Miscellaneous Athletic Recruiting Ramblings – 6/14/2008

Five Steps to a Scholarship E-Book
For those that have been visiting the site over the past week or so, the biggest thing that I have done is publish an e-book with the material from the five steps for a scholarship article.  This e-book is a PDF file that allows users to print it out and have it in just one location.  There have also been additions to the articles and some changes in each of the five steps.  For those interested in it, please take a look at this page and seriously consider signing up for our free email subscription.  That will be my sole plug of this article (Outside of what is on the bottom of each article).

Are 8th-graders fair game?
The Indianapolis Star takes an interesting look at how they feel about eighth graders in the game of recruiting.  More often these days, college coaches are offering players to get in early.  If some schools decide to wait, it really may be too late before the kid either makes a decision or writes off the school.  It is definitely a dangerous move but it is happening more and more these days.  Click here for the article and here is a small piece from it:

Michael Avery’s recent announcement that he will play basketball at Kentucky created quite a stir. Avery is considered a talented guard with good size at 6-4, but none of that contributed to the buzz. Avery is in eighth grade.  Outside of college basketball recruiting circles, the commitment seemed ludicrous when Avery’s father told a Web site that covers Kentucky athletics, “We’ve got our college. Now we need our high school.”

His commitment isn’t unique. A handful of junior high players have committed to major conference programs in the past decade, but Avery’s decision is rare enough that observers are asking again:  Isn’t that too early? Should college coaches recruit eighth-graders? Indianapolis native Robert Vaden committed to Purdue before high school. He ended up playing two years at Indiana University before transferring to UAB.

“I don’t think I was ready,” said Vaden, who is currently deciding whether to go to the NBA or return for his senior season. “I was 14 years old. I don’t think anybody is ready to make that decision, but maybe he’s different from me.”

Looking for motivation?
ESPN had a chance to take a look at who they feel are the top ten workout warriors in college football.  While it is not prep sports, many of these were very recently athletes at the high school level.  Click here for the article but here is a part of what the article says:

1. Brian Orakpo, Texas, DE: The Longhorns haven’t had an All-American end since Tony Brackens 13 years ago, but Orakpo might end the drought. To say Orakpo has blossomed in Austin would be an understatement. He arrived at Texas as a 210-pounder and now looks like an All-American: He is a chiseled 253-pounder with 8 percent body fat, stunning power and explosiveness, who throws around 100-pound kettlebells and 180-pound dumbbells. His work in the weight room is eye-popping. Orakpo also benches 515 pounds, power cleans 380 pounds, runs an electronically timed 40 in 4.6 seconds and has a vertical jump of a whopping 42 inches.

On the field, Orakpo missed four games with a knee problem last season, but did show in his Texas’ Holiday Bowl win over Arizona State that he’s a lot more than just some workout warrior by winning Defensive MVP honors after notching career highs in tackles (six) and TFLs (three) to go along with two sacks.

Coaches recruit illegally in high school as well
Do you really think college coaches like Kelvin Sampson are the only ones who get in trouble when it comes to ethical recruiting?  That is definitely not the case Bradenton Prep in Florida was slapped hard by the Florida High School Association.  Here is a little more about the situation (View the article here):

Bradenton Prep, a Class 1A school with fewer than 200 students, was fined $38,000 and cited for rules violations that included recruiting, providing improper housing for student-athletes and giving financial aid to student-athletes in violation of FHSAA rules.

John A. Stewart, executive director of the FHSAA, which oversees high school athletics in Florida, said the fine was the largest his organization has administered and that the 19 violations were the most cited against a school during his five-year tenure. The largest previous fine by the FHSAA came last January when the organization fined Ocoee-area West Oaks School $26,500.

I personally have never ever heard of high schools get penalized financially for recruiting violations but then again, I have not followed a serious football state like Florida.  At a place like that, anything can definitely happen.  Think what they would do in Texas?

Links of Interest:
If you haven’t checked out these articles from Recruiting-101 this past week, please do so now:

Football Recruiting has a new fad
One Day Football Camps vs. Three Day Football Camps
Unofficial football recruiting visits: Should I take them and if so, when?
Football Camps & Basketball Camps: How to know if you performed well in the eyes of college coaches
How do I get a Scout.com Recruiting Profile?
How can you tell the priority of a summer camp invite during the recruiting process?