So you thought it was a joke several years ago when Hermann Wendorff of the North Carolina Fayetteville Observer wrote, tongue in cheek, about Nike signing the "unborn child of track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery . . . to a 14-year apparel and shoe contract worth $188 million?" Well, comes the news that new USC football coach Lane Kiffin has received a verbal commitment from 13-year-old quarterback David Sills of Bear, Delaware. Sills’ personal coach, quarterback guru Steve Clarkson, gushes, "His skill set is off the chart …I've never seen anyone at his age do what he's been able to do." Of course, this is the same Steve Clarkson who boasted: “And when I said if there was going to be a LeBron James of football it'd be Jimmy Clausen that turned out to be a pretty good prediction.”
Moving away from the hyperbole, ESPN writer Mark Saxon observed:
As recently as a few years ago, Pete Carroll wouldn't offer scholarships to juniors. When he realized that could dent his USC empire, which had been built largely by recruiting prowess, he relented. Now, apparently, Kiffin is taking things about as far as they can logically go. But he's not alone. Redell said most elite players' recruiting is practically wrapped up during their junior years.
The Redell mentioned in Saxon’s quote is longtime coach Bill Redell -- who actually coached Jimmy Clausen at Oak Christian in Westlake Village, California -- and who put a fine point on the issue by declaring: “to be honest with you, I think the whole thing's out of whack …There's so much money involved today, so many jobs at stake, that they're identifying guys in the seventh and eighth grades.”
As Saxon said, “I want to laugh, then take a shower.”
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