Tech’s Paul Johnson (AJC file)
Paul Johnson was asked this question: How will the LSU recruiting penalty impact Georgia Tech with signing recruits to early financial-aid agreements in future years? (Read more about that HERE).
In his reply, Johnson took the opportunity to give some candid opinions and insight on various recruiting issues. Here it is:
“I think people will quit doing it (stop signing recruits to FAA’s after what happened to LSU) — because you don’t know who signed what. Those kids could sign financial-aid papers with 10 different places. And you don’t know because you’re not allowed to talk or comment on it (when a recruit signs FAA papers with your school).
“It’s just like in recruiting when kids say I got offers from X, Y and Z. And there’s no way that the school can verify that. I see kids all the time, and I don’t know who they are. They say they have offers from whomever. You’re making it more chaotic than it was.
“And I think the recruiting process could be so simplified. I don’t what could be the argument with ‘Hey, everybody has 85 scholarships. You can sign up to 25 per year to get to your 85. And you sign whenever. Once you get your 25, you stop. And the date goes until Feb. 5. So if a kid wants to wait until Feb. 5, which is the signing date now, they can wait – if they’re good enough.
“It’s no different than what they are doing now. There are a handful of kids who wait until Feb. 5. And the media might believe that those kids are making their decision on Feb. 5. But it’s not happening. The coaches know way before that morning where that kid is going. There might be one in a blue moon that will change overnight, or something like that. But those kids have told coaches at that school that they’re coming, or they’re not coming before that. Otherwise, there’s no way you can hit the number. There’s no way you can manage it. Do you really think us, Florida or FSU can go into signing day not knowing where 12 kids are going to sign? You’d either be way over or way under. Can they lie to you? Sometimes. But you still have to have a pretty good idea.
“I get a pretty good kick out of all the announcements. Through the years, I’ve seen kids come here who were committed since August. They will have their hat ceremony and put five hats out like they’re trying to decide. And all the coaches knew where they were going for three months. But the media buys right into it. And I’ve got no problem if the kid wants his moment in the sun. But it can’t chaotic on the other end. To me, if you do it early, you stop the deceit on both ends. Some of these colleges will come into the high schools in Georgia, and they will offer 100 guys. Well, if they piss the coach off at one school, they don’t care. And it makes it a lot harder for us and UGA because if you go in and offer a kid and don’t take him, they’ll never forget it in Georgia. This will stop all of that.
“If I went in and said ‘OK, you’ve got an offer,’ and the kid said, ‘OK, I’m ready,’ then it would call your bluff, too.”
What are your thoughts? Please post below.
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