The dark side of the football recruiting process

In the last ten years, I have seen a lot of strange stories in the past. There have been a variety of crazy parents, kids who lie, and other situations that are part of the dark side of the recruiting process. But this one that recently came out is among the worst. Here is a quick recap of the story (There will be a number of article links posted at the end of the story).

As recently as three weeks ago, Fernley offensive lineman Kevin Hart was all set to commit to Oregon. But on Friday, during an assembly in front of the entire school, Hart chose California over the Pac-10 rival Ducks. Hart will sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the signing period. “They really won me over,” Hart, who will be the first Fernley athlete to receive a full scholarship to a Division I school directly out of high school, said of the Golden Bears. “Coach (Jeff) Tedford and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me the real personal experience.”

Nevada, Illinois and Oklahoma State were also on Hart’s final list. “I’m sure it won’t hit me until I hit the practice field and get welcomed to the Pac-10,” said Hart, who informed Tedford of his decision Monday. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound left guard — listed as a two-star prospect by rivals.com — will redshirt next season, and said he could play guard or center college.

So that part of story is not the strange part. There are a number of high school seniors who are making college decisions in front of their school and the local media. The problem with this story is California. The Bears have not been recruiting Hart at all, never had him on for a campus visit, and did not offer him a scholarship. The reason why this story did not seem like a complete hoax was the fact that his high school coach supported his decision.

The head coach at Fernley high school, Mark Hodges, who has coached for over 20 years in California, Oregon, Tennessee, and now Nevada, told the audience that, “this is a great day for Fernley High School. This is one young man who is going to represent us on the national level. But we’ll always remember he came from Fernley.” Hart was stated as being the first ever Fernley athlete to receive a full scholarship to a Division 1 school directly out of high school. His parents and grandparents were at the event, and even his grandfather, who has Hart’s size, donned a Cal hat.

The first question regarding this situation is did the kid lie about it or is someone around him being an incredibly mean spirited person by playing a practical joke on him? The first situation about the lie seems a little strange regarding Cal. As mentioned in a previous quote, Hart said that he has spoken to head coach Jeff Tedford numerous times and that he ended up telling him he was committing.

Obviously it would not be all that hard if someone had the time and energy to pull off this elaborate stunt for one school. But how would he do it for Nevada, Illinois, Oklahoma State, and Oregon? The article said that Hart received an offer from Oregon at their summer camp. Because there have been people who have come out and said that Oregon was not recruiting him, this is where things start to sound fishy and that he was lying about something. Here is more about the lack of attention he has received:

The dilemma is that Hart was never extended a scholarship – not just by Cal, but by anybody that we know of including Oregon, Washington State, Oklahoma State, or Nevada. Nobody knows if Hart was extended a scholarship by any school in the country whatsoever – or that he has any opportunity to play at any school. The scouting report we heard from those in the know said that Hart could always try to walk-on somewhere, but he’d have a long way to go despite his size because he lacks upper body strength and footwork.

Going back to the other possible answer, he may have duped the entire time. Because none of the family is committing and the coach is saying very little, it appears that is the route they are going. But the question is how did word get out about an Oregon offer at camp if they were not recruiting him?

A police report was filed Saturday with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department. It was not known Monday what was in that report, but Hodges and NIAA executive director Eddie Bonine intimated Sunday it could be that Hart, his family and the school were duped by an imposter. “This is involving law enforcement and may involve other departments, other than the NCAA, that are bigger than local,” Hodges said.

The hardest part about finding more information on this situation is that the family will not talk and the college coaches, under NCAA rules, cannot say anything regarding his recruitment. These coaches cannot come out and say that they did offer Hart at camp this summer or that they have never heard of the kid on record. That makes it tough to really figure out what exactly is going on.

I will talk about this more in another article but you do not want to be the athlete who lies about the recruiting process. It may help you in the short term but you will be found out. If Hart was lying about the recruiting process (Which I really hope he wasn’t doing), the situation will be figured out shortly. And that is the last stigma you want to go through life with.

Here are a few articles pertaining to this situation

• Beyond Belief – BearTerritory.net
• Hart commits to Cal in late switch – RGJ.com
• Cal, Oregon say Hart wasn’t on recruiting radar – RGJ.com