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funny.. try telling my kids its not a school because it sure seems like school to them.. Maybe I can tell them they dont have to do their homework tonight after I pick them up from their "organizational meeting" since its not a real school anyway..Originally Posted by BmoreCounty99
My kids dont have to prove anything to anyone they are just fine doing what they are doing thanks..
Member
And as I said the majority of the write ups are about Cockerille and Kiser because they committed.
But that's neither hear not there, this wasn't about Gilman's write ups. I don't have an issue about Gilman kids not having write ups. I care more about how Rivals and specifically Mike Farrell and his issues with Poggi and Gilman. Anybody who ever reads what he says about Gilman and their players over the years can definitely tell there's a personal agenda.
How can you or anyone else say that Rivals or any recruiting site doesn't have an issue with a school or person? As have many sports writers over the years have had with teams, coaches and players, Rivals is no different. Rivals has always been political with their ratings of players. My issue is more on the ratings that Rivals has in past given to Gilman and their players that shows an obvious dislike on their part.
Darius Jennings was destroying competition and doing his thing to any and everybody but Farrell still said he wasn't a Top 100 player. Jones 2 years in a row SHUT down the supposed best player in the state 2 years in row, went to the Opening and Gridiron Kings, made all tourney(at the opening where only 11 players made the team) and they STILL not write about his performance and had him out of the Top 100. Even ranked the kid Coleman from Oscar Smith ahead him even after Jones and Gilman destroyed OS! He even said to me personally in Rivals board that he didn't think Jones was an elite talent and that he lacked speed(lacked speed LOL) and wasn't as versatile as players ranked ahead of him like Diggs. Rivals only ranked him in their last rankings because they basically had no other choice after his AMAZING performance at the Under Armour game. Still had him out of the Top50 even though others had him as high as 20th in tw country.
There's nothing you or anyone else can tell me that doesn't show Rivals disdain for Gilman and most likely because of Poggi being outspoken about his dislike for recruiting services! They are people like everyone else and have the same character flaws others exhibit! If you don't play their game, your kids lose out on it.
Member
I see you are talking more about the rankings and all.. I can give you that I am sure certain bias can exsist in that.. I havent seen Farrell talk to much on the forums.. I did see you get into it with Dallas Jackson on Rivals.com but that is a whole other thing then Mdhigh and recruiting blogs.
Member
Interesing conversation, but you guys should take it to a free forum like the one on the D.C. message board:
http://dc.thesportsfannetwork.com/fo...hool-football/
No one reads this site any more and I miss the lively debates.
My two cents is that anyone that ECA is going to dominate for the next few years and that is great for them. Let them do what they do and be happy for them because they are helping put the spotlight on Maryland football.
All this talk about fan sites is silly. The internet killed the football star. Lots of kids look good in shorts at these events and earn their four and five stars. Lots of one, two and three stars play better on Friday nights and end up taking their positions in college.
Once a kid gets to college everyone is getting the coaching and training and the gross abuse of the reclassification effect is nullified because everyone is matured by then. Plus, no one cares about 7 on 7 or lineman challenges once a kid gets to college.
Most people send their kids to high schools for reasons that go beyond getting articles on Rivals and moving up the mythical player rankings. Who cares if a kid like Darius Jennings is not ranked very high by Farrell or others? That kid is the best high school player that I have ever seen in person and he is proving it at UVA. Kids like that are outperforming the hyped kids in college and, most importantly, have an education that will pay many more dividends for them than football ever will. That is not to say that the ECA kids are at a disadvantage, but some parents may actually not want to send their kid to a school with no academic track record even if they have a good future plan.
Some kids need football to go to college, but that is becoming the exception now because it has become easier to finance a college education. Most of these kids are going to go to college regardless and most of them would receive great financial aid packages given their financial situation even if they didn't play football IF they have good grades.
Most parents and kids have it wrong with their effort to chase that elusive D-1 scholarship. They should be playing for admissions preference so that they can get into a school that they would not otherwise be admitted to because of football.
If that gets you to Duke or Notre Dame, then great. If that gets you to D-III Hopkins, then that is just as good, or perhaps, better. Most folks know that D-1 kids are basically being paid to play football and don't get a chance to really focus on academics, so playing "down" is the best thing to happen to some kids. If you really want to play D-1, but you got passed over because you don't look good in shorts, then walk on if it is that important to you and you will get your scholarship if you outperform the recruited kids with the measurables.
There is no money to be made in the game of football unless you are a freak of nature and tremendously lucky enough to play over 10 years in the NFL. Even a five year career means that you are broke by the age of 35 with very few transferrable skills to the real world. I can't tell you how many 10+ year NFL veterans that I know who are dead broke. Using football to set up a kid to go to a great post-graduate program should be the focus. Whether they go from Ohio State football to Harvard Law or from Williams football to a Wharton MBA, they both end up at the same place. A torn ACL, two inches too short, or a slow 40 yard dash doesn't stop a kid from achieving things like that through the game of football.
Anyway, you guys should go to the D.C. message board. This board sucks.
Member
I actually like Dallas Jackson. I think he is a standup guy and seems to not have an agenda and love his explanations for why he ranks teams the way he does.
I got into it with Farrell a couple of times. Once about Darius and then a big one about Cyrus. By the way, I agree about write ups an have said on here for years that the Gilman kids don't go to the events, so obviously they will not be a host of write ups about them.
My issue is ratings oriented and know that if you don't go to the Rivals sponsored events, you are going to have a lower rating. A perfect example of this is Jabrill Peppers. Bosco and their players in the past really didn't make the rounds as other schools do. Like Gilman they emphasize the multi- sport athlete. So off season they are busy on the court or track. Peppers in my opinion is far and away the best Soph in the country. He is EASILY the best DB in the Class but you rarely see any write ups about him and all you hear about is Friendship's DB Jalen Tabor. I have seen both players play in person more than once and there is no comparison. Not taking anything away from Tabor but he isn't on Peppers level. But because Tabor plays Rivals game, they hype him like the 2nd coming. They have him listed as having like 20 offers and Peppers only 7! No way in the world does Peppers only have 7 offers. I have seen Tabor play since before his freshman year in the Grassroots league and he wasn't the best DB there. The best DB and player I saw there was definitely Troy Vincent Jr. He made the mistake of going to the wrong program(thankfully he has made the switch).
My point is, I'm all for recruiting sites and they give us old guys something to watch and follow. I just HATE the politics of sites and specifically Rivals.
Member
Man I could not agree more. Everything you wrote is spot on! And a lot of what you have written is what Poggi preaches and why he's against these sites.
You are also so right about the Internet. Everything is so much on what these kids do without pads on. I can think of so many kids in my day who if the Internet would have been around, would have been 4 or 5 star players. Because they were just supremely athletic. But was so weak when "the lights came on!"
Your also right about this board! Man I miss the good old days. We might have to move it to the DC forums, I am already on their as omyou know. They do get a little sensitive about Baltimore teams though.
Member
Do you hate Lemming and ESPN's politic as well? He is very much biased towards Gilman these days. Some would say he is a very much a shill for Bill, Chris & Biff. I know they are doing everything in their power to do so over at 5407, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Member
How in the world can you say ESPN is a shill for Gilman? No way no how! Have you seen the ESPN 150? Where's Henry Poggi? Poggi is in everybody's top 100 and he doesn't make the top 150 for a site that's Lu say is on Gilman's back pocket? That makes no sense. I disagree with them on Poggi but I do like ESPN. In fact I like them the most. Always seem to be the least bias out of all the sites.
Tom Lemming is the Godfather of recruiting and yea is a friend of Bill's. But he's never been a huge supporter of Gilman. His ranking are ok but I don't love them.
Member
Unless the harcohorns post of 22 articles on Gilman in the last 90-days is soundly disputed, I stand by my assertion that Gilman has gotten more than it's fair share of very positive air time from MDHigh Rivals. When compounded by the suggestion that the Gilman staff chooses not to cooperate with the Rivals writers, then Gilman does very well with Rivals in my opinion. I just don't see Gilman being adversely slighted, not at all.
Member
I never actually said that. And in fact my issue with Rivals isn't about articles about Gilman. It actually wasn't about Gilman at all, it was about ECA. I promise you, that ECA hasn't even been a program for three months and I will be willing to put $50,000 on the fact that in less than 3 months that they have WAY more than 22 articles! Which for a school that hasn't won a game yet and was only 5-5 the year before is CRAZY! That was my point, had nothing to do with Gilman or if they were being slighted.
Gilman, GC, DM, CHC, etc deserves to have as many write ups as possible in the state of MD. They have EARNED it. I'm not saying that ECA will not prove their worth. They are extremely talented kids and was very young last year. But I want to see results on the field not from Rivals events.
Member
Okay. Yes the likes of Gilman, GC, DM, CHC and the other schools who can select who they wish to play with their programs deserve the write-ups but the etcs of Middletown, Old Mill, DouglassPG, Walkersville, QO, and many of the other programs I've seen written up on MDHigh.Rivals of late deserve it also working with whomever the community offer up.
Member
Those schools and their players deserve it as well. I'm not saying that ECA doesn't deserve it. My point is they better show and prove on the field with the hype their receiving. Because when they were in Delaware as Red Lion I really didn't care. But now they are in MD and becoming one of the faces of the state because of all the write ups. So for me, it's put up time for them. They could be great for this state or they could be bad. If they go out there and beat no one, that's not for the date of MD. I know they are playing some high profile teams though.
Member
FYI... There is an good article on Wyatt Dickerson on MdHigh today and he is quoted as saying doesnt have offers yet..
"There's not a ton going on right now with recruiting," said Dickerson, who had four interceptions, two sacks and multiple TFLs last year. "I'm getting interest from a lot of Ivy schools, and Navy and Syracuse are sending letters, but I don't have any offers yet."
http://mdhigh.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1364957
just sayin'
Member
According to this site, Dickerson has offers from Navy and Cuse: http://247sports.com/Player/Wyatt-Dickerson-15427
I'll go with Wyatt on this one. Just shows how much misinformation is out there in the world of recruiting.
Member
247sports is trying to copy Yahoo/Rivals.. They have a few guys around at the events but not near as much reach as rivals has. obviously they don't verify their rumors of offers ..
Member
I will side with Wyatt on this front but I will say this, a lot of kids have offers that they don't know or sure about because everything is going through the coaches. Certain coaches just don't tell the kids about their offers. Gilman has been notorious for this when it comes to underclass men. Poggi has actually been criticized for this over the years, even by parents and former players on this very website. Things have changed in recent years and Hank Russell is handling this things now.
As as Wyatt goes, I put him against just about any safety in the state ON THE FIELD. He's a MONSTER! And now running in the low 23's in the 200, he has now gotten much faster. And the kid brings the heat. He will get his offers but sounds like he has his head on straight! He knows the probability of playing in the NFL is small and like what AACOUNTYFOOTBALL said, even those who make it there the majority still end up not having a long career and making a solid life out of it. Much better for most to attend the Ivy's or service academies in the long run.
Member
The idea is to get more from the game than it takes from you... sounds like Wyatt has it right.. and yes AACounty's post was spot on... Obviously this is the time of year when us old field sniffers talk about kids in shorts , offers and all that jazz.. no worries come Aug 1st it will be all about the teams, the games, and on field performances..
Member
For the record. Rivals and scout were once one.After a Lawsuit, they broke up and went their own way. They both sold to some media giants for 10s of Millions. As soon as their Non compete ended one of the factions built a better Mouse trap to compete called 24/7 they will build it up and sell it again. I think what is being said about ECA is this. ECA is a Hybrid of schools. It is the first school around here that has been built with sports in mind ,FIRST. People look at the privates that we have locally and make a opinion how School An or B is trying to become a football first school or lacrosse, or any other Sport. But the facts our these schools have been around before most of us were Born. Some in the 100 years catagory. We also have a ton of public schools that feel they get slighted and our just as good in athletics as the privates. Hence the constant Private Vs Public debate continues. But now with what may or may not be the future of High school athletics. The (Hybrid) Schools that are built to compete on a national level which may eventually lead to a National league. People are feeling that these type of teams, on this Blog, Red lion /ECA are stealing the press that the publics think they deserve and the privates have been a focus now for a while. It does not help that this school is not a home grown institution the fact that it has had a lot of nationally negative press, the last state (Delaware) public opinion was negative and the team was shoned by the local high schools. Add to this that they came into Maryland the same way the Baltimore Colts left. Does not sit well to the locals. Most feel it is not where you play but were you live is your home town. Change from tradition takes a lot of time, we should all slow down and form opinions over time, give groups a chance. I will say this. In my opinion it is better to come into something like a Lamb and end up like a wolf then to come in like a wolf and end up like a lamb. Which may not be the fault of ECA it may be the fault of the media groups.
Member
Pretty fair post Big Sky.. true the circumstances how this came about was less than ideal but all with the best of intentions.. but as they say God has a plan and seeing the potential of this school and what it can be is pretty exciting to me. Yes there is a lot of work and a lot of perceptions to overcome...
The leaders of the new school have a vision and it will not be just for athletes and definitely not just football.. all though that is the force that drove it into existence.. There will be standards for admission, standards to play and standards to stay.. It will be diverse.. That is the first goal to get the school marketed on its academic potential and "new" way of educating for the next century and diversity in the student body. Much of that is on the strength of The National Connections Academies accreditations and courses. Which by all accounts are outstanding.
Will the school have a strong focus on athletics yes will it sacrifice academics no. It will take some time but like you said its new, its different just give them a chance and see what comes of it..I know they are working with a robotics club to institute that and other academic clubs into the school. They are also making mandatory that you are in a academic club whether its math, robotics, etc.. even if you play a sport as well as community service requirements There will truly be a focus on well rounded students..
It just may be a great alternative for many kids.. will it take the place of traditional prep schools no but it is an interesting alternative.
Last edited by harcohorns; 05-16-2012 at 10:12 AM.
Member
Good and Bad, schools are about tradition. The courses that are offered have not changed much over the years. I would have liked to see courses that delt with todays reality s. Like Doing your taxes, Balancing your Check book. What is credit and how to use it best, Time Management,last but not least Cell phone etiquette. I have some friends with recent college graduates. They all got a job and all three were fired because they were texting all day to their friends. Wow
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