Ole Miss Football: The Unfortunate Messiness of Recruiting

Recruiting: Talent Upgrade

The goal of a football team is to win games. This is done by assembling a team that can play well together. However, a “can do” attitude can only take you so far. You have to have guys with talent. In order to consistently compete at high levels, the talent has to seep into the bench as well.

This is where the side of recruiting can look ugly and get messy. There are times when a school may recruit a player, but all of a sudden a recruit with more talent at the same position begins to show interest. This puts the school at an awkward position.

As much as people may talk about the loyalty of the school, they also want their team to win. In order to win, a school may have to go after upgraded talent. Due to the limited number of scholarships, a school may have to drop a player from consideration. This is invariably an inconvenience for the kid and his family. However, this is the messy part of recruiting.

In order to win at the national level, they must assemble a team that can compete with the best teams in the nation. That may require going for kids that appear to have better on-field talent. While doing this, they may have to suggest that another recruit pursue other schools.

It could be painful for the kid. Especially if his dream has been to play for that school. Or maybe he has already gotten the school’s gear and told his friends about going there. This is where the business of college football is ugly and messy. There is no easy way to do this. Family and friends get upset at the school and the coach. However, the bottom line is that the coach has to win.

All that is asked of the coach is that he try his best to do right by each recruit. He should try his best to no hurt as many kids as possible. However, sometimes you just have to play the role as the bad guy.