National signing day for high school football players has gotten way out of control. The hype and hysteria surrounding college recruits is completely unwarranted. At this point it almost rivals the NFL draft in its media coverage, but the impact is far less significant. It is hard for anyone to project what an 18 year old will ultimately become and in a lot of cases the predictions are wrong.
How many times have we seen a top 10 recruit never live up to the expectations bestowed upon them? Ronald Curry, Lorenzo Booker, Paul Arnold, and countless others have been labeled a "top recruit" only to struggle for playing time and recognition. Let us not forget that most of these high schoolers end up going to a school where the incumbent at their position is no slouch either. The competition is fierce, the coaches play favorites, and the skills a player has in high school don't always translate to big time college football. I understand the top schools need to be proactive to stay on top and the recruitment of blue chip prospects is the only way to keep the machine running, but can't the hype wait until at least spring football? Does the process have to become a 3 ring circus? Can you imagine if Marcus Dupree or Eric Dickerson were getting recruited in 2011? This process makes the movie Johnny Be Good look like a reality TV show.
A lot of these players will become good college players, some of them will play pro football, and some of them will even become NFL hall of famers. The percentage is very low however and just because scouts and recruiters identify talent at a young age doesn't mean the talent will develop according to projection. These are still young kids with their whole life ahead of them. The pressure of national signing day is too great and the expectation is unrealistic. We all need to exercise patience and wait to see who pans out and who doesn't. So much for that idea huh?
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