As technology speeds us into the future, sometimes things that happened not-so-long-ago seem like the Stone Age. That’s where high school recruiting has gone as college coaches realized quickly that young, high school age players they were trying to lure to their school are “early adopters” when it comes to tech.
We made a big deal about coaches starting to text recruits when that became available. And FaceTime as well as Skype allowed those face-to-face meetings that the NCAA eventually had to legislate about regarding the when and where it was within the rules.
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Now it’s commonplace as recruiting coordinators from each school try to stay ahead of the latest ways to communicate with those star athletes that can make a difference in their programs. SnapChat, Vine, and every other social media platform are part of the process. An entire industry online has flourished for that one day a year that 17- and 18-year olds will sign a letter of intent.
My phone rang about every minute in the sports department on signing day in 1987. Emmitt Smith was coming out of Pensacola Escambia High School and was the prized recruit in the state of Florida. Before the Internet and cell phones, the media got the information first from the schools so I was able to tell hundreds of fans, well before the 6 o’clock news, that Smith was Gainesville bound. He went onto a Hall of Fame career.
Four years later my phone rang about every 15 seconds with fans asking about the signing of Marquette Smith. The Lake Howell running back was the Gatorade player of the year and the prized recruit in not only Florida but also the nation. I was able to tell fans that this Smith was headed to Tallahassee well before it was on the news that night. (All of this, by the way, was also pre-sportstalk radio.) Marquette never met even his own expectations at FSU and although he had some success after transferring to UCF, he was out of football after two unsuccessful attempts in Carolina.
In other words, recruiting is an inexact science.
Some of the suspense is also gone from Signing Day with early enrollment a big part of getting players ready to contribute on their teams early.
There are 12 players expected to be on the Florida football team next year already in school in Gainesville, forgoing their final semester of high school. It gives those players a chance to go through spring practice and get a head start on the 2016 season. Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask are two quarterbacks as true freshmen already in school who will compete for a starting job for the Gators next year. Rick Wells, a wide receiver from Raines is one of 13 players who say they’ll also sign with the Gators.
FSU has seven early enrollees who started in Tallahassee at the beginning of the spring semester. Jacksonville’s Andrew Boselli is one of them. The ‘Noles have what they call 14 “hard commits” with players from around the country saying they’ll wear the Garnet and Gold next year. Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York, North Carolina and Missouri as well as all over the state of Florida are represented on their list.
Perhaps the most coveted quarterback in the country is already in school at Georgia with five other freshman football players. Jacob Eason, from Lake Stevens, Washington, stuck with the Bulldogs despite the change in the coaching staff. Eason won just about every National Player of the Year award available. Solomon Kindley, an offensive tackle from Raines says he’ll sign with Georgia as part of their 2016 recruiting class.
Five players from around the state are already in school at Miami including Oakleaf’s Shaquille Quaterman ad Raines’ Michael Pinckney. The “U” has 17 players committed for next year.
And while the focus on Signing Day is on football players, it’s about all-sports and the special day for student-athletes in high school to shine. Christopher DeGance from Bartram Trail and Lianne Manaquil from Stanton are two highly sought after soccer players who will sign letters of intent for college on Wednesday.
We’ll have full coverage Wednesday on News4Jax on all of our platforms, from web to Twitter and Facebook and all of our newscasts on Channel 4, The Local Station.