What those recruiting gurus miss
Welcome to a real silly season. It’s that time where smart marketers and scouting services figured out something very profitable about college football fans.
It’s when the schedules are complete, free weekends leave an empty place in the heart of Joe College Fan. They sold a widget that tracked how a team competed against every school in the nation 365 days a year.
It worked. So well the title of “recruiting expert” can be a six-figure occupation. But no one is. Anyone who says so is trying to build ego.
Analysts laud potential. They dismiss production. But no one has ever answered this question: If a kid doesn’t dominate against players who’ll be cable installers, dentists, sportswriters or tire changers one day, how will he succeed against players as big and athletic and fast as he is?
Here’s what I know: As a whole, the recruiting machines expose players from pockets of America that get little exposure because their school has few resources or doesn’t get press coverage.
al.com
1/7/09
