Friday, February 13, 2015

The Now "Infamous" National Letter of Intent

The 2015 recruiting season and subsequent signing day have brought to the forefront the inadequacies of the National Letter of Intent. It is true that this "contract' is heavily weighted in favor of the universities. The recruit is locked in, locked up, and locked down. It is now argued that current day players, generally speaking, sign with a particular school because of developed player-coach relationships, as opposed to signing with the school and program itself. This year in particular, coaching changes at signing day have left several high school players feeling betrayed. This feeling is intensified once the letter of intent has been signed because now the player is bound to that school. There is no question that the process of signing high school athletes to "scholarships" needs to be changed. There is some/much tweaking that needs to be done. Why not do away with "Signing Day" as we know it now. Allow high school seniors to sign a letter with schools any time after Labor Day of their senior year through January 31st. That signed document could be worded to give the student-athlete an "out" option upon certain circumstances that might occur at the school of his signing (such as head coaches position coaches or coordinators leaving) up to the date of his actual enrollment. It could also be worded to protect the validity of a four year commitment by the school. I'm certainly not a lawyer, but I could see a viable document created in a reasonably simple way that would be fair to both the institution as well as the individual. But in reality, is anything simple these days?

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

If Tony Ball Bolts for LSU, UGA Should Call Hines Ward!

As we speak, University of Georgia Wide Receiver Coach Tony Ball is a finalist for that same position vacancy at LSU. It is rumored that it could be Ball's job if he wants it, not only as a change of scenery but also as a nice bump up in salary. When Georgia revised the titles and pay grades of several coaches after the 2014 season, Ball's position was not included in those pay hikes. Read in to that what you'd like, but the fact remains he is now exercising his options. For my unsolicited and unwarranted opinion on what the Bulldogs should do if Ball does indeed depart, I think Mark Richt's first call should be to former Bulldog and Pittsburgh Steeler great Hines Ward. With his resume he would certainly be a viable candidate, even though he has no college coaching experience. I can only guess here, but I would see wide receiver recruits jumping at the chance to play for a guy with Ward's credentials. Hines Ward may have bigger and better things going on right now, but he should be UGA's first call. It never hurts to ask...