Well, Auburn got some really good news on the recruiting front today. Tyrik Rollison, the second rated dual-threat quarterback in the nation says he will sign with the Tigers on signing day. He is the second kid from Texas in the last two days to commit to Auburn. It appears that the coaching staff is thinking out side of the general Auburn recruiting area this season. I think it is great. We typically only shoot for Georgia, Florida, and Alabama for recruits, and we have been known to dip into Mississippi and Louisiana for a couple. It makes me happy to see a fresh approach to recruiting.
I do have one issue though… It seems like more and more kids that are "star" high school players are becoming more likely not eligible to play due to grades. I am not so old that I cannot remember playing High School Sports. In my High School, if you did not make the grades you did not play. Do they not send out report cards any longer? I am sure that they are all computerized and all, but damn. We had a player at my High School that was highly recruited to most SEC schools and when he did not make the grade, he sat on the bench and watched, or studied while the rest of us practiced or played.
Our coaches seemed to have our teachers on speed dial; they knew how we did on a test or what grade was on our report card seemingly before we did. Does that sort of thing not happen any longer? It appears to me that it doesn’t.
Tyrik, you may be one hell of a QB, and I hope that all gets right with your grades. And I hope you become an All American and lead us to a National Championship at Auburn. But come on son, don’t become another player that wastes all the talent in the world because of not working in the classroom.
I am not meaning to pick on Mr. Rollison, he just happened to be the highly recruited player that Auburn was lucky enough to get a commitment from today. He is not the only player Auburn has committed that is in question, and Auburn is not the only school that has this issue.
This seems to be an epidemic, and something is going to have to give. Playing of Auburn, or any University for that matter, should be about more than just trying to get to the NFL. Make your grades, be eligible and kick butt on the field, should be behind… Make your grades, graduate, kick butt in life.*
* Auburn has done a good job of graduating their kids over the past few years. That is something that I am proud of. I just hope that we continue to do so.
War Damn Eagle