Why colleges send wacky recruiting letters and the consequences of them

[Talty]

Haven't plugged my own work in awhile and figured this story could be of some interest to y'all. I did a story about schools that send wacky/crazy recruiting letters -- Think "You're a Baller" -- and why they do it. I thought Dan Mullen had a pretty good explanation.

But it also takes a look at whether the current recruiting culture -- sending hundreds of letters a day -- is creating egotistical monsters out of these 17-year old kids.

Let me know what y'all think.

Check out the story here.

 

[aTotal360]

Good read, Fruitloop. I think DW it 100% correct about "the love".

 

[Arloguthrie]

I agree with your premise that MSU’s practice of sending silly personalized notes to recruits is creating a toxic environment in which otherwise humble salt-of-the-earth grinders are turned into quasi-celebrity me-first prima donna glory boys.*


On a serious note, I would like to see the flip side of this article from the perspective of a recruit (or former recruit). How much do they actually value such notes? In the mix of factors that leads them to choose a particular school (winning tradition, playing time, location, education, access to prostitutes, etc.), what percentage of the decision is based upon receiving silly notes - 1%, 5%?


I suspect the impact of such notes is negligible, but it’s an “everyone else is doing it” situation, so no one wants to be the only one not doing it. But damn it’s gotten out of hand when a kid gets 270 letters in a single day from a single school.


*I’m well aware we also send silly notes and similar tomfoolery.

 

[Talty]

When I was still in Mississippi I talked to a few kids who really liked them. Obviously Hoover defensive back Marlon Humphrey really liked the "Can of Swag" stuff Geoff Collins was sending him. I think playing time and program prestige are probably the biggest factors, but the "show me love" thing is a real thing. I've had multiple kids over the years tell me they were looking for the school to show them the most love. And when coaches know that's a deciding factor, that's when the crazy promises and stuff comes out.

BTW, I obviously wasn't suggesting that MSU is single-handedly creating this issue. I've been on record saying I like the creative stuff that Collins and other staffers do. I'm all about innovation, but I do think there can be a correlation between coaches promising everything under the sun during the recruiting process and this inflated sense of self-worth which can have ugly effects on the football field.

 

[thatsbaseball]

How many put any real importance on gimmicky uniforms.

 

[Shamoan]

5/10. full points would have been awarded if you had included something about milking cows, scientology, and the pony.