Sometimes, Not Being Considered By The Top Recruit In The Nation Is A Good Thing

The ongoing saga of Bryce Brown just reminds me of another reason I find all the hoopla around football recruiting to often be much ado about nothing.  As far as I know, A&M was never in the picture for Brown, and didn't really try to do much to recruit him. After reading about his de-facto street agent, Brian Butler, I am thrilled we aren't recruiting this kid. If I was a fan of LSU or Tennessee or Miami or Kansas State, I wouldn't want this kid coming to my program.

Someone who has set themselves up with a street agent isn't interested in winning college football games, they are only interested in being paid to play football. Being part of a team concept and working together with the other team members to win isn't one of the goals of a player like this.

Brown's "me-first" attitude has been encouraged by Butler, and if his high school coach at Wichita East is to be believed, it destroyed team chemistry and led to his team's 6-3 record last season. How do you go 6-3 in Kansas high school football when you have the best player in the nation on your team? It isn't hard when your team members don't care about each other, and don't care about sacrificing to be part of something better than themselves. This is the kind of selfishness a player like Brown breeds, and I wouldn't want anything like that near my team if I am at LSU, Tennessee, Miami, or Kansas State.

Brown's saga is beginning to remind me of Marcus Dupree. Like Brown, Dupree was considered far and away the best running back in the nation, and was recruited by everyone. texas was put on probation for improper inducements given to Dupree during his recruitment, in fact. Dupree ended up signing with Oklahoma, and Barry Switzer remarked that Dupree was the first high school recruit he ever saw with his own agent. Dupree lasted two years at OU before leaving to play in the USFL, where a knee injury ruined his career. Well, now we have Bryce Brown, and his agent, Butler, trying to dictate terms with Miami and other schools.

I applaud Miami for telling Brown he needs to put-up-or-shut-up regarding his scholarship, and sign now or forget playing for them. They're trying to build a championship-caliber team there, not cater to a prima donna who has yet to prove anything at the college level. I am somewhat mystified that Tennessee and LSU are continuing their pursuit of him, because I think the indications are there that this kid will be nothing but trouble. If I was a coach at a college recruiting him, I would tell him I will deal with his parents, and no one else. If Butler is the only representative a coach can speak to, the kid isn't worth it. Bottom line here is, Brown NEEDS a college football scholarship more than college football teams need him. Brown isn't going to be able to jump to pro ball straight from high school, so he needs a college team to showcase his skills. Tennessee, LSU, Miami, Kansas State, they can all make do with another running back who is willing to be part of a team, and is more interested in winning championships than playing pro football. There are plenty of running backs out there who don't have an agent.I'm just glad A&M signed one of them this year, so we don't have to worry about this potential headache.