The Ultimate Recruiting Scam

Wednesday was the fiasco otherwise known as National Signing Day. It was the first day that hundreds of high school football players were able to sign a letter of intent to accept scholarships from NCAA schools. It is one of the most overhyped days of the year.

I have bemoaned the mushrooming of the recruiting process. I love college football. I like high school football. I hate recruiting. Talent scouts and recruiting analysts make a nice living off of selling their services and newsletter to any coach or fan that is willing to pay for it. Is this a great country, or what? There are lots of guys out there willing to pay $29.95 per month for premium recruiting information and player evaluations on prospects for their favorite school. There is something way out of whack about 50 year-old men getting worked up about the decision of an 18 year-old, especially when said 18 year-old has absolutely nothing in common with the adult male fan.

This week in a town in northern Nevada, the ultimate recruiting scam occurred. Kevin Hart, a 6-5, 290 lb. offensive lineman from Fernley High School was the honoree at a school-wide assembly, where he announced his decision to attend the University of California. He claimed to be choosing to accept a scholarship offer from the Bears over one from the Oregon Ducks. The only catch was that the Bears never offered him a scholarship.

It turns out that a middleman was posing as a talent broker, supposedly putting his name in front of college coaches. While Hart's film may have been getting into the hands of coaches, he was not offered a Division I scholarship.

This incident is now being investigated by law enforcement. In the meantime, a young man's future is up in the air.

How would you like to be a student or teacher that showed up at the school assembly to watch Hart choose the Cal hat over the Oregon hat? If nothing else, it was a good charade, but a really bad joke.