive and replicate their high school performances on the next level.
Scott isn’t the only superstar high school player to commit to CU in the last couple of seasons who turned out to be a complete bust. Remember Lynn Katoa? I saw Katoa double-fisting red cups of Keystone Light more than I saw him play in a Colorado uniform on gameday. He played in the Army All-American game along with Scott. Now he is gone. Again, I have no clue, nor do I care, where he ended up.
It’s almost sad in a way. Recruiting Web sites and the increase notion that college football is a business has caused an obsession with high school athletes that doesn’t only inflate their egos, but also sets unrealistic expectations for them.
Yes, there are many exceptions. Some high school players make elaborate announcements about where they are going to college and they show up and meet expectations. But it is all arbitrary.
CU’s most exciting player in the past two seasons has arguably been Rodney Stewart. Stewart held no flashy press conference. Nobody, aside from CU and some mediocre Midwest schools I’ve never heard of, cared where Stewart went.
So with signing day (presumably) approaching. I will continue to follow the NBA, NHL, spring football scrimmages and college basketball and I’ll wait for whatever batch of soon-to-be Buffaloes that actually show up and actually do something worth me writing about.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ryan Callahan at ryan.callahan@colorado.edu
2 comments
Who cares? Schools that will actually be getting decent recruits this year care. Schools that will actually be competitive in the future care. People like you are the reason why CU will never return to where we once were in football, because you do not care about the program. Just like many other CU students, you jump ship as soon as things start going sour. I’m not defending Coach Hawkins’ performance, but when the student body has no active interest in luring any major recruits to Boulder, we will continue to miss out on top prospects. I realize that Darrell Scott and Lynn Katoa were busts, but the fact is, programs that continually pull in top recruits year after year are far more likely to have success. Just consult the previous recruiting classes of schools such as Florida, Texas, USC, and Alabama. Insinuating that it does not matter how highly touted recruits are is just completely ridiculous. There is a reason why these players are the subject of millions of dollars worth of recruiting visits every year by college coaches. Darrell Scott and Lynn Katoa are no exceptions. They were both exceptionally talented athletes but had other issues that led to their demise at CU. Scott had no work ethic and Katoa could not control his vices. If you think this means that spending your precious thoughts on bringing high profile recruits to Boulder is a waste, than you are an idiot. Please don’t act you like have some deep, higher reason for not caring about our recruiting class this year. Just admit that you’re apathetic, because you’re a fair-weather fan.
True freshman rarely play and accomplish anything significant. Winning NC’s and BCS bowl games is what this comes down to and most teams playing in those games don’t use true freshman. This is why I don’t give one shit about national signing day.