Blue White Illustrated

H erb Hand, who is Penn State's most enthusiastic user of social media, made news on Twitter in July. I'm not referring to the video he posted of himself cooking on his beloved smoker; anyone who's been following the first-year offensive line coach knows he's destined to be a chef in his next life. No, I'm referring to the tweet on July 30 in which he publicly declared that the Nittany Lion coaching staff was no longer recruiting an un- named player due to his poor conduct on Twitter. "Dropped another prospect this AM due to his social media presence," Hand tweeted. "Actually glad I got to see the 'real' person before we offered him." In the 48 hours that followed, Hand was retweeted more than 3,500 times, adding an additional 1,700 favorites. His comment caught the attention not only of local beat writers but ESPN, too, inspiring a conversation about the im- pact that Twitter has had on Division I recruiting. And yet, while Hand's tweet may have put social media in the spotlight, I find it hard to believe that this is the first time a program has backed away from a prospect because of his behavior online. In fact, I'd be willing to wager it has happened multiple times at programs all across the nation. Take it from some- one who follows hundreds of high school prospects on Twitter. I've seen some things that have made me do a double-take. Twitter is a potential minefield for young men who haven't quite realized the magnitude of the opportunity they have before them. And the problem isn't just that they might tweet something that could impact their recruitment. There are other pitfalls. One of the more disturbing aspects of all this online conversation is the amount of contact that fans can now have with their alma mater's next po- tential superstar. Sure, most of it is harmless, just fans being fans. But there have also been a number of instances in the past few years in which things have gotten out of hand. Two years ago, a prospect told me that he was stalked by a Penn State fan. The player, who is currently a member of the Nittany Lion squad, had tweeted to a friend that he was going to meet him at a nearby movie theater in 30 minutes. His friend was late, and as the player waited in the lobby of the theater, the fan ap- proached and went on to not only in- troduce himself but also ask for a pic- ture. When the player asked to be left alone, the 40-something fan cussed him out, telling him that he should have more respect for the people who "care about him." It's an example of how an obsessive fan can use Twitter to cross the line. With more and more high school prospects joining Twitter in hope of building ties with the fans of their school, incidents like the ones re- counted here will continue to occur. There's no way for the NCAA or the schools themselves to control it until their recruits arrive on campus in the summer. It's up to the players' parents to mon- itor their sons' interaction with coaches and fans. This needs to be discussed openly, before something worse hap- pens. ■ Social media create pitfalls in a prospect's recruitment na and Wake Forest. It's likely Pollard will play his college football close to home. NO. 201 STEVEN SMOTHERS Ath. // Resterstown, Md. // Franklin Smothers was eyeing a visit to Penn State this summer, but that has yet to take place. He's seen West Virginia, which is an early leader, and has o9ers from Ohio State and Alabama. It's likely Smothers will end up somewhere other than Penn State. NO. 236 MECOLE HARDMAN Ath. // Elbert Count, Ga. // Elbert County Hardman camped with PSU's coaching sta9 at the Georgia State camp in June, and later that month he put Penn State in an early top 8ve that also included Ten- nessee, Miami, Clemson and Wisconsin. He has since named a top four that in- cludes South Carolina instead of Penn State and Wisconsin, and he has admit- ted that Florida State, Florida, Alabama and Georgia would jump up that list if they were to extend o9ers. Nonetheless, Hardman said Penn State will be a school he considers until the end. NO. 222 LAVERT HILL CB // Detroit, Mich. // Cass Tech Hill's recruitment blew up in late July when he visited and earned o9ers from Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan. He received his Nittany Lion o9er at camp, where he was also able to check out cam- pus. He o9ered positive reviews of his visit, but it will be di:cult for Penn State to pull Hill away from the Wolverines. NO. 248 PATRICE RENE DB // Ottawa, Ont.//Alexandria, Va. // Episcopal Four days a;er earning his Penn State scholarship o9er over the phone, Rene camped with the Nittany Lions July 20 to back it up. A;er his camp visit, he told BWI that "Penn State will remain one of my top schools until it comes time to make a decision." Rene also has interest in Ohio State, Syracuse, Rutgers and In- diana. ■

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