Gary Parrish and Keith Easterwood in Memphis

[dawgatUSM]

On 92.9 both think that Malik is coming I State.

They both are also very in the know in college recruiting circles

 

[RebelBruiser]

I always enjoy listening to Easterwood, because he doesn't pull punches about what goes down behind the scenes in these recruiting battles.

He particularly talked about how you couldn't get into the Memphis recruiting scene if you didn't already have a guy that the inner circles of Memphis AAU ball trusted. I'm sure that's the case everywhere. You've got to know how to play their particular game.

Mix in the shoe companies openly recruiting the top players to sign with them and thus sign with specific schools, and it gets a lot more complex than football recruiting.

That said, football recruiting is on that path in some regards with the 7 on 7 teams serving the role of the AAU. The only difference is I don't think football players will ever carry the potential shoe company value that basketball players carry, so you'll likely never see the football system get injected with the corporate influence like you have in basketball.

However, football is quickly developing a similar system of handlers and networks that you have to be able to penetrate in order to land a player. It's quickly becoming more than just Mama, the high school football coach, and girlfriend that you have to win.

 

[patdog]

Yep. Football recruiting is starting down the same path basketball took 20 or so years ago. The SEC has tried to limit that somewhat by only allowing 7-on-7 teams made up of 1 HS team for their on-campus clinics and tournaments. Not sure if they've been successful in getting the NCAA to follow along with that though.

 

[Hammer Down]

The only way you limit this sort of thing is to either take back amateurism (and let guys go pro sooner and thus get paid), or just turn the thing into a business. I think the former is easily the best solution, but everyone else seems to think the latter is the best solution. All this autonomy and stipends bear that out.

I have said many times that I think the MLB has the best system. NFL needs a developmental league too. Or, they could use the CFL or the Arena Leagues or come up with some **** like the XFL or whatever Vince McMahon had. Plenty of options. Even the NBA has something similar to that. But where I think the NBA goes wrong is they do not require you to stay in college until 21 (or 3 years) if you sign with a 4-year institution. Let them be eligible for the draft after JUCO still.

This would improve things on so many levels. Takes so much of the money out of the college game. Places more responsibility on the players, but they also can get paid. But it does not put them on an island, because either they are getting paid or going to school for 3 years. If you flunk out, that is your fault. I see it as a win/win but obviously I am missing something because no one agrees with me.

ETA: Yes, I acknowledge that this will hurt the popularity of the college game a bit, and that is sort of a side effect of my plan. I am fine with that. There is room for that right now, too much money in it to begin with.

 

[esplanade91]

The NFL's practice squad is the best minor league in professional sports. Players get to learn a system relevant to what they actually need to be learning while getting to practice against the best of the best. If after 3 seasons you aren't signed to the 53-man and you clear waivers, it's time to find something new to do. There's no market for ****** athletes playing football.

 

[RebelBruiser]

The tricky part for football is that the physical development of athletes just isn't there for guys to go pro out of high school.

Look at the top rated prospects each year. How many of them could go immediately from high school to the pros? There has to be some sort of developmental league in between.

However, since college football exists, the NFL has zero motivation to create a developmental league. I agree that it would be the best system for the college game, if players had the option to just go pro out of high school and at least get paid minor league rates before developing to the NFL level. However, that'll never happen, because it would require the NFL to stand up a league that it currently doesn't need.

Sure, there are talents that the NFL misses out on because they can't cut it academically and end up in Jucos or flunking out of colleges before they hit the draft. If they miss on 50-100 players every year that they could've had, it doesn't hurt the overall quality of the product, certainly not enough for them to justify setting up an entire league in order to make sure they capture all those talents.

How much is the NFL hurting because Nick Brassell was incapable of passing college courses? A guy like that might have made it had he been able to go play for some minor league team for a few years where school wasn't required. The NFL isn't hurting though. They've got plenty of other talented guys to be able to sign to fill rosters.

My idea of the perfect system would be to allow a certain number of athletes each year to attend as non-students. Maybe allow 10 roster spots per team. Those guys can take courses set up to teach them about personal finance, business investments, and some of the potential pitfalls of being a professional athlete. Those courses could be available to other athletes too. I certainly think there would be value in that, but just allow them to be non-degree seeking members of the team.

Dismiss the farce of the student athlete, and at least allow those that have no business or desire to be a student athlete just to be an athlete. Pay the players a portion of what the programs earn. Maybe standardize it across all schools with cost of living adjustments. You could even create a luxury tax type system where all those disbursements come from the NCAA, not the schools, and the school has to pay into the pot based on certain measures to determine their revenue level. That way an Alabama ends up on a level playing field with a Vanderbilt. Then you're good to go.