This guy isn’t buying into recruiting hype
Take a look at the Bison fan blogs and message boards during the months, yes months, leading up to Feb. 7, and you’ll know what I am about to talk about.
That day in February was when student-athletes, mostly from high school, signed National Letters of Intent to attend NDSU.
By signing it, the players made it official that they will attend the school. If they end up going somewhere else, they face penalties.
Before the days when obsessed Bison fans spent hours looking at message boards and blogs – or before the technology of them existed – there was not nearly as much hoopla around these recruits.
To give an example of these message boards – to those non-message board savvy readers out there, or those who have better things to do – a few days before national signing day on one Bison fan message board, CaBisonfan said: “Blake Sczepanski is the real deal...and a steal. He is a true diamond in the rough of 9-man football. He has star potential.”
CaBisonfan went further to say something to the affect of how he heard this from his cousin’s-friend’s-brother’s-aunt’s-sister-in-law’s-step-daughter’s-new-college-roommate, that went to high school with Sczepanski.
For the record, Sczepanski was named one of the NDSU football team’s “preferred walk-ons” on National Signing Day. This means he didn’t receive a scholarship, but will tryout for the team.
CaBisonfan’s comment was a prime example of how delusional fans can be.
Star potential? Nothing personal to Sczepanski, but how can you tell? He played 9-man football in Minnesota.
Granted, his high school Stephen-Argyle won the state championship, but the competition of 9-man football in Minnesota deserves about as much merit as the competition in my flag football league.
I am sure there is some talent out there, but there is no way of knowing until he gets to NDSU. Because even if they excel in high school football, it doesn’t mean they will in college.
This doesn’t just go for Minnesota kids, either. A lot of excitement has come from NDSU’s recruiting connections in Illinois and Texas. This year’s recruiting class had three from Illinois and four more from the Lone Star State.
I don’t get caught up in the hype surrounding these guys, either. The common myth is if he is from Texas, he must be good. Wrong.
There are many players from Texas, including ones NDSU has recruited before, that couldn’t cover a statue, let alone a wide receiver.
Many other manic-Bison fans were drooling over the stats some of the recruits had in high school. This could lead some to believe that the player will be a star in college, but not always.
If one player rushed for 3,000 yards, behind a solid offensive line and played on a dreadful league in the middle of Illinois, would he appear better than a kid from Wisconsin who rushed for 1,200 yards behind a bunch of 150-pound lineman in one of the top conferences in a metropolitan area? He would look better on paper, but that doesn’t mean he will do well at NDSU.
Point is, it seems to be a waste of time to spend hours on blogs and message boards talking about some 18-year-olds who you, for the most part, have never seen play.