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Are Recruiting Sites Reliable?


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In talking on another topic, I was curious about the types of people who act as "evaluators" for the recruiting services. In searching for info, I came across an interesting article that really talks about how these sites make money: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/02/has_the_college_football_recru.html

 

 

Mike Farrell, the national recruiting analyst for Rivals, has been in this business since 1998. He considers himself such an old-timer that he acknowledges he's sometimes "that guy who screams at kids for walking on their lawn."

But what he finds today among recruiting reporters and analysts troubles him. He concedes he's not a better evaluator of football talent than coaches, but believes he's done it long enough to accurately compare Terrelle Pryor to Vince Young.

"There are so many unqualified experts in this industry," Farrell said. "You have a lot of young guys jumping into the business and doing it for free, and I think it just bogs down the whole thing. People don't know what to believe. It frustrates you greatly when you put so much into your job and a fan base will believe some guy who created his own blog. They believe an opinion they want."

J.C. Shurburtt, the national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, said the popularity of recruiting won't outpace the number of people trying to become a recruiting analyst. If anything, he said, there won't be enough of the pie to go around.

 

It's hard to find much transparency in the salary situation of these "evaluators" but it appears they are "reporters" who make between nominal money (on a per transaction basis/time and materials basis) and $20,000 a year (per this link: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Rivals-com-Salaries-E307790.htm). In contrast, and in line with the theme of the first article, the "Marketing Services Manager" makes more than twice as much money.

 

What I found more interesting is that apparently none of the senior people listed on Rival's site, for example, were college football players. The only college athlete at all was a college basketball player and she is "head of multimedia" (not an evaluator). https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1353289)

 

Why are we trusting and supporting (to the tune of pouring millions into the industry) these systems run by non-experts? Why do we have people try to construct whole arguments around why a coach is a or isn't a great recruiter based on semi-arbitrary rankings that use a numeric system that distorts the actual separation in performance; for example, making it appear that there's a 20% difference between a 40th ranked class and a 20th ranked class when really the difference may be negligible?

 

It seems crazy to me, but I guess that's why the guy who started bought Rivals out of bankruptcy in the early 2000s was able to sell it for $100 million. He's (self-admittedly) great at building hype.

 

I don't particularly like Bruce Feldman, but he cites some interesting issues in this article: http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=8151469

 

An excerpt about the marketing generally and the scummy behavior of Tom Lemming (coincidently a Callahan buddy):

 

 

 

Rivals general manager Bobby Burton says his site generated 38 million page views on signing day. Scout managing editor Glenn Nelson says his site, which also covers pro and high school sports, generated 50 million. For perspective, on average, CNN.com gets 60 million hits a day. The pressure to generate this kind of traffic inevitably causes some site reporters to become part of a process they're only supposed to be observing. They push kids to say something, anything, positive about the school they cover-even if the player has already made up his mind to go somewhere else. Coaches contend that analysts even skew their recruiting rankings to favor kids who commit late in the game. "These guys want drama," says an ACC coach. "It doesn't make good play to have the top 25 players decided by the end of the summer."

Tom Lemming, one of the pioneers of the recruiting beat, has been in the business since 1979, when he had one subscriber by mail. Last year he racked up 45,000 miles crisscrossing the country to scout for his magazine, Prep Football Report. Lemming denies accusations from coaches that he sells information-and influence-to the very schools whose signees and recruiting classes he is ranking. One coach says Lemming coerced prospects to attend a photo shoot this spring by telling them he otherwise wouldn't consider them for the roster he helps put together for the U.S. Army All-American game. The shoot was held on Notre Dame's campus. "Tom Lemming is a huge Notre Dame guy," Myron says. "He kept saying to me, 'You know they have a great coaching staff. You know Charlie Weis is Mr. NFL. You're an academic guy. That place is for you.' Then he killed Florida State. He said, 'You're stupid if you go there.' Um, okay. Thanks."

Lemming is used to being slammed. "I've had people bad-mouth me for years," he says. "I try to be honest. I rarely talk to kids. The Internet people talk to them all the time. If there's anyone influencing anyone, it has to be them."

 

And to sum up the silliness, YIKES: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2015/2/17/8047771/rivals-middle-school-football-recruiting

 

 

 

Over the weekend, college football fans and analysts discovered two Rivals.com player profiles for the class of 2021. Not the college class of 2021, but the high school class of 2021. These are kids who were born in 2002 and 2003.

"Tyson Thornton and Daron Bryden will be the first sixth grade prospects the website will actively monitor," says the website. "Thornton is a 5'11, 167-pound running back with great explosiveness and surprisingly good body control for a kid his size and age. Bryden, a small quarterback with a big arm, is incredibly composed and very polished, and he can make every throw. And with a father standing nearly 6'7, he may soon have the body to match his arm."

 

 

 

 

 

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:dunno

 

Am I surprised blogs are unreliable...No

Or that sites generate clip bait...No

Or that some analysts express their options about schools...Ehh

 

Nothing here is unknown. If you want to look at recruit rankings, look at the top sites (247, Rivals, and Scout) and look for how comparable the rankings are. If you get so wrapped up on ever word that is printed or said by recruits, without considering the context, that is on you really.

 

Our staff has really took to using social media to keep the Husker fanbase involved and informed. Definitely something to appreciate getting the word from the horse's mouth.

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