Urban Meyer was in
''The NCAA is pulling us off the recruiting process,'' he said, in comments reported by
South Florida media outlets. "I'm not allowed to go out [to visit players] anymore. I'm not allowed to text message. I'm trying to find out as best I can. You just keep re-evaluating."If you just look around and see some of the things that are going on, it's amazing. It's concerning. It's alarming," Meyer said. "So we take a great deal of time and effort in trying to educate guys, work with them and recruit character. Are we perfect? Absolutely not."
I cannot speak for Florida Football because I don’t know the depth of punishment Hornsby received for being charged with criminal mischief and for selling his
One of the things that has always bothered me about college sports was the appearance that some of the players (sorry, student-athletes) are merely screws in a giant money making machine. This idea has filtered down to now looking at high school kids and judging them on 40 times and bench reps. What’s the difference then between men on Wall Street salivating over the next big IPO and men on Gator Country boards salivating over the next big QB? After all, if the IPO or QB fails, there will be another one to fill the spot in a few months.
I’m not saying Hornsby was another screw in the machine, but the lack of effort put into punishing him reflects back on UF. Was there a lack of effort because they did not care? Or because they needed him so desperately on special teams? I tend to think it is the first option. Think of it this way; if your son causes $750 in damage and then breaks a rule, how hard do you punish him the second time? Is it hard enough that he learns a lesson? I would think so.
Pointing the finger at Meyer or even the Gators coaches is not my point here because this is a national thing that has been going on for years. Christian Peter at
I don’t know what leads to teams keeping on players who break rules. Maybe they are afraid what happened to
Meyer and all college coaches need to understand that if you’re not going to put in the effort to understand these kids, don’t put in the effort to keep them around.
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