NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

 The college football world continues to buzz about the so called “Saban Rule” banning college head coaches from visiting high schools during the spring evaluation period, which runs from April 15 to May 31.  Last week I wrote about critics like Nick Saban and Pete Carroll but there are some head coaches that are emerging in the opposite camp.

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson discussed the circus like atmosphere that surrounds a head coach when he steps foot in a high school.  The commotion often put coaches in the awkward position of bumping into potential recruits, which is illegal. 

“Especially when some of the high-profile coaches go out to a high school, it’s just like an event,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s waiting for him. Everyone comes by. It’s just a hard rule to enforce. (The new rule), I think, is the only way to do it.”

Texas’ Mack Brown echoes those same sentiments and revealed that he hasn’t visited a high school in 10 years.

“The problem in the state of Texas and (for) some other coaches across the country is if I go into the school - being the head coach at the University of Texas - a lot of the kids will come up and talk to you and put you in a very difficult situation because it’s illegal to talk to the kids in the spring,” Brown said.

However, in a bizarre twist the so called founder of the rule has already found a new way around the rule.  The Birmingham News is reporting that Nick Saban is now using web cams to communicate with recruits face to face.

According to the NCAA, “All electronically transmitted human voice exchange (including video conferencing and videophones) shall be considered telephone calls.”  However, the NCAA says that coaches can call recruits only once, but recruits can make contact with the head coach as often as they wish. 

Alabama assistant coach Curt Cignetti visited Athens High, which has a Distance Learning Lab that allows Athens students to take online classes by using a live webcam.

Cignetti left behind a web address that Ming used to log on later that day and spend 15-20 minutes talking, through the webcam, with Saban, who was in his office in Tuscaloosa.

Athens High Coach Allen Creasy, who witnessed the conversation, called it “a first from a recruiting standpoint” for his school.

“You could see (Saban’s) facial expressions and hand gestures just as if you were sitting across the desk from him,” Creasy said. “It’s the next-best thing to being there in person.”

Creasy captured why it matters to prospects when college coaches take the time to look them in the eye, in person or online.

The coaches “could be talking to a lot of people,” Creasy said. “It’s an honor for the recruit.”

Even for an honor student like Ming. Creasy said his star player, who has yet to commit to a college, “was very impressed” with the video conference. Creasy was impressed with Saban’s creativity.

“This is opening another door for him,” Creasy said. “If you’re not looking for innovative ways to push the envelope, somebody else is. That’s what keeps the top guys on top.”

With high school players committing earlier and earlier, college coaches have to look them in the eye sooner.

Even if they have to use an electronic eye.

This article shows how relentless coaches will continue to innovate around (break?) rules to make contact with athletes.  Recruits need to learn that they have to be just as relentless in trying to contact college coaches.  Also, as the article stated they need to be contacting them sooner and sooner.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Athletic Scholarships, College Football, High School Coach, NCAA, The Recruiting Wire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.