Today's Birmingham News has an interview with his parents where they reveal that they have basically built a formal request for proposal (RFP) for his recruitment. Ok technically, I guess it's an RFI (request for information), but the point is the same.
Theo Hawthorne and his wife, Donna, will play a vital role in Hawthorne's final decision. They have established a 3½-hour question-and-answer format for each home visit and they have established eight measurements to rank the schools, much of which will be done in one-on-one interviews of the head coaches.
"We're looking at a number of things I can discuss, generally: stability of a program, stability of a staff, the likelihood of (the head coach) to leave while Tim's there and the ability of the position coach to teach Tim in a way that will mesh with him and make him a better player," Theo Hawthorne said.
That actually makes sense. Force the kid to identify what's really important to him and to the family. Then manage the recruiting process from that structure. Good for them.
One of the things that has throw a bunch of folks off in the newspaper article is this revelation:
"We've spent over $27,000 of our own money (on recruiting visits)," Theo Hawthorne said. "We've made trips when they (coaches) didn't know we were even there. We've talked to their players, without them knowing. Remember, when you (make an official) visit, you only see what they want you to see.
Before people wig out and assume too much or call that stat bogus. Consider the following....
The part of the quote in parenthesis means that the Hawthorne's didn't actually say the words "We've spent over $27,000 of our own money on recruiting visits." The words "on recruiting visits" are in parenthesis to suggest that they said something else, and the reporter thought that is what they meant.
They could have said "on recruiting" or "on this stuff" or "getting ready for this" and the reporter might have thought that they meant "recruiting visits." That's how interviews work. Unfortunately.
It's VERY easy to see how any family could spend $27,000 if they are counting trainers, camps, and all football activities over the past 4-7 years leading up to the recruiting process. Everything that it took to get their kid to the point where he could draw this level of interest.
Regardless, it's an interesting article that shows an interesting perspective on how a kid can make a decision.
Although, I must say that they clearly don't have a question on their RFI that asks:
Do you already have 7 or more WRs committed in this recruiting class?
Otherwise, the Gators wouldn't have made the final cut.
4 comments:
I would think UGA would compare pretty favorably at least as to the questions you have listed. We'll see, I guess.
It's nice to see someone organized. I like the CIA-type recruiting visits - don't you know that'd upset a coaches applecart if he was going thru the pre-game Team Walk and saw this kid on the side and didn't know he was coming. He'd give a big smile masked by the "oh shit".
If they were from Memphis, they could've said "We've spent $27,000 of Logan Young's money on recruiting."
"Academics are a concern, too. Hawthorne wants to major in business and follow in the footsteps of his father, a successful insurance agent."
That certainly doesn't hurt. UGA has a very very good risk management major, which is what David Greene studied I believe.
Good point on our risk management majors. We're especially strong in that area.
Post a Comment