UNC Football Recruiting: National Signing Day, A Big Problem With The System
By Matt Hamm
I want to share something with you that irritates the crap out of me. In general I hate it when something is official, yet it can be completely ignored. For instance, you can vote and have you ballots jacked in Florida, but that’s old news. We’re talking about college football recruiting here. Today is national signing day, the day the top high school football recruits decided their college fates. Up until today commits could flip flop, change their “commitment”, sometimes on more than one occasion. Today is supposed to be the day that college football fans can gather around their laptops, turn to Keeping It Heel and see who Larry Fedora lands. After all this is National Recruiting Day, sounds like a deadline doesn’t it? Just like the deadline to declare pro right?
Yet, you don’t really have to make up your mind today. Top recruit Davonte Neal who has the Tar Heels listed as one of his top schools won’t decided when everybody else decides. In fact, Neal has an official visit scheduled next week in Arizona but rumors say he may switch that visit to Oklahoma. Look, I’m not upset at some 17 or 18 year old kid having a hard time making up his mind. After all, the kid is being chased and given the royal treatment everywhere he goes. Lebron James clearly couldn’t resist it himself (“The Decision smh) why should we expect Davonte’ Neal to?
The problem is, we shouldn’t expect any kid to worry about sticking to some deadline when he’s the toast of the town. Why wouldn’t you want to go all over the country and have people bow down to you. Why not take a trip to Arizona and Oklahoma? Get the royal treatment, hang out with a star player all day and um meet the co-eds. This is on the college football system. Impose a deadline for anyone offered an athletic scholarship to accept said scholarship. Period, bottom line, it’s that simple, that’s all you have to do. But then again, we’re talking about the NCAA. These guys are still sticking by the BCS system, instead of listening to oh I don’t know EVERYBODY, and starting a playoff system, like every other sport in the world.
Beyond the fact that fans have to wait longer to see where stars like Neal will end up in this flawed system. Is the fact that somewhere there are kids waiting on an answer on their scholarship. Some one star or NR recruit hoping to get into one of the schools Neal is considering is waiting. The coaches are waiting, their game plans are waiting. Not on the kid, again, it’s not Neal or any other kid in his positions fault, this is on the NCAA. I still love National Signing Day, but in reality, that’s not what any of us are getting today.
National Signing Day coverage here at Keeping It Heel starts at 8am. We’re featuring a National Signing Day Open Thread that will be updated all day long. Join in on the discussion as the news happens in our comments section.
Today as all our commits put pen to paper and sign their letters of intent. Even more importantly, all the undecided recruits we’re all waiting for, wishing, hoping they will sign with Carolina, make their final decision today. In other words, buckle up, it’s time for some national signing day coverage Keeping It Heel style! While we’re waiting on the announcements, what does everybody think of the class we’ve brought in so far? Don’t know how? Having trouble? We’ve got you covered right HERE