Farrell's SportingBlog
Why do so many elite recruits go astray?
August 7, 2006
The Sproting News
It's a menace that's threatening society, a terror so real it's affecting the sleeping habits of thousands of people across the nation. It's not global warming or the crisis in the Middle East . . . it's college football players. And is it me or are they getting dumber every year? Of special interest to recruiting geeks like me, it seems that the more stars you get when being ranked, the more brain cells you can lose. The correlation between five-star studs and trouble is so astonishing that I'm half expecting one of this year's five star crop to call me and ask to be dropped to four, just to be safe.
This has been quite a stretch when it comes to transgressions by former five-star recruits. From Miami, Fla. to Norman, Okla. and stops in between, some very stupid things are occurring just weeks before practice begins. I call it the "five star sickness" because so many former top high school prospects seem to regress intellectually once they arrive at a school of higher learning. Let's take a quick looksee:
Rhett Bomar was a five-star stud out of Texas back in 2004 when he signed with Oklahoma. This was to be his breakout year and he had a very good chance to lead the Sooners to a BCS bowl game. But that won't happen now. Bomar was dismissed from the team for violating NCAA rules by working at a private business and taking "payment over an extended period of time in excess of time actually worked." Allegedly Bomar worked around five hours a week at a car dealership while filing for 40-hour weeks. He made up to $18,000 for basically working a lunch hour each day of the week. Good work if you can get it, unless you're the star quarterback of a Big 12 power.
Bomar worked at Big Red Sports/Imports, the same company that was involved in the recent Adrian Peterson (five-star 2004) controversy. Peterson, the nation's No. 1 overall prospect in the same class as Bomar, allegedly bought a car without the proper financing, drove it around for a couple weeks and then returned it. He was cleared after an internal investigation because the dealership said it was normal business practice. Oddly, no car dealership has ever shown me the same courtesy, but maybe I wasn't asking right.
Bomar had also been in trouble due to possession of alcohol by a minor on two different occasions. Nothing came of the first but the second led to six months probation. Almost everyone I knew in college drank underage, so that's more of a "boys will be boys" deal, except none of us had the potential to make millions in the NFL. We were jeopardizing our future as salesmen, brokers, landscapers and janitors. Not as much to lose, no?
But Bomar isn't the only five-star knucklehead to emerge recently. Linebacker Tray Blackmon of Auburn, the nation's top linebacker and a five-star stud in 2005, was suspended for three games last week after an alcohol-related arrest in June where his blood alcohol level was reportedly twice the legal limit, not so good for someone underage.
Miami wide receiver Ryan Moore (five-star in 2002) was suspended for the first two games of this season, a continuation of his suspension that kept him out of last year's Peach Bowl for a "violation of team policy". The "violation of team policy" is the scariest term in college football, apparently ranging from missing a study hall to war crimes. I don't have a guess as to what Moore did to miss three games, but I can guess that it wasn't something smart.
Oh, and here's my favorite. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden (five-star in 2005) had surgery last past week to repair a dislocated toe. Nothing wrong there, right? Running backs injure their toes all the time, right? Sure they do, but not by kicking someone repeatedly in a brawl. McFadden injured the toe when his shoe came off after allegedly kicking a man repeatedly in a fight outside a bar. The same bar had been closed down in 2004 by a judge after two people had been killed there and more than 30 other crimes or incidents had been reported. It re-opened in January of 2005, something Houston Nutt has to be just thrilled about.
I've talked about former FSU wide receiver Fred Rouse (five-star in 2005) being arrested for breaking and entering an apartment of a teammate. I've talked about defensive tackle Callahan Bright (five-star in 2005) who missed most of his senior football season for allegedly going into the stands after a heckling fan and was last seen on his myspace.com page smoking something that looked quite illegal. I've talked about running back Jason Gwaltney (five-star 2005) who transferred from West Virginia to Nassau Community College after his freshman season and has put himself in a deep enough academic hole where it's uncertain when he'll play college football again. I've talked about defensive end Melvin Alaeze (five-star 2005) who was released from his Letter of Intent by Maryland after a drug arrest and has surfaced at Illinois.
And I don't think I need to go into the Willie Williams (five-star 2004) saga with Miami or get into the situation with former South Carolina running back Demetris Summers (five-star 2003). USC quarterback Mark Sanchez (five-star 2005) was arrested and detained on sexual assault charges although most felt it was a bogus arrest (and was dismissed a month later due to a lack of sufficient evidence). Former Purdue linebacker Kyle Williams (five-star 2004) was arrested on charges of assault and confinement late in 2005. Oh and I almost forgot, a guy named Marcus Vick (five-star 2002) has had some issues as well.
So what is it about the five-stars? We give five-star rankings to only 25-30 players each year and since 2002 all of the above have landed in hot water. Is it about entitlement? Does the recruiting process itself, with all the warm fuzzies and "you're the best I've ever seen" phrases being tossed around like horseshoes at a backyard cookout make kids think they're bulletproof? Or does the notoriety that comes with such status lead to a college life under the microscope and wrought with more temptations than those who are more "star challenged"? There are many questions but few answers.
Whatever it is, there seems to be a direct correlation and, worthless as I am, I don't have a solution for it. Recruits will be ranked from now until we're all flying around in mini-spaceships because the industry has become so big and following the process itself is addicting. I've received a lot of phone calls over the years from players, parents and coaches wondering what it will take to be ranked as a five-star. Not one has asked what it takes to drop from a five to a four. Yet.
