Steven M. Sipple: Freeman case portrays dysfunctional world of recruiting
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
In a perfect world, people honor their word. If they say they’re going to do something, they do it.
Because I’ve failed on that count innumerable times, I say with certainty that it’s an imperfect world. Bill Callahan received a jarring reminder Monday night that people — particularly teenage people — don’t always follow through on commitments.
Gifted prep quarterback Josh Freeman, widely regarded as the jewel of Nebraska’s 2006 recruiting class, reneged on a verbal commitment given last June to accept Nebraska’s scholarship offer, choosing instead to play next season for new Kansas State coach Ron Prince.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Freeman’s father informed Nebraska coaches of his son’s de-commitment via text message. Nice touch.
Callahan’s reply probably wasn’t, “Happy Holidays to you and your family. Enjoy Manhattan.”
The reply might have been more along the lines of, “See you next Oct. 14. Adam Carriker and Corey McKeon look forward to meeting you.”
In the odd, wicked and sordid world of college football recruiting, de-commitments are common. Yet Freeman’s sudden change of heart seemingly caught many fans off-guard.
In a perfect world, after a high school player verbally committed to a school, other schools would back off or significantly curtail recruitment of the kid. Of course, the opposite holds true. If a player commits to a school, other schools often come after him harder.
Prince earlier this year tried to lure Freeman to Virginia when Prince was an assistant there. After landing the K-State job, Prince zapped Freeman with a full-court press.
Too often these days, verbal commitments mean virtually nothing. That’s life. That’s recruiting. Nothing’s final until the kid signs on the dotted line. Freeman is only the latest example.
During last year’s recruiting wars, Texas fell victim to touted quarterback Ryan Perriloux’s nationally chronicled ego fest. Perriloux strung along the Longhorns for nearly seven months before signing with Louisiana State.
“All of us are looking at who will be the best team player, but in recruiting it’s becoming more and more about the individual,” Texas coach Mack Brown told SI.com. “We’re going to have to do a better job of watching how certain kids respond to the Internet and publicity that’s become such a big part of the process.”
Freeman seems to like attention from recruiting Web sites. Although he verbally committed to Nebraska last summer, he accepted visits in recent weeks from coaches from Missouri and K-State. He had planned an official visit to Oklahoma before canceling the trip after media had gotten wind of it.
When word leaks of such dalliances by high-profile players, recruiting-based Web sites go berserk. It’s instant attention for the player (and his family).
Considering Freeman’s recent maneuvers, perhaps we should’ve seen this de-commitment coming after all.
Even so, the news seemed to hit Big Red fans hard. Yes, it’s a blow to Nebraska’s 2006 recruiting class (assuming Freeman turns out to be as good as advertised). But with junior starter Zac Taylor and true freshman backup Harrison Beck, the Huskers have stability at the position for next season, assuming Beck makes needed improvement.
It’s possible Nebraska coaches now will roll up their sleeves, jump into the recruiting muck and try to lure away a quarterback who has verbally committed to a school. The good news is, NU has all of January to try to replace Freeman, who was the only quarterback in the Huskers’ 2006 class.
Early speculation pointed to several possibilities, including Greg McElroy, a 6-2, 212-pound player from Southlake, Texas, who has committed to Texas Tech.
Freeman, rated as the nation’s No. 4 pro-style quarterback by Rivals.com, had planned to attend Nebraska starting in January and compete in spring drills. He likely wasn’t going to overtake Taylor, and perhaps not Beck. A redshirt season for Freeman clearly was a possibility — one he didn’t like.
“I would hate to go to Nebraska and get redshirted,” Freeman told Rivals.com. “That was the vibe I was getting from the coaches.”
Prince apparently sold Freeman on the notion that he could become a four-year starter at K-State. You have to wonder about that. By most accounts, Freeman is physically gifted, but raw in terms of quarterback skills. He apparently needs seasoning. And remember, K-State returns three experienced quarterbacks in seniors-to-be Allen Webb and Dylan Meier and sophomore-to-be Allan Evridge.
Evridge started six games this past season and set K-State freshman records for passing yards (1,365) and touchdowns (six).
Whatever. In a couple of years, we might look back and wonder what all of the fuss over Freeman was about.
In the dysfunctional world of recruiting, every player is a potential star, with emphasis on “potential.” It’s mostly a fantasy world.
This much is certain: In a perfect world, a teenager’s whims wouldn’t cause such a stir.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Most Commented news