Subject: National Signing Day
Content: ESPN covered the high school football national signing day on multiple networks and media outlets. At RecruitLook.com we want nothing more than to get every high school athlete exposure to college coaches; however, the idea that we are focusing the spotlight on high school athletes with the idea that they are the next NFL superstar has opened the debate of whether this is a good way to celebrate a high school career or not. In case you are unfamiliar with what takes place let us break it down for you. Highly sought after recruits from coast-to-coast can sign early on what is called ‘national signing day’. It is the beginning of each college program’s next championship run, and it’s the celebration of solid high school careers. What used to be recruits committing to a college, signing on the designated day, and a paper running the stories about the top recruiting classes has now turned into a full out media blitz. Recruits are ditching their early commitments on national television to sign with other schools in circus like fashion. Today there were players wearing multiple college hats an attempt to fool the media on where they were going to sign. There were players removing sweatshirts with one college only to be wearing a shirt of another college. One recruit that signed with the University of Georgia even had a bulldog puppy with him (the mascot at Georgia). The biggest recruit in the nation has decided he is going to wait for now and sign on his birthday instead. I’m sure he will have his own press conference and television appearance to reveal which school is lucky enough to earn his commitment…(sounds eerily similar to the ‘Lebron James Announcement’). ESPN was covering it all day on their website, ESPNU, and had multiple updates live on SportsCenter. What is wrong with this is that we are getting away from the idea that these young men are going to school to further their education. That’s it. They are not NFL superstars. They are not getting paid to play the game of football. They play football as a way to get an education and then hopefully a job that otherwise might not be available if it weren’t for football. Football is the ultimate team sport and individuals do not win championships. Hopefully these high school seniors realize why they are going to school and get to business on the field and in the classroom. This leaves the debate open. Is all the coverage and hoopla of national signing day good or bad for high school and college athletics? Feel free to let the debate continue...
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