The recruiting process is a dirty business. Just ask the Tennessee Hostesses who are under investigation for their unconventional practices.
Well it looks like signing day has come and gone. Aside from a few holdouts such as Seantrel Henderson (who is holding out on USC until the NCAA concludes its investigation), most teams have their recruiting class all lined up. Depending on which rating scale you prefer, the top ten schools should come to no surprise–Florida, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and USC all had strong showings and late moves. Penn State, Auburn and Washington also picked up some highly talented recruits. For the soon to be players, it’s a welcomed end to a long and tedious process.
For the recruits, the past few months have been extremely exhausting as the recruiters will do anything to get their hands on the top talent. From multiple visits to endless contacting, the programs have interesting ways of luring and congratulating their potential recruits. For instance, Notre Dame will send scholarship offers on gold paper; Texas sent a picture of Obama and Bush holding a jersey with the recruit’s name on it; and one school, which is under investigation, provided their recruits with escorts (a very common practice in the recruiting world).
Recruiters will also make unwarranted promises such as extended playing time as a true freshman. One coach went as far as to tell one recruit that he was better then all the kids they have on the team. Of course, comments like that can backfire as it did in that particular instance.
Recruiters must be careful on how far they push the envelope. Most recently, Tennessee’s recruiting hostesses are under investigation for questionable recruiting tactics. In one case, they traveled over 200 miles to attend a high school game in South Carolina waving signs that read “Come to Tennessee.” These hostesses are typically “ real pretty, real nice and just real cool,” says a former Tennessee recruit who was lured by the hostesses among other things. Also, even if there is an infraction, it take several years to unfold. USC’s recruiting violations with Reggie Bush are still under investigation and the infractions committee is scheduled to meet this month, several years after he played for USC.
It’s not an uncommon practice for the NCAA to interview recruits interested in certain programs or to ask about their recruiting experiences. There is an internal ethical battle for the coaches and the recruits. The coaches must win or they will be fired. To win, you need top recruits. To garner the top recruits, you need to convince them to come to your school. This drives recruiters from doing what they can do to lure the best high school kids. The programs are well aware of their bounds, but they are also well aware that minor NCAA infractions usually just earn a slap on the wrist. Without heavy infractions, it’s worth it for the programs to take the chance. After all, winning a BCS bowl game generates millions of much needed dollars.
