Then you have teams that win State Championships like JaxTCA/American Heritage ... with less than 600 enrollment, consistently beating bigger public schools and (then) when 1 D-1 athlete graduates, 2 more transfer in. I think when people talk about private school recruiting, those are the teams people are talking about. But, getting those teams in trouble is even tougher than getting (Tampa Catholic) in trouble.
Violations of rules of conduct are ordinarily very difficult to prove because 99.99 percent of the time impropriety occurs behind closed doors. That's principally why those involved with certain programs feel confident to do whatever they feel is necessary to stack the deck.
Your phrase "trying to get those teams in trouble" would probably be more accurately stated as "trying to bring those violators to justice." Historically, most red-blooded American people firmly believe in bringing rule/law breakers to to their knees. It's simply our American way of life and hopefully this never changes.
Each year it gets harder and harder for many of us to abide the going-ons at certain high school programs. Cheating in football, which at one time was troublesome only at the college level, is not only in vogue at certain high-profile HS's, it has essentially come to be expected if a school "truly" wants to win (i.e., the old "everybody does it" rationale).
You're not only a 3A fan, you're a 3-A expert. Who better than you knows what caliber of personnel it will take this year to win the 3A title in FL? Any one with even half a prayer has to be loaded with prospective D-1 talent. Many of your updates have emphasized this point.
Just for sh--ts and giggles, go anywhere (e.g., mall, movie theater, concert venue, etc) and screen the first 600 teenagers to find out how many bona fide D-1 college football prospects you can come up with. What's your guess as to how many you'd usually find? Let's make it even more interesting - for $1,000,000.00 in cash - guess how many you'd find?
On average, you'd find none. It would be fairly uncommon to find one. You're chances of walking outside after the screening and getting struck by lightning would be much higher than finding two.
Yet all of the schools you've tabbed as favorites to show up in Orlando and win it all in 3-A have D-1 prospects in numbers. This as a given, what REALISTICALLY are the chances that there is no manipulation taking place?
Is this a new phenomenon? Hardly. In the mid 90's a private academy from the Tallahassee area would routinely show up at the 1-A title game with 4 or 5 eventual D-1 signees on their roster. What are the chances of that happening if nothing irregular was occuring?
Just a few years ago a State title in FL was vacated because both public school finalists were found guilty of cheating. If there was justice in FL high school football, both programs should have been given the death penalty. Guilty individuals should have received lifetime bans from the FHSAA, but no such actions ever took place.
So what's the bottom line? How can Nu'Trelle or any other red-blooded American stay interested in a game that has essentially become out-of-control? There's a chance - admittedly a small one - that somewhere, somehow, right-minded people will step up to the plate, say enough is enough, and demand that we rid the game of manipulators and go back to rewarding only those people who respect and honor the rules of sportsmanship and fair play.
Believe it or not,
Jessica, before all the "improvements" were made, that's the way things used to be.
