COMMENTARY

Comments heap unneeded pressure on recruits

I’ve read dozens of recruiting stories from last week’s signing period and only one quote in particular stands out.

It was from Billy Ferrell of Fordyce, who signed with Arkansas after a late push from other Power 5 programs.

“It was just overwhelming,” Ferrell said. “Everything just came up on me at one time. Like one day, Louisville came to school. Tuesday, UCLA came to school. Wednesday, coach Dunbar called me from Alabama and Thursday he came to the school. Same day, that Thursday, Arkansas had offered me. That Saturday, Wisconsin had offered me. Everything just came in like, ‘Bam!’”

Let this quote sink in, folks, before we continue. Can you imagine the pressure this kid, a high school senior, was under with everyone tugging at him to make a decision that will affect his near future? He chose Arkansas, the school he wanted all along. But what if he hadn’t?

He might’ve been subjected to the wrath of those slimy adults who hide behind fake names on the Internet when high school players don’t sign with their favorite teams. These people are in the vast minority, but there’s still enough of them out there to remind folks of their presence.

I was surprised like most when Sean Michael Flanagan, who had committed to the Razorbacks last summer, signed with Oklahoma State instead. That led to an outburst of negative comments on the Internet toward the former Charleston star, who explained his decision the next day when he signed a letter of intent with the Cowboys.

“Oklahoma State was the first Power 5 school to offer me and I’d visited their campus a lot,” Flanagan said. “You want to get to know the guy you’re going to play for before you sign because you want to know what kind of role you will have.”

So, a young man decided to cast his future with a head coach who’s been at Oklahoma State for 13 years over an Arkansas coach who had been on the job for three weeks? It’s a rational decision most of us would’ve made if faced with the same opportunity.

The wrath of the keyboard crazies in Arkansas wasn’t all directed at Flanagan. Quarterback Gerry Bohanon of Earle caught some flack as well when he signed with Baylor over offers from several Power 5 schools, including Arkansas. Bohanon, a four-star recruit, didn’t help himself when he teased at an Arkansas hat on a table before placing the Baylor hat on his head.

So, Bohanon won’t be competing with Connor Noland of Greenwood as the Razorbacks’ quarterback of the future. Fine. Goodbye, Gerry, hello Connor. Good luck to both.

As a native of this state, I prefer to see top high school athletes in Arkansas sign with Arkansas schools, whether it’s the Razorbacks, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas or Arkansas-Pine Bluff. I’m not going to kick those kids aside or trash their names when they decide to leave the state.

That’s why I’ll be pulling for a handful of players from Arkansas during the bowl season, guys such as K.J. Hill (Ohio State), Josh Frazier (Alabama), Parker Baldwin (San Diego State), Will Hastings (Auburn) and Tre Norwood (Oklahoma).

They’re still ours and, hopefully, one day, the Razorbacks will be good enough again to give the instate stars another reason to stay home and play for the Hogs.

We’ll see.

In the meantime, I hope the good people on social media continue to call out those adults who throw hissy fits and make vile comments toward 18-year-olds. People have a right to make fools of themselves, which I probably do here myself on occasion. But if there’s a better way to expose adults who harass teens on the Internet, then I’m all for it.

Rick Fires can be reached at rfires@ nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARick.

Upcoming Events