Why prized recruits should refuse to sign the NLI; more Punt, Pass & Pork
Larry Harold had grown tired of the constant text messages, so he simply stopped looking at his phone Wednesday morning. The messages came from the 706 area code, from Georgia coaches trying to get one more crack at recruiting Roquan Smith, the star linebacker Harold had coached at Macon County High in tiny Montezuma, Ga. The Bulldogs knew Smith would announce his college choice live on ESPNU as part of the network’s National Signing Day extravaganza. If Smith said any school other than Georgia, they had probably missed their chance. Smith had turned his phone off as well. The senior was effectively incommunicado when he reached into a bag and held up a pair of UCLA gloves to signal his desire to sign with the Bruins.
But unlike many recruits who sign and fax their paperwork before revealing their decision, Smith hadn’t put pen to paper. So, he remained officially untethered when Harold, who was sick of feeling his phone buzz, finally pulled out his device and saw a screenshot of a FoxSports.com story by Alex Marvez that included a throwaway line about UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich joining the Atlanta Falcons’ staff as the linebackers coach. A Georgia coach had sent the screenshot because Bulldogs’ staffers knew Ulbrich had been Smith’s lead recruiter. They figured if Smith hadn’t signed a National Letter of Intent, the new information might give them another chance to land him. After all, Smith had no idea the guy who told him he could be the next Eric Kendricks was considering a job change.
National Signing Day 2015 winners and losers: USC, UCLA lead the way
“It was the best-kept secret,” Harold said. “Nobody ever mentioned him leaving. But we should have put two and two together. He’s never been shy about the fact that him and [Falcons head coach] Dan Quinn are really good friends. He’s always said that.”
That kind of secret gets kept at a lot of places and revealed after Signing Day, by which point prospects have already signed the worst contract in American sports and relinquished their right to be recruited by other schools. Those secrets were kept this year. At Ohio State, running backs coach Stan Drayton was planning to go to the Chicago Bears. At Florida, defensive line coach Terrell Williams was heading to the Miami Dolphins. The Gators were ready to replace him with Texas defensive line coach Chris Rumph. None of this was supposed to get out until Thursday, but Marvez, who covers the NFL and therefore works outside the College Football Industrial Complex, simply reported the info he was told by a reliable source Wednesday. He gave Smith a chance to do what every top-100 football recruit in the country should every year: Refuse to sign the NLI.
That’s precisely what Harold plans to suggest to Smith and his family. Smith smartly signed with no one Wednesday. He can wait until April 1 to sign the NLI, but doesn’t have to sign it at all (more on that later). Smith is still being recruited hard by UCLA, Georgia, Michigan and Texas A&M. He has options. He also has the chance to be a trailblazer and avoid the NLI entirely. “I’m going to talk to his family and see if that’s what they’d like to do -- if that’s an option they’d like to explore,” Harold said.
Though most players don’t realize it, they do not have to sign the NLI to receive a scholarship. They need only sign a financial aid agreement at their chosen school. The financial aid paperwork provides (almost) the same guarantee of a scholarship as the NLI, but unlike the NLI, it doesn’t strip the player of the only leverage he’ll have until he graduates from college.
Why is the NLI the worst contract in American sports? It requires players to sign away their right to be recruited by other schools. If they don’t enroll at the school with which they signed, they forfeit a year of eligibility. Not a redshirt year, but one of their four years to play. In return, the NLI guarantees the player nothing.
Sure, the NLI claims to guarantee a scholarship, but that simply isn’t true. That is contingent on the player being admitted to the school and on the football program staying below the 85-scholarship limit. A school can dump the player at any point between Signing Day and preseason camp, and he would have no recourse. This guarantee is no different than the one on a conference-approved financial aid form, but it costs the player something the financial aid agreement does not.
If I sign a contract with Sports Illustrated, I would give up my right to negotiate with other companies. But SI would reimburse me by paying an agreed-upon salary over a given period of time. That’s how a contract is supposed to work. Each side is supposed to get something. The NLI gives the schools everything and gives the players nothing.
Signing Day indecision? Don't make your college choice on live television
Why should anyone sign an NLI? Because in the real world, you’re only as valuable as your leverage. The 20th player in Arkansas State’s recruiting class needs to sign an NLI, as he may lack many other attractive options for a free education. In fact, almost every football recruit should sign the NLI. But the best ones should not.
It would be nice if Smith could follow the path of some college basketball stars and decline to sign the NLI. Only that would be terribly risky. He is just one player, and coaches may be more interested in protecting an arrangement tilted ludicrously in their favor than in nabbing a highly touted linebacker. Maybe the Bruins, Bulldogs, Wolverines and Aggies would decide he isn’t worth the potential hit to the system. Of course, given the intensity with which UCLA’s Jim Mora, Georgia’s Mark Richt, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin recruit, it seems unlikely that all would pass on a player they clearly want. Also, if all these competitors in the market for college football talent did conspire to shun a player they obviously covet, then Smith might get a call from Michael Hausfeld or Jeffrey Kessler. Hausfeld is the attorney who cleaned the NCAA’s clock in the O’Bannon case. Kessler is the attorney who hopes to leave a smoking crater in Indianapolis where the NCAA headquarters currently sit with his Jenkins v. NCAA case.
It seemed possible for a few days that Glen St. Mary, Fla., defensive end CeCe Jefferson could do the same. Jefferson, who committed to Florida on Feb. 4, was also reluctant to sign, but his situation was more complicated than Smith’s. Jefferson tweeted last week that he was tipped off -- he didn’t say by whom -- days before Signing Day that Williams might leave. But Jefferson also tweeted that his delay centered on a disagreement with his parents about where he should sign. On Monday Jefferson tweeted he would send his NLI to Florida shortly.
It’s likely Smith will chose the school he wishes to attend, sign the NLI and go on his way. He didn’t want all this attention in the first place. “I know Roquan,” Harold said. “The only reason why he wanted to go on TV for his announcement is because he wanted to give our small town exposure that it’s never had.”
Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire
What would be nice is if every player at the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game or U.S. Army All-American Bowl (or both) got together and made a pact to decline the NLI. The best 100-200 players have the leverage to say no. Coaches won’t refuse to sign them all. Even if Nick Saban doesn’t have to deal with that kind of activism at Alabama, the coaches at Arkansas or Mississippi State would be happy to scoop up any recruit who Saban wanted to cut loose.
This would expose one of the great lies of people who defend the current system. They assume fans root for laundry and not players. They essentially claim there is no market for these players, even though anyone can see this market in action by visiting Rivals.com. If it didn’t matter who filled the uniforms, coaches wouldn’t fight one another so hard to sign the players they want. Schools wouldn’t devote so many resources to recruiting.
Of course the top recruits would get scholarships, because elite college football coaches are not going to let the best players in the country just go elsewhere. (Also because the schools are terrified of Hausfeld and Kessler.) With the best prospects still available to be recruited by anyone, the annual dance of the departing assistant coaches wouldn’t go so smoothly for the schools. This might force coaches to be a little more honest in their dealings with recruits.
Last week Thomas Wilcher took to the radio in Detroit to rip Ohio State’s staff. Wilcher, the coach of Cass (Mich.) Tech, coached Buckeyes tailback signee Mike Weber. Weber was blindsided when he learned Drayton was headed to the Bears, and he was hurt. He also had no recourse. Unlike Smith, Weber signed his NLI.
Harbaugh used this situation to send a thinly veiled shot toward Columbus.
Ohio State director of player development Mark Pantoni responded in kind.
Harbaugh should probably be careful criticizing this scenario, because this is the ultimate glass-house situation for coaches. Every year assistants across the nation announce their departures as soon as the ink is dry on the NLIs for the most recent signing class. It will happen at Michigan at some point. Still, Drayton could have been more forthright with Weber. Even with Drayton on the way out, Ohio State is still the school that just won the national title. It will still run the offense that helped Ezekiel Elliott rush for 1,878 yards with 18 touchdowns last season. It would still be an extremely attractive destination for a tailback. If Drayton let Weber know he might possibly leave, it wouldn’t have changed any of that. Things would be a little more complicated if the coach was bound for another school and not the NFL, but lots of people have uncomfortable conversations when they change jobs. It’s really pretty simple. Here’s a template: “I may not be here, but this is still the same great place I sold you on. The head coach knows what he’s doing.” That’s all a potentially departing assistant needs to say.
The text of the NLI and of every cranky columnist ever reminds players they are signing with a school and not a coach. This is ultimately true, but it’s not the reality created by the coaches for anyone being recruited to play football. “I’m reading these columnists and seeing these sportscasters saying that [Smith] shouldn’t commit to a coach. He should commit to a school,” Harold said. “Well, a school is a building. What separates all of these schools? The things these college coaches sell these kids on are relationships. It’s the people.” Harold, who has obviously heard many of these lines over the past few months, then gave his best college assistant impression. “I can develop you like nobody else,” Harold said. “I’m going to be your coach. I can get you to the next level. I can care for you.”
The result? “The kid,” Harold said, “falls in love.”
From a practical standpoint, no player should ever choose a school based on an assistant. If that coach is good, he’ll get tons of job offers. If he’s bad, he’ll get fired. But most 16- and 17-year-old recruits don’t know that. That’s the beauty of recruiting for college coaches. Each year new players come in who -- unless they come from a prep powerhouse or had an older brother go through the process -- have no clue what the rules of engagement are. They’re easy to manipulate.
Harold doesn’t begrudge the assistants their chance to change jobs. He is changing jobs right now. He’ll be the head coach at Brunswick (Ga.) High next season. He just wishes they’d shoot as straight as they all claim. After news of Ulbrich’s impending move leaked Wednesday, Mora said he would “fight like crazy” to keep him. The Falcons and Quinn apparently fight crazier, because on Sunday UCLA announced Ulbrich’s departure.
If Smith had signed the worst contract in American sports before making his announcement, he would've been blindsided and stuck. Now he has a chance to collect his thoughts and reconsider his options -- including the one to tell coaches that he’ll be happy to come play for them, but they can take the NLI and shove it.
A random ranking
Valentine’s Day is Saturday. Here are the top five classic candy heart messages. (Also, a word of advice for the gentlemen: Don’t blow 100 bucks on Valentine’s Day flowers. Be more creative. Then spend 15 bucks for a dozen roses for your lady on a random Tuesday after the price gouging ends.)
1. BE MINE
2. LOVE BIRD
3. SWEET TALK
4. FAX ME
5.
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Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
First-and-10
1. Harbaugh lobbed some criticism in Ohio State’s general direction, but he caught lots last week when Gwen Bush’s name appeared in Michigan’s employee directory with the job description of “Player Development” in the athletic department. Bush is the mother of Stanford cornerback Wayne Lyons, who is set to graduate and would be able to transfer and play his final season of eligibility anywhere.
#DearAndy: Answering your National Signing Day and recruiting questions
Harbaugh’s hiring of Bush might be an obvious attempt to land Lyons, a player Harbaugh recruited during his tenure at Stanford, but isn’t much different than when Florida State hired Mario Edwards Sr. in a player development role just as defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. was set to join the team. Plus, if anyone is qualified for this job, it’s Bush. At most large programs, player development personnel work in a mentoring role for current players and serve as contact points for recruits and their parents when they seek info about the program and school.
Bush is perfect for this job because she knows exactly what parents will ask. When Lyons was being recruited the first time around, she asked pretty much every question. It was Bush who designed the in-depth questionnaire Lyons sent to every school that offered him a scholarship. The 50 questions covered everything from insurance coverage to graduation rates to the distance to the nearest department store. Bush told me in 2010 she got the idea from then-Wisconsin back James White, who had sent questionnaires to all the teams recruiting him.
2. The NCAA’s embattled enforcement department could get embarrassed again following a ruling Friday by a California appeals court judge. The NCAA has tried for more than two years to keep all the records of its investigation into Reggie Bush and USC under seal in former Trojans assistant coach Todd McNair’s 2011 defamation case against the governing body, but California’s second district court of appeal ruled the court is under no obligation to keep the records from becoming public documents.
The NCAA has argued if the records were made public, it would limit the NCAA enforcement division’s ability to investigate alleged violations of NCAA rules. The three-justice panel remained unmoved. “… the NCAA is neither a part of our judicial system nor of our law enforcement apparatus. It is a private, voluntary organization,” the judges wrote in their decision. “Unlike the judiciary, the NCAA is more akin to a private employer who investigates misconduct of its employees. When the adequacy of an employer’s investigation into an employee is at issue in a lawsuit, the employer must produce its files and disclose the substance of its non-privileged internal investigation.”
The NCAA should be afraid of the release of the documents. In November 2012 Judge Frederick Shaller wrote that the emails between people involved in the case “tend to show ill will or hatred” toward McNair. McNair received a one-year show-cause penalty for his role in the Bush affair, and his “guilt” was determined largely by a phone call made after Bush had played his final college game and a photo that also included the guy who played Big Worm in Friday.
This ruling doesn’t mean the documents will become public immediately. The NCAA can still ask for another hearing in the appeals court and can appeal to the California Supreme Court. But considering how casually the NCAA’s arguments were tossed aside, it seems to be only a matter of time before the documents are released. (Unless the NCAA wants to settle with McNair, which would open the floodgates for every coach who received a show cause to sue and try to expose the investigative records in hope of a payday.)
Perhaps NCAA leaders should consider that an investigative process they have to fight so hard to keep secret isn’t worth using in the first place. The enforcement department has been overhauled since the USC investigation, but maybe more transparency is the next logical step. After all, if the law enforcement officials investigating actual crimes and the courts prosecuting those crimes must adhere to open records laws, perhaps the NCAA should have similar procedures as it investigates and prosecutes its made-up crimes.
3. Much of the speculation in the graduate transfer quarterback market has focused on Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Notre Dame’s Everett Golson, neither of whom has said he intends to leave his current school. But one graduate quarterback is considering leaving and could make a decision as early as Monday.
Former Houston QB John O'Korn says he is transferring to Michigan
Whether Adams chooses to go Oregon or stay at Eastern Washington, his first game in 2015 will come at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks and Eagles open their respective campaigns against one another on Sept. 5.
*UPDATE: Adams announced Monday afternoon on Twitter that he will transfer to Oregon.
4. Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton will get the chance to try for a full senior season after the Mountain West and the NCAA granted a medical hardship waiver and gave him a fifth year of eligibility. Keeton, who never redshirted, missed eight games in 2013 because of a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, and missed 11 games in ’14 after re-injuring the knee. With Keeton watching for most of the fall, the Aggies went 10-4, losing to Boise State in their regular-season finale to miss out on the Mountain West Championship game and beating UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl.
5. Penn State’s James Franklin thought he had sent a FaceTime call to Nittany Lions signee Shareef Miller on National Signing Day, but the coach misdialed and wound up giving a Penn State fan named Aleem Medley a great story to tell. According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com, Medley knew exactly whose face had just appeared on his phone. Though Medley has yet to attend a Penn State game in person, he has something most fans don’t: A YouTube clip that captured his (accidental) recruiting call for posterity.
6. There was no shortage of high school coaches in South Florida willing to unload on Miami’s recruiting and coaching efforts to The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Al Golden can’t address all of these concerns, but there is one thing upon which he can improve: the Hurricanes’ record. “Before, Miami recruited itself,” Westminster Christian coach Sedrick Irvin told the paper. “Going 6-7 hurts. You’ve got other teams selling, ‘We have more people in the stands, our facilities are better, and we’re winning now.’ And Miami isn’t winning. If Alabama is telling me I’m going to be the next Amari Cooper, why would I go to UM?”
7. Former Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges was hired for the same position at San Jose State last week. Borges, who was fired from the Wolverines following the 2013 season, can now swap Dave Brandon stories with Spartans defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who ran the defense during the final two seasons of Rich Rodriguez’s tenure in Ann Arbor.
8. Be careful what rumors you address on a message board. You might get sued.
9. LSU coach Les Miles, who once left his home state of Ohio to play football at Michigan, doesn’t think much of the LSU targets who leave Louisiana to play college football out of state.
10. But Miles is a huge fan of LSU gymnast Lloimincia Hall, who incorporated his signature clap into her floor exercise routine.
What’s eating Andy?
Kanye West missed a golden opportunity at the Grammys. What should he have said? Easy. "Beck, Imma let you finish. But Taylor Swift was ROBBED."
What’s Andy eating?
Given the timing of my vacation and a few other things, I’ve been at home for a few weeks and haven’t had any culinary adventures. But a bit of recruiting tomfoolery reminded me of a feature I’ve been meaning to debut. Late last month Baylor’s athletic marketing department made a poster featuring the logos of Whole Foods, Omni hotels and several restaurants below the words “Coming to Waco soon.” The only problem was that at least two of the restaurants -- Pappasito’s Cantina and Pappadeux Seafood Kitchen -- aren’t coming to Waco any time in the near future.
But we don’t exaggerate here, and I can promise a new feature called “Chains That Should Go Nationwide” is coming to Punt, Pass & Pork. Starting today.
Not all chains are horrible. Some are quite good, which is why they can go from one to 100 locations over the span of a few years. But even though we’re as connected as a nation as ever, some chains remain regional or attached to one city. So, every few months, I’ll offer a few chain restaurants that would satisfy diners across the country. We’ll start with one of the chains on that Baylor poster.
• Pappasito’s Cantina is a classed-up Mexican joint from the first family of Texas casual dining. I’ve only had one dish there, as I don’t need to try anything else. Every time I’m in Dallas or Houston, I try to get an order of Pappasito’s Famous Shrimp Brochette. That’s a skewer of grilled shrimp that are stuffed with cheese and fresh jalapeno and wrapped in bacon. The skewer arrives suspended over a sizzling plate, and unless you despise decadence and request them dry, your server will dump drawn butter on your gloriously crammed crustaceans. Wrapping one in a fresh tortilla is the only way to improve the experience. The only Pappasito’s location outside Texas is in suburban Atlanta (Marietta, to be exact). This needs to change.
• Lemonade is a Los Angeles-based chain of cafeterias that answers the question of what might happen if the cooks at Piccadilly -- or the dearly departed Morrison’s -- shopped at Whole Foods. The cafeteria line begins with a row of beautiful vegetable dishes. Get the shaved Brussels sprouts with sage, dates, Parmesan cheese and white balsamic vinegar, and the New Mexican chile-roasted butternut squash. Skip the sandwiches and head to the Braises, which are meat dishes in which the braising liquid turns into a delicious soup. The jerk chicken braise will satisfy capsaicin lovers, while the red miso beef short rib braise mixes salty and sweet with huge chunks of beef rib meat. These taste best when served over the Basmati rice that seems to run out frequently. Most Lemonades usually offer a red velvet cupcake that makes for a fine dessert. Meanwhile, the restaurant gets its name from its selection of specialty lemonades. Try the blueberry mint or blood orange. How good is Lemonade? It’s the only restaurant that has made me want to grab dinner before leaving the airport after flying into a town. There’s a location in the Delta terminal at LAX, and I’ve been known to walk off the plane and grab a tray. Unfortunately, the only Lemonade outside Southern California is in Dubai.
• I’m lucky enough to have a Pollo Tropical five miles from my house, but this Caribbean fast casual chain has only a handful of locations outside of Florida. (In suburban Atlanta, suburban Nashville and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.) Chickens are cooked over an open flame with perfect, crispy skin. They pair well with my favorite Caribbean side dish -- maduros. These are plantains that caramelize during the frying process to create a treat that has far more calories than any fruit dish should. Maduros are made with ripe plantains, which are soft with black peels. They aren’t ultra-sweet like fried bananas. They remain savory enough to be a perfectly viable side dish. They are also not to be confused with tostones. Those are chips made with unripe plantains, which are hard and still have yellow peels. Pollo Tropical serves both, and the older ones will allow maduros as a side dish in a combo. The newer ones force diners to buy their maduros separately. That’s fine. Just order chicken with red beans and brown rice and a side of maduros. Then wash it down with fresh-brewed mango iced tea.
See, not all chains are terrible. Just most of them.
