Recruiting drama is a guilty pleasure


The other day, I caught myself doing something embarrassing. I was perusing the internet and realized that I was looking up recruiting rankings. But not just glancing. I was legitimately researching. And what’s more, I was legitimately caring. I somehow found these kids and their impending decisions important.

To many, this is all just part of being a college football fan. National Signing Day is a day unlike any other, the culmination of months of anticipation for fans and years of hard work for coaching staffs. But see, I always thought signing day was stupid. In fact, I was planning on writing a column on just how stupid and pointless it was. I looked through the last decade of USC recruiting and Rivals 100 players, determined to prove that it really all meant nothing.

Unfortunately for me, that’s not what I found.

Signing day is not the be-all-end-all, of course. As is always evident in the NFL draft, projecting a player’s talent at the “next level” is a very inexact science; generally nothing more than educated guesses. And yet, these educated guesses very often turn out to be right.

Adrian Peterson, DeSean Jackson, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Julio Jones, Robert Woods, Marcus Lattimore, Jadeveon Clowney — those are just some of the coveted five-star recruits (according to Rivals) over the last decade. Of course, more hardcore USC fans are likely to remember names like Kyle Prater and Dillon Baxter, both five-star recruits in 2010 (Prater was actually the No. 3 overall recruit in the nation) who didn’t exactly pan out at Troy.

So while the Signing Day universe is sprinkled with its fair share of highly-sought recruits who will turn the way of Prater and Baxter, many more will serve in key roles for their programs over the next few years. Su’a Cravens, Nelson Agholor, Woods: those are just some of the five-star recruits USC has signed over the last three years who have developed into some of the Trojans’ most important players.

In 2009, USC signed three five-star recruits: quarterback Matt Barkley, defensive back T.J. McDonald and defensive lineman Devon Kennard. All three became team captains, and McDonald was a First-Team All-American his junior season.

Of course, that’s not to say it’s only the top-rated recruits who end up as superstars — or fall flat. Marqise Lee was a four-star recruit and considered a defensive back out of high school. Leonard Williams, one of the most dominant players in the country last year, was also a four-star prospect. Buck Allen and former running back Curtis McNeal were both three-star recruits. On the flip side, offensive linemen Kevin Graf and Aundrey Walker were both four-star recruits, and both were decidedly less than stellar in recent seasons.

And yet, the feeling I got yesterday was undeniable. I cared. I got butterflies watching eventual USC commit and consensus five-star prospect Adoree’ Jackson ham it up before announcing his decision. Two hours later, John “JuJu” Smith made me feel the same way. The USC Athletic Department put out a video that shows the reaction in the John McKay Center, which was akin to a game-winning touchdown: cheers, high fives, hugs — you name it.

In many ways it is embarrassing to care so much about where a 17-year-old decides to attend college. It’s a little bit sad, too. But you know what, as much as we might try to deny it — and I know I certainly did — it matters. And I admit it: I care.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not embarrassed.

 

Nick Burton is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. His column, “Any Given Saturday,” runs Thursdays, ironically. To explain  to Nick how this makes no sense or comment on this column, visit dailytrojan.com or email Nick at [email protected].