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IrememberDukester
Posts:2039
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| 08/05/2007 1:22 PM |
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
Ferentz protective of freshmen
CHICAGO — Kirk Ferentz can’t seem to make up his mind on whether or not college freshmen should be able to play right away.
Last spring, he stopped short of saying the NCAA should rewind to the time first-year players were ineligible, saying other schools might use that against him in recruiting. Tuesday at the Big Ten’s media event, Ferentz pulled a 180.
“In a perfect world, to me, freshmen would be ineligible,” he said. “Those guys have more than enough on their plates. They need to worry about their school work, they need to worry about their social lives and hopefully football will work out.”
But he also said one of his greatest mistakes last season was not allowing more true freshman to work their way onto the game field — Adrian Clayborn, for example. And he added that this year’s crop will get an honest look and a chance to make an immediate impact.
Ferentz, however, is adamantly opposed to those freshmen graduating high school early in order to participate in spring drills and get a head start on the rest of the incoming class. That’s something you just won’t see at Iowa.
“I’m still trying to figure out why that’s even legal. How can that be legal? What’s the advantage in it?” Ferentz said last spring. “I’m trying to figure out where we’re going with all this stuff. Maybe someday we’ll be able to snatch them as juniors like the pros do to us. I just don’t know what we’re trying to prove.”
Ferentz isn’t all that excited about the attention paid to recruiting these days, either. With Web sites Rivals.com and Scout.com, among other recruiting services, making fulltime work of tracking where high school athletes are headed for college, it’s a vastly different world than when Ferentz broke into coaching three decades ago.
All the hype and undo expectations created by the media attention, Ferentz says, is dangerous for incoming athletes.
“When a young guy goes to college, there are a lot of things he’s got to deal with,” Ferentz said Wednesday. “To have the pressure of being the savior of a program or the best prospect, there is pressure that comes with that. I’m not sure most kids can deal with that.”
That’s why you won’t see Iowa freshmen — whether they’re playing or not — quoted in the paper or on TV. Last season, Ferentz took heat for withholding receiver Dominique Douglas from the media while Douglas was leading the nation in receptions by a freshman. It later was revealed Douglas had been struggling in the classroom, and Ferentz was just trying to shield him from distractions. It’s just something Ferentz believes in. Like he said, freshmen have enough to deal with socially and academically when coming to college without football — not to mention the media — getting in the way.
Enter the Big Ten Network, which will have a studio on Iowa’s campus at which it will produce preview shows for which players will be interviewed. Ferentz keeps player access to a minimum — the media gets them on Tuesday’s, that’s it. Well, the BTN is going to want more, and Ferentz knows that. But he’s not sure he’s ready to allow the network — or anyone else — to talk to true freshmen, even if he’s more than ready to have them contributing on the playing field.
“They’re going to need to twist my arm on that a little,” Ferentz said of the BTN talking to freshman. “I guess I am a dinosaur.”
What do you think? Is Tyrannosaurus Kirk on the right track? Should freshmen be able to play? Should high school seniors graduate early to join the football team in the spring? Has recruiting coverage gotten out of hand? Once on campus, if freshmen are making an impact, should they be allowed to talk to the media?
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It's my fault," said first-year Nebraska coach Bo Pelini. "Damn right, yes, I'm embarrassed. I apologized to the team. I apologize to the state of Nebraska. I apologize to everyone associated with Nebraska football.
"It's my responsibility. I was hired to do a job and I didn't do the job, I'm just not a very good coach. |
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Arbitrator
Posts:202
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| 08/05/2007 2:23 PM |
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Very thought provoking article.
1. I believe there is a downside to freshmen being able to play. In my opinion it really taxes a students ability to balance academics and sports from day one. Very few of these kids ever play beyond college yet their degree allows them to make a living. These kids were living at home with mom and dad a year earlier and in most cases have no idea what it takes to live away from home and balance school and sports. Get the grades on the right track first.
2. I am totally against early graduates being allowed to participate in spring ball. Let the kid enjoy his senior year in high school.
3. Recruiting is and has been totally out of control.
4. I agree with Coach Ferentz regarding freshmen not speaking with the media. |
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DMan
Posts:0
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| 08/05/2007 7:00 PM |
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| History tells us to utilize descretion in relation to the particulars in each players situation. I think some can, some can't. Rendering an accross the board solution only can put a squash on a prospective stars dreams. I 'm not sure how I feel about HS Seniors playing in the spring game. Hmmm.... |
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Logan
Posts:2521
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| 08/06/2007 9:45 AM |
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| individuals are different. |
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dwight, refuting reality one post at a time. |
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