http://blog.mlive.com/fireupchips/2009/03/college_footballs_gray_area.html
Remember the good ol’ days of recruiting? When a head coach would let a recruit borrow his Corvette, an envelope of cash in the driver seat and directions to the local brothel posted on the steering wheel?
Those days ended about the same time “Charles in Charge” was canceled.
And along with the end of Scott Baio’s career, The 80’s also saw the end of the 95 man roster. No longer would teams be allowed to stock pile talent just to spite their rivals. The limit today is 85 and the maximum amount of recruits you can sign during one signing period is capped at 25.
If the NCAA limits a college football program to a maximum of 25 scholarships per year, how can a veteran coach like Houston Nutt say that he could sign 80 kids?
Do the rules still apply in Oxford, Mississippi, where Nutt signed 37 players for his 2009 class?
And just like the Rebels, Central Michigan inked 30 recruits. Are we breaking the rules?
No, but just like a QB spiking the ball to stop the clock, schools who fudge their way beyond the maximum allotment of scholarships are violating the spirit of the NCAA 25 signee rule.
The phenomenon programs like Ole Miss and CMU are exploiting is called “oversigning,” but you will never hear a coach call it that when he is eating a pot roast at the recruit’s house.
Under those circumstances it has a new, very official sounding name known as “grayshirting”.
Under noble circumstances, grayshirting has integrity and can be a huge benefit to both the football program and the player.
mlive.com
3/8/09
