Recruiting Shenanigans
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opbuco.com
Pat Jones offers up a great take — an inside take — on the recruiting game. And I couldn’t agree with him more, across the board, whether it’s the topic of rankings (who knows!?), coaches’ spin (always positive!) or the obsession of fans and the media with the decisions and futures of 18-year-olds.
And Jones is dead-on when it comes to the signing party silliness where players reveal their decisions with a pick of a hat, or by stripping away a jacket to reveal a shirt or some other attempt at being cute.
Cute, it is not. Nor is it entertaining.
C’mon, be a man. State your destination, clearly, so as not to embarrass yourself or your new school before you even arrive on campus.
Bottom line: for the coaches and their families who understand and feel the time involved with chasing talent, resulting in too many nights away from home, recruiting isn’t some fanciful folly. It’s serious.
So when a guy like Calvin Barnett sends out a tease alert by promising “something different and a little flashy” a week before signing day, you can count on some silliness.
And some shenanigans.
But beyond the silliness, there’s something less than genuine involved. In Barnett’s case, there was deception and, according to OSU insiders, lies.
What we’ve heard:
Cowboys coaches were told for 10 straight days leading to Wednesday’s signing that Barnett and his mother told OSU coaches he would be a Cowboy.
Left to rely on his word, OSU couldn’t seek a replacement for his vacated spot in the signing class. And some young man who wanted to be Cowboy could not.
And there would have been options, right here in state. Cowboys coaches were taking calls from interested players — including a defensive tackle — right up to signing day. And based on Barnett’s word, they had to turn them away.
All Barnett had to do was be open and honest with OSU’s coaches. Yeah, he would have had to resist efforts to re-recruit him. Yeah, it might have been uncomfortable. But he owed them some honesty after all the “love” they’d showered on him for six months.
That honesty would have allowed the Cowboys to move on, fill their recruiting class and not have their own signing day tinged by silliness.
Barnett’s silliness.
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Comments
Lived in Louisville when “Snake Oil” Petrino was there. And Left for Atlanta. And left Atlanta with his butt on fire. Guarantee Barnett will not have same coaching staff by junior year that he has now. “Snake Oil” will be at a “better school that he will love to represent.”
Hit that nail right on the head Mike! Good riddance and here’s hoping he gets the comeuppance that Larry foretells as a reward for keeping the spot from someone that really wanted it.
If this kind of behavior came from the young man, who needs him. I suspect the deceit came from the head coach. I believe he would have quickly brought disgrace to an otherwise great class, just as he has now brought it on himself. Go ‘State!!!
John: You expressed it a lot better than I did on an early morning blog. Feel sorry for a player that wanted to come to OSU but could not because of the spot reserved for Barnett. Maybe Mack Brown has the best policy afterall.
Would I be correct in assuming everyone here is new to recruiting? Don’t worry, it can be confusing for a bit, but I believe you’ll understand if you keep up with it for a few years. It’s not as complicated as it seems at first.
“new to recruting?” no, just a fan of a school that honors its commitments to its athletes, and resents an athlete that lies and locks out another athete from a scholarship and a school from a replacement; not a fan of a school that drops an athlete on signing day to sign one they think is better.
dez? lies, admsits it, asks for mercy, and is out of college in what, 60 days? No second chance. no partial suspension; and, we are “apologists” for laughing at the ncaa that “can’t find” a violation at USC 4 years after verified petitions with affidavits are filed in a lawsuit that Bush received a quarter million dollars a year in illegal benefits.
complaining abut double standards and unfair treatment is not defending an indididuals bad decision.
was sick for Dez. wish now he had gone to OU or Texas so we could have watched him for 4 years regardless of his conduct.
First of all, Louis Friend, you need to try to find something better to do with your time. Reading and commenting on other schools is a sad life.
The really irritating thing about these suprises is not the fact that they lie, but when they do it. Perrish Cox was a signing day switch and so was Ryan Broyles. The thing these kids almost all have in common is that they are typically either academically in question or have questionable character. Rarely do you ever see an humble, intelligent athlete doing things like this.
The same goes for Roberson who was trying to switch from TU to OSU. Why would you switch so late in the process? It is purely an act by kids to attract attention. These are kids that your program doesn’t necessarily need to be involved with.
An interesting statistic would be how many of kids that do things like this go on to be suspended, arrested or kicked off the team. That would be interesting…
It was a very low class maneuver on Barnett’s part. I am really happy as it turns out since kids that deliberately lie and deceive as he did and does should not part of the same University that I attended. It’s a shame the way we had to find out since others were left out directly because of his deception and ego, but things will work out fine for OSU in the end. As for working out for him …. maybe if he finds a way to grow up.
Since Barnett was orginally committed to UA very very early in the process, and then with pressure to switch to OSU, did. What if he had stuck with his UA committment all the way up till signing day. Then at the last minute switched to OSU, would you still be upset? I assume not. I think if I were an OSU fan I would worry more about trying to beat Houston and less about bashing kids.
This happens everywhere and including Arkansas kids who pick other schools. Why even try to understand what is going on in the minds of 17 year olds.
What a bunch of self-righteous BS. He is an 17-year-old kid. OSU is just pissed because their negative recruiting didn’t pan out and they didn’t have a backup plan. As far as the “orange shirt to red shirt” His school colors were orange, what was he supposed to wear? He was wearing Booker T gear. John Helsley, place the blame where it belongs… on the poor recruiting job of your team’s staff.
lOUiSucks Friend is back on the OSU sites again because he can’t find anything good on the OU sites.
Eric, what are you talking about? Barnett has been committed to OSU since August. How much earlier are you talking? His junior year? Also, how was he “pressured” into switching to OSU? Keep reaching…
Also, yes I would still be upset if the situation was reversed because I’d be worried about the type of character we had just recruited. It’s just that simple.
Finally, way to ask for classiness there at the end while taking a ridiculous cheap shot in the same sentence. Look up the word “hypocrite” when you have a chance.
to Eric, the task of beating Houstons and OUs and everyone else is what we are concerned with. We probably took care of Houston, with the OC hire. Not likely to happen regularly against the OUs without having the elite athlete at all positions.
Mr. Peanut, what negative recruiting are you talking about? Man, it must be awesome to just blast negative accusations on an internet site under the name “Mr. Peanut.” Also, of course OSU didn’t have a back-up plan. They were loyal to Barnett! They took him for his word and were burned for it. Because of that, another deserving athlete was robbed of a chance to attend the university he really wanted to.
How was it poor recruiting, exactly? The kid said he was “100% solid” to OSU so the coaches didn’t recruit anyone else for that position. That sounds like class and integrity from the coaches. It would have looked much worse had OSU kept recruiting for that position and promising other kids a scholarship that they didn’t even have.
Go do some research before you spew such nonsensical prattle.
You have to have a backup plan, Mike. It is not leading another student on, it is being smart. Don’t know what your panties got so wadded about. Just pointing out that your coaches dropped the ball and blaming a 17-year-old for changing his mind about a decision that has been tough for him from the get go is somewhat pathetic.
As for negative recruiting, OSU is one of THE most notorius schools around. It happens everywhere though, and I have no major problem with it. Just saying it didn’t work.
“Eric, what are you talking about? Barnett has been committed to OSU since August.” -Mike.
Did he sign his letter of intent? If so, isn’t that some kind of NCAA violation for him to go back on that letter of intent?
If a kid has not signed a LOI, he is fair game and has not “committed” to anyone.
Why would anybody want to go to stillwater for one day let alone for four years? Petrino is here to stay along with Barnett. Wooo Pig Soouuuiiieeeeeee.
The writer and the fans have every right to be dissappointed, but if one were to listen to the kid you might find an explanation for his actions. His Mother was pushing for OSU and he was more interested in Arkansas and finally decided he needed to do what felt right for him. Also any writer who quotes Pat Jones about ethics or football expertise should do a better job of reseach, because Jones fails on both counts.
If Barnett had been commited to Ark all along, then switched, yes Ark fans would have been upset also. That’s just the way with typical fans. Even if the kid is just 18, there’s no excuse for the way he did it as it is pretty obvious he knew he was going to Ark for some time. It appears he just wanted a lot of attention. Negative recruiting is what the “other” side always calls it. Regardless, as Dez found out, there’s really no excuse for lying.
I can’t believe the false information being put out in this
article and in some of the replies. Calvin Barnett called
the OSU coaching staff the Tuesday evening before signing
day and told them he was signing with Arkansas. OSU’s
coaches had at least a full 12 hours to fill his spot but
they chose not to.
Y’all had your shot in ’08 and didn’t get it done. Time for y’all to get comfortable with getting what OU and Ark leave.
EXACTLY, TERRY! In his interview, Barnett gives excellent reasons for his decisions AND tells that he told the OSU staff of his plans the night before. He knew, the coaches knew, his friends knew, the only people who were suprised by this were the fans (on both sides!) Your team missed on a good player. Deal with it.
It was pretty common knowledge that Mr. Barnett was reconsidering his commitment to OSU at least a couple of days before NSD. This was reported in several national and Oklahoma media outlets, and was widely discussed on several recruiting message boards. If the OSU staff was surprised, it was their own fault.
I’m a Razorback, but completely understand the disappointment felt by the OSU fans. I don’t particuarly like these last minute switches as the HOGS have been victimized just like every other school out there during NSD. The fans of the programs suffer because we are simply left holding an empty bag that was once full of hope for our favorite team.
Don’t fool yourselves into thinking that the Coaching staff’s are unaware that this is going to happen. In fact, they almost always know long before the switch ever happens and a good coaching staff will always have a plan B in place for every recruit. In this particular case, Barnett gave the OSU coaches notification that he was not going to sign with them, so now you must ask yourself, who’s pulling who’s chain.
Hey Mr. Peanut …perfect name for your brain. Just so you’ll know, OSU may have to take OU leftovers, but not Arkansas. Look at the recruiting rankings and see if you can find the Razorbacks anywhere close to the Cowboys. Why don’t you try to establish contact and see if you guys can meet at the next pit bull or cock fight.
Peanut brain…the contact I was referring to was with that other genious who spews venom on here but probably never finished kindergarten…none other that the great Louis Friend.
NOT TO LIE, CHEAT OR STEAL SHOULD BE TAUGHT BY MOTHERS AND FATHERS. THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A BAD TEACHER IN THIS YOUNG MANS HOME.
John, don’t take it so personal. It’s apparent that Barnett was torn between OSU and the Hogs up until the very last minute so for you to proclaim he was lying and misleading the OSU coaches is just an ignorant, childish, and asinine statement.
Barnett’s decision was a hard one but in the end he decided he wanted to play for the Hogs in the best conference in College Football (not even remotely debatable) against some of the best college football players in the country. Who can blame him? Your attempt to vilify this young man is pathetic and it’s clear that you and the rest of the Cowboy Fans blasting Barnett just got your feelings hurt.
I would tell you to get over it but I want you the rest of the Cowboy faithful to keep up these unjustified attacks on this young man because it’s apparent the Hogs have gained a strong foothold in Tulsa and your type of attacks will only backfire on you in the future. Keep it up!
I love it when fans give up logical reasoning and arguments and resort to name-calling! (Peanut brain…. never finished kindergarten) Why wouldn’t someone want to play for fans like you??? I would suggest you get your facts straight, learn hoe to type coherently, and then check back when you have something of value to provide. Thanks.
Apologies to Choctaw Hog… meant to compliment your excellent post in my last comment and got off track by Jim’s childish fit…
Bobby Petrino was not your snake oil saleman. That would be Garrett McGee, former OU QB and current OC and recruiter deluxe of the Razorbacks, hometown…Tulsa. By the way, do you all remember Philip Dokes, Duck White and more recently, Kevin Williams?
Get over it. You win some, you lose some. You lost on Wednesday.
Wow, look at all the sour grapes. You know darn well that if the tables were turned, you’d all be laughing about how you “stuck it to Arkansas” blah blah blah. Glad to see you all dusted off those Petrino-looking-for-another-job “gems”. Those never get old.
Besides, whether you want to agree or not, other coaches respect BP’s eye for talent. If Barnett had been vocal about his decision to go to the Hogs, someone like Texas or OU would have said “Hey, Petrino thinks this kid is worth a scholly… we better jump on this one, too”, and then you’d have to play against him every year.
Of course, I can understand why you’re upset, a little. I mean, if someone like Arkansas can steal one of your best recruits on NSD, what does that say about the state of OSU football?
Sounds like Barnett might end up in JUCO anyway. His chances of qualifying are 50/50 at best. Sorry Hogs.
Oh, and if you think Petrino will be in Fayetteville in five years, then you’re just being silly. Not sour grapes; it’s probable.
Barnett is a great athlete with a lot of growing up to do. It’s pretty clear now who wears the pants in the Barnett-Bennett relationship. Here’s hoping Calvin Barnett and Eric Bennett can holds hands while hanging out in the cellar of the SEC for the next few years…IF Barnett even qualifies.
OSU will win without him.
Now Matt… you are the one “just being silly” Hogs will have a better record than OSU next season by at least 2 games in a better conference. Guaranteed.
Sorry that football fans of Arkansas seem to think that football is more important than teaching young men an honor code. You don’t lie to people by telling coaches that you are signing with their school ten consecutive days before signing day. This kid must be considered a man/child and I doubt that he will be able to achieve academically. Recruiters are going to have to be more careful in their selection of sports recruits.
T. Schendel says as Lane Kiffin bolts for USC and Kelly leave his players high and dry for Notre Dame. It is sports! It is not a matter of “honor” He did what was best for himself. Quit crying and get over it already.
Peanut,
I truly wish Mr. Barnett the best of luck against the likes of powerhouses such as Tennessee Tech and UTEP. Ryan Mallett doesn’t play on both sides of the ball.
But first, I look forward to hearing Barnett’s comments on how he feels about playing at NEO.
Woooo Pig Cellar Dwellers
petrino won’t be in arkansas in 3 years. arkansas fans don’t understand that “snake oil” had a blank check from one of the 20 richest men in the U.S. at louisville.
His inability to co-exist with a decent defensive co-ordinator led to mediocre season after mediocre season against mediocre opponents (nonconference usa to big east, WOW, what power).
ego leaped at chance to go to Atlanta (after big win season in powerful big east) made him look “real”.
like he was going to turn michael vick into a pocket passer in his system.
vick takes a hit, snake oil takes a lick (for no good reason–sea Atlanta Falcons, Quarterback Matt Ryan) and runs for the hills.
what happens when saban has another 2 years of recruiting? even les miles can’t screw up LSU recruiting. so who is he gonna beat? the miss schools? good luck. any power in the east? Fla? chuckle. Tn with a real coach? chuckle. auburn after coaches get another 2 years of recruiting? ha ha.
basketball school KY? only play them 3/6 years. brain school Vandy? only play them 3/6 years.
so snake oil plans on making a living beating 1AA opponents and the mississippi schools. chuckle.
Matt,
As opposed to your non-conference schedule???
Washington freaking state? They had 1 win last year! 1!!
Tulsa?
Louisiana?
Troy?
You must not have looked at your schedule. Sadly, even with your cupcake-fest I think you will be LUCKY to get to 7 wins!
Big 12 Schedule:
A&M will be close
@TTU will be a loss
Nebraska- Loss
@K-State will be close
Baylor should be a win
@ Texas= Big Loss
@ Kansas- probably a win
Oklahoma- close loss
I predict 7-5. 9-3 at best, 6-6 or 5-7 if you’re not careful!
At any rate Arkansas will go somewhere between 9-3 and 11-1 next season. Write it down.
its amazing that you guys spend you time talking about someone who no one you guys even know. If it bothers you that damn bad, why dont you guys makes some babies, raise them into football players and make them go to OSU. Remember, you guys is fans, not players so know your role and seriously fall back!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was recruited by Garrick McGee, right? Dang, even when they work for other schools, Sooners still put the screws to OSU.
Oh, and to the author, they are kids making the biggest descision of their entire life. Why not stop with the ridiculous attempt at establishing some kind of moral authority over a seventeen year old that changed his mind by challenging his manhood.
You wanna attack someone, attack your coach.
He’s a man.
He’s 40.
This article is total BS. First of all, everyone knew that Barnett was considering going to Arkansas weeks before signing day. ALL coaches (except at OSU apparently)have contigency plans for EVERY recruit, especially those who are known to be considering another school. Secondly, Barnett informed OSU that he was committing to Arkansas THE DAY BEFORE. Just because YOU didn’t know it until he took off his shirt doesn’t mean others didn’t. So, you are all either liars or fools — or both,
John Helsley:
Why didn’t you mention in your hatchet peice that the Calvin visited Arkansas the week before signing day? Why didn’t you mention that the OSU coaching staff KNEW that Calvin wasn’t going to OSU before signing day? Writing an article with the intent of getting people from a kid’s home state angry at him is a low thing to do. To write a FALSE artilce with that intent is shameful. Are you a man? Are you 40? GROW UP!
A right thing to do if the big jerk wants to go Hog, should have done it before the bowl games, not taken all the goodies till the last day to switch. What a class act, what a low life. A 12 hours to do what on before signing day, after you deduct the night hours what you got? He should have made the decision when he visited the Hogs, not wait till the last day and last hours of recruiting day. Wasted a scholarship for some one else, not to mention time and money spent entertaining him and his families.
John, keep up the bashing and name calling of players who decided that playing for the Hogs was better than playing for the Cowboys. I believe you are good representative of the typical OSU Cowboy Fan and that should bode well for the Hogs in the future when we recruit head-to-head.
Keep up your unjustified attacks and I hope ALL of the young Oklahoma Football players are paying close attention. Unwarranted attacks like yours will backfire on the Cowboys. Watch and see.
Oh c’mon. First of all, there won’t be any HS players on here reading all this “Crapola” (Archie Bunker Word).
Second. Mr. peanut has lost his mind if he thinks his pigs are gonna go 11-1 next year. I do agree they will probably have a better record than osu though.
Third. How about everyone on here go get a life somewhere. If you can’t find one here in the great Sooner state, then travel North to Kansas or something.
Get over it Pokes. It’s part of recruiting. All Gundy had to do was get on the phone to option 2 once he learned he lost out on the BTW kid. Good grief. This kind of stuff happens all the time. Look at the kid A$M lost to OU on NSD.
GET OVER IT……..
Hope that Mr. Peanut re-reads his comments on this blog. He doesn’t think that Honor has anything to do with a person’s word. Believe me, it does on the football field and also how he conducts himself in the business world. Been there, seen it, done it.
JOHN HELSLEY:
Still waiting for an explanation for all of the LIES in this blog. Barnett was a soft verbal, visited Arkansas the week before signing day, and informed OSU of his decision the day before. Have you ever heard of LIBEL?
Joe McKnight did much the same on signing day, but at least he did not promise anyone that he was signing with them and said he would wait until signing day, but he did have 3 solid teams that he was choosing from. He had the caps on the table and was reaching and then pulling back from each and every one. The he reached out to the LSU cap and being from Louisiana the crowd began to cheer and then he reached up under the table and put on a USC Trojan cap. No one even knew USC was on his radar and needless to say the Louisiana crowd was stunned.
These kids are self promoting straight out of high school and I expect that we will see much more of these classless acts as long as we see these T.O. type prima-donnas making news every day.
My Razorbacks are benefitting (??) from Master Barnett’s decision, but I seriously wonder if he is of the character I really want on my football team. Hopefully he is a better football player than person and hopefully something will change in his life that will give him some humility and make him a better person.
Good luck OSU, you guys have caught some bad breaks in the last year, starting with the Dez Bryant fiasco (horrible decision on the NCAA’s part, big surprise there, huh?) to this Barnett embarrassment. Something good is bound to come out of all of this, you have too good a coach and program for this to get you down!
Best wishes. lew
Leland, you have been taken in by a bunch of liars. Barnett did NOT do anything like Mcknight. He visited Arkansas the week before signing day, he was a ‘soft’ verbal for the last month, AND HE INFORMED OSU OF HIS DECISION the day before signing day.
OSU FANS = ATROCIOUS, DISGUSTING LIARS.
Barnett left OSU hanging. He was not a soft verbal. If he was why did he tell the media about still being committed. But even if he decided to go to Arkansas long ago, he should have told OSU so they could have recruited someone else.
Good luck to him. I for one only want those dedicated to the program attending.
Eric,
Because a soft verbal is still committed. Barnett told OSU the day before that he intended to sign with Arkansas. This blog is a BIG FAT LIE.
John Helsley,
Still waiting for an explanation as to how your blog is not chock full of LIES.
John, you hit it right on the head. I don’t mind that Barnett chose Arkansas over OSU. An athlete has to go wherever is best for him. However, I do have a problem with the way he went about it.
When coaches visit players, the players expect loyalty, class, and honesty from the coaches. Why shouldn’t coaches expect the same from the these players? After all, these coaches spend countless amounts of restless hours and days forming a commitment and bond with these recruits. They visit and spend more time with them than they do with their own families.
For Barnett to lead OSU coaches on all the way up until signing day only to reveal he was signing with Arkansas is down right disgraceful. The fact that he did it all in some sort of attempt to be “flashy” makes it even worse. If this is the type of class and character that encapsulates who Calvin Barnett is, then I say good riddance.