The Hype of signature
Andrew Dodson
Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: Sports
And with the number one pick of the 2009 college football recruit-draft, the University of Southern California selects quarterback Matt Barkley of Mater Dei High School.
Sound familiar? The hype of national signing day grows every year and the term student-athlete dwindles into the background. The first thing that should be on many of these athlete's minds is a college diploma, but ESPN qualifies choices for colleges by topics such as, most national exposure, best campus life (aka best parties), and most likely to get players to the NFL. This media hype does not define the term "student-athlete."
ESPN's coverage of national signing day markets kids in an attempt to gain them exposure so they can have some storyline when they feature them on College Game Day next fall. Talk about high pressure. If pushing parents and persistent fans weren't enough, you can count on the pestering press to persuade these potent performers.
That pressure pushed one student, Kevin Hart of Fernley, Nev., to ignite his own faux signing day last year. Beginning in September of his senior year, Hart told local newspapers that several high-profile Division I college football programs were recruiting him - including the University of Oregon and California University. Hart fooled his coaches, community and family with this lie, and went as far as holding a pep rally at his high school to make his decision. Hart chose California. Later that evening, the University of California released a statement saying Hart was never on their recruiting radar.
"I still don't know why I did it," Hart said. "Maybe because I knew I wasn't going to be what I wanted to be and I didn't know how to accept that."
Hart, a "D" average student, was sure his football career was finished, but Feather River Community College came calling - giving him a second chance.
While Hart's story is an extreme situation caught up in the hoopla of national signing day, it is one situation that shows the affect this media pressure places on student-athletes.
Sound familiar? The hype of national signing day grows every year and the term student-athlete dwindles into the background. The first thing that should be on many of these athlete's minds is a college diploma, but ESPN qualifies choices for colleges by topics such as, most national exposure, best campus life (aka best parties), and most likely to get players to the NFL. This media hype does not define the term "student-athlete."
ESPN's coverage of national signing day markets kids in an attempt to gain them exposure so they can have some storyline when they feature them on College Game Day next fall. Talk about high pressure. If pushing parents and persistent fans weren't enough, you can count on the pestering press to persuade these potent performers.
That pressure pushed one student, Kevin Hart of Fernley, Nev., to ignite his own faux signing day last year. Beginning in September of his senior year, Hart told local newspapers that several high-profile Division I college football programs were recruiting him - including the University of Oregon and California University. Hart fooled his coaches, community and family with this lie, and went as far as holding a pep rally at his high school to make his decision. Hart chose California. Later that evening, the University of California released a statement saying Hart was never on their recruiting radar.
"I still don't know why I did it," Hart said. "Maybe because I knew I wasn't going to be what I wanted to be and I didn't know how to accept that."
Hart, a "D" average student, was sure his football career was finished, but Feather River Community College came calling - giving him a second chance.
While Hart's story is an extreme situation caught up in the hoopla of national signing day, it is one situation that shows the affect this media pressure places on student-athletes.
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