Coaches explore Twitter, Facebook (aka "the new frontier")
Are Twitter and Facebook really that hard to understand? I mean, Alaska was supposedly "the last frontier", so this means that Facebook and Twitter have to be tougher to deal with than freaking Alaska. I think I'll take my tweets and status updates over caribou any day.
But on topic, ESPN is exploring the usage of these types of tools by coaches. The first part, here, is just a description of how coaches use it. You can see where it's going, though, especially if you looked a few inches down from here - that would be, straight to criticism.
Part 2 - Social networking exposes gray areas in college recruiting
Here's the second part (3 and 4 are presumably forth-coming) of the series started above. Yep, there are now even more "gray areas" in recruiting. However, people will miss the bigger issue here - Gary Williams is famous for not going in the "gray areas" of recruiting. Twitter is apparently now a gray area. Gary has a Twitter account. Does Gary hate himself? (Just kidding, of course).
Jeremiah Johnson talks Terps commitment
The only directly related to Maryland link in the MM today. Look how we've devolved so quickly. Matt Bracken talks with another "under the radar" football commit, this time Suitland's Jeremiah Johnson. He sounds completely enamored with Maryland, which is great:
"I guess first off, because it’s the hometown team and I always root for the hometown team," Johnson said. "I’ve been watching football since I was young, and my dad was a big Maryland fan. He actually lived right across the street from Maryland’s campus. A lot of my family [members are] Maryland fans. And I like Coach Friedgen and the program that he runs."
...
"Maryland really liked what they saw in me, and they weren’t scared to take a chance. That’s another reason I really respect Maryland, because they didn’t second-guess me."
Okay, good to know he really wants to be a Terp. But how good is he? Coach Ed Shields thinks he's pretty good.
"Number one, he’s a fantastic athlete," Shields said. "But more important, he’s very smart. He played for us in the 10th grade when we won the South region. He was one of the people that was helping us. He picks things up very quickly. And he just seems very mature … and that’s why we’re looking for big things from him next year. He just has this presence about him. He’s a good leader, a good athlete and a very good student as well. Sometimes you don’t get all of those things, but he’s the whole package."
Included for Comedic Effect: South Carolina Busts Themselves for "Impermissable Snacks"
South Carolina has reported 14 NCAA secondary violations from the past six months, including one for an improper text message to a recruit and another for "impermissible snacks."
What exactly constitutes an impermissible snack? Insert whatever joke you want here. This is hilarious by itself anyway.
Not that you needed to be reminded, but recruiting it still shady
Gary Parrish reminding us of what we already know: recruits can still be paid. Only quasi-Maryland related, but seeing how Gary really hates cheaters, I figured we can throw whoever offered this guy "stuff" into the hate list. Also, it finds in with the shady recruiting theme for today.
Tom Konchalski on Lance Stephenson
If you aren't quite burnt out on Lance Stephenson news, Tom Konchalski has a nice recap of Born Ready's "background, hype, and what Cincinnati fans can expect". Alright, you guys tell me how it is.