Blue White Illustrated

P L A Y E R B I O S For prospects, media attention is a mixed blessing y now, most of you know the scene. There will be a couple of hats on a table. The table is usually set up in a high school gymnasium with hundreds of students in the room to cheer. Seated in front are parents, siblings, grandpar- ents and uncles. There's usually a coach or two in the picture, and maybe a prin- cipal or an influential teacher. In the middle of it all is a student-ath- lete, making the biggest decision of his life, all while soaking in some of the fi- nal cheers he'll experience in his high school athletic career. Scenes like this play out every year, all over the country, on the first Wednes- day in February. Signing day is an unof- ficial holiday to many college football fans, but unlike most holidays, this one doesn't trace its origins back hundreds of years. It has only taken off in the past decade or so. Now, don't get me wrong. I know that signing day has always been a big event in the college football calendar. But in a relatively short period of time, it has become something much bigger. I'm partly to blame. I spend the entire year following the top 200 or so prospects in the mid-Atlantic region, plus dozens of players from other parts of the country who are being recruited by Penn State. But as a member of this industry – an industry that's grown nearly every year since taking off during the Internet boom – I also have a re- sponsibility to question the monster that we've created. This year, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU combined to air 15 hours of signing day coverage. In the days leading up to Feb. 4, they replayed high school games that had aired throughout the season while also showing highlights from The Opening and the Under Armour All- American Bowl. Even Penn State got in on the act this year, enlisting me and several counter- parts from other websites to do a webcast on GoPSUSports.com. We discussed po- tential standout prospects and speculat- ed about who might make an early im- pact. It was part of the buildup to the Signature Event, which attracted thou- sands of fans to Rec Hall to listen to James Franklin speak about this year's class. This approach is not unique to Penn State. Schools across the nation are do- ing much the same. That's part of the problem. I'm totally onboard with celebrating accomplishments, especially on the day that players officially sign their letters of intent. All of those guys have worked for years to earn the accolades that come their way on signing day. To many of them, it's a bigger milestone than their 16th birthday or, dare I say it, graduation. But what they've also endured is an 18-month barrage of calls, texts, direct messages on social media, emails and in-person interviews. Many of those in- quiries come from complete strangers. And I'm not talking about the coaches. Media coverage of FBS recruiting is booming. The number of professional websites devoted to high school football and recruiting has basically doubled in the past four years. There are now four major online networks, and trailing the dedicated recruiting sites are newspa- pers, television stations and blogs. Many recruits will tell you that the media at- tention is at least as tiresome and time- consuming as the contact from coaches. I've only been covering Penn State re- cruiting for four years, but in the past two – and this year more than ever – the players with whom I spoke seemed worn out. One player told me he changed his phone number four times in just six months. Sites like Rivals.com and its competi- tors aren't going anywhere. Neither am I, but I do have some concerns about the ever-increasing media contact that these guys are having to deal with. I've changed the way I do my job be- cause of it. But with competition be- tween media outlets becoming more ag- gressive, I foresee this turning into a big issue in the years to come. Those who have endured the barrage of calls and texts know what I'm refer- ring to. You're going to hear more and more parents speaking out. I think it's only a matter of time. ■ B

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