National signing day...give me a break

When did national signing day turn into the NFL Draft with high schoolers in suits being interviewed on ESPN after doing their silly this hat, that hat routine to tease the audience. So stupid and overdone. How many first-round NFL picks flame out? Just a taste of how many of these highly "ranked" high schoolers who turn out to be nothing.

 

The stories we ran for football signing day in February were our most-read sports stories of the year so far. It's all about giving the people what they want.

 

In other words, people really need to get a life.

 

Yeah, but if people's lack of a life helps keep me employed then fine. I'm as sick of the whole "which hat is he going to put on" bullshit as anybody, but newspapers dropped the ball when they let Rivals and Scout take over the market on recruiting coverage.

 

Well, if recruiting keeps people employed, I guess I can't rip it too badly.

I'd think a big part of newspapers dropping the ball on recruiting coverage was the influence of the 24-7 web. Websites need to fill content, so they do it with endless discussion of where high school students are going to college and participate in extracurricular activities.

 

I'm also of the opinion that recruiting can be covered by newspapers in a reasonable and responsible manner. There are good stories to be told about kids making their college choice. It doesn't have to be stalking 17-year-old boys because they might have changed their mind in the past 24 hours.

 

College recruiting's boring now. Give me more stories about middle schoolers and where they're going to attend high school. I need to know if the 6-6 seventh-grade giant with a mustache is going to Lincoln or Central.

 

Yes...Rivals and Scout are putting a focus on recruiting that most newspaper can't afford. Our reporters need to be at various events, covering various beats...those websites are extremely specialized, but do have a large audience.

Some information is credible, while some is blog-type opinion stuff that doesn't hold a ton of value.

Newspapers definitely have a place in the recruiting puzzle...I just think the hype is getting overdone nowadays.

 

No chance for Lincoln or Central, St. Pius offered him free tuition.

 

I agree. It's pretty sad.

But people eat that stuff up, so, gotta go with the flow...

 

And his own personal nerd to give wedgies to and stuff into lockers whenever he feels like it.

 

There's no need to lament newspapers' abdication of recruiting to Rivals and Scout. That was inevitable. What else do Rivals and Scout do?
If you really want to cover recruiting, you can't cover the here and now. And that was true long before the economy and corporate greed thinned staffs across the country.