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For every one of these elite recruits who make it at a far-away elite program, there are ten who don't make it. I still believe these players are better off staying close to home. As for William Campbell, I believe his recruiting antics have tainted him for his UM days. There are other ways to get free trips during the winter to warm weather destinations. This clown was going to go to UM all along, but he played everyone for a fool and participated in the phony live declarations at the All American Game. These ego-driven displays make me sick and are a complete turn-off to a college football game that is changing for the worse. Who the hell do these high school athletes think they are? I guess when the media, coaches and fans fawn over them since they are 12 years old, what do you expect.

It used to be that you had to look to the pros and a few idiots like TO and Randy Moss to see the antics that are now commonplace. Now, it has passed through the college game like a hot knife through butter and invaded high schools. I was disgusted to see the the promotion of Football University at the All-American Game. Presenting that group of 11-12 year old football "studs" as probable participants of the Army All-American game in six years, was about as low as this superstar adulation has gotten. To present this group of pre-pubescent kids as future "stars" on national television was a disservice to those kids and shows just how low the promoters of amateur athletics have sunk.

Back to William Campbell. I think it's way too early for anyone to claim one way or the other whether Campbell will be a good player in college. I certainly wasn't impressed with what I saw in the All-American game. Plus, if he was as good as they say, why wasn't he able to help his Cass Tech team during last season. I think some of these freakish physical specimens get noticed early and rated highly before they ever do anything on the field. The high ratings lead to intense recruiting, which gives the kid a big head and a sense of entitlement. After seeing how Campbell acted at the All-American Game declaration, I couldn't have cared less whether he chose UM or not. In fact, I would have preferred that he took his big body elsewhere. I'd rather have a bunch of guys who were more modest, hard-working, intelligent and who strut their stuff on the field. Maybe it's just a generational thing or an ethnic thing, but I've got to say it completely turns me off.


A lot of this deification of high school athletes is the result of people who promote them because of their own agendas, usually money-related. Tom Lemming is one who comes to mind. I used to think Lemming provided a valuable service, but now I think he is part of the problem. In addition to the display of the 11-12 year old players, I found it odd that there were a group of high school juniors who were announced as participants in next year's All-American game. I guess that's how Edwin Baker made the game. It certainly wasn't for his play this year. How many Bakers are in that group of Juniors? Why have they been chosen for the game next year before playing a down in their senior year.

I suppose that this youth movement in the world of sports superstars is worse in basketball than football. I guess the camps that involve elementary school students and the college recruiting contacts of players who have not enrolled in high school yet are more prevalent in basketball than in football.

I've been guilty in the past of stressing the Division 1 recruits on teams that I evaluate in my blog. There has been enough evidence recently that there is no correlation between Division 1 recruits and team success. I'm going to downplay the individual recruit in favor of team strengths in the future. College scholarships that give an elite athlete a free ridc for four years have become a way of life in high school athletics and the main reason many even play sports. It's become a big business. It leads to more recruiting and transfers at the high school level to schools that purport to offer more exposure. It minimizes the "student" in student-athlete. It gives false hope to many who think they will make a living playing professional sports and ignore their academics during their formative years. I'm going to be more team-oriented in the future. I doubt that Mick McCabe and Tom Markowski will follow suit. We can probably look forward to the News' Blue-Chip List and the Freep's Best of the Midwest. Personally, I'd like to see more emphasis on team and less on the individual. The media could help matters if they refused to publicize the press conferences that these students hold to announce their college choice. I'd also like to see more civil and less clownish behavior for these elite athletes. I'm sure most people will laugh off Campbell's antics at the All-American game as a kid having fun. My wife happened to walk through the room as Campbell was making his declaration and she commented, "that clown is going to UM." That's the impression of this 5 star recruit that I will carry with me until he proves himself on and off the field in Ann Arbor.

Another change I would like to see is by the NCAA regarding verbal commitments. I would expand the signing period and eliminate all verball commits. Once a players accepts a scholarship and signs a letter of intent, they are committed. Verbal committments, which mean nothing anyway, should not be allowed. It sends the wrong message to the kids that they can make a verbal commitment, lock in a scholarship, then break the commitment at their convenience if something better comes along.

Big Reds 89,

I'll amend my comment on trips as follows: I have no problem with recruits taking the trips if they are truly undecided and need to visit a number of poten tial schools. The rules allow for the trips and I have no problem with them. I do draw the line on kids who have evaluated a number of schools, then make a verbal commitment, but conveniently rescind the commitment and open recruiting at schools located in nice travel destinations. After the trips, the original commitment gets re-instated. That describes William Campbell. Maybe, just maybe Campbell was truly undecided and needed more exposure to alternative schools. If he really intended to go to UM all along, but just took the trips, that's the kind of recruit travel I dislike. Of course there's no way to prove Campbell's intentions. I just suspect a lot of these recruits are playing the system. This is where some adult guidance from coaches and parents would be helpful.