In the FCS Huddle: Top recruits not necessarily at top schools
NCAA Football Betting Lines
02/02/2012 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ever get one of those do-not-open-until-
the-holidays packages in the mail?
Well, let's just say we will need to revisit this column in about three years.
That's because recruiting analysis is so fickle - an educated, five-foot throw
at the dartboard, but a throw nonetheless.
We'll see where Wednesday's national signing day takes us with this year's
incoming FCS freshmen, but the top recruits may not be headed where you think.
Oh sure, Montana State might have signed the best incoming quarterback in
Dakota Pruko out of Texas (this storyline has worked for the Bobcats before),
or maybe it was Floridian Vegas Harley's commitment to Georgia Southern on
signing day.
But the main national recruiting sites - ESPN, Rivals and Scout - say the top
incoming freshman is going to South Carolina State.
Yes, a MEAC school.
Indeed, the grades and rankings are highest for 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive
tackle Javarius Leamon, who stayed in-state and gave a commitment to South
Carolina State over Clemson on national signing day. The big talent out of
Woodruff High is the biggest signee for the conference in a long time.
Leamon shares the top grade from ESPN with a player who didn't even sign a
national letter of intent. Well, the Ivy League doesn't have such agreements,
and, yes, Penn has a verbal commitment from Los Angeles Beverly Hills wide
receiver Cameron Countryman, who ESPN ranks alongside Leamon with 79 scores
each.
Up next were Pruko and Harley with 78s - top signees for top programs.
Leamon earned the top rating from Rivals - a 5.8 - and was followed by a
signee from a Southland Conference program.
It wasn't national finalist Sam Houston State, either. How about struggling
Southeastern Louisiana, which plucked linebacker Juwaan Rogers and his 5.7
rating out of Louisiana. He also gave his commitment on signing day.
Next up with 5.6s each were Harley, wide receivers Dalis Bruce (Eastern
Washington) and Tray Rabon (Grambling State), quarterback Lamontiez Ivy
(Jackson State), and running backs D.J. Abnar (Liberty), R.J. Robinson
(Norfolk State) and Daniel Taylor (Northwestern State).
That's not a bad list of FCS programs, but not necessarily the cream of the
national crop, either.
Scout? It gave Matt Barnett the nation's No. 16 rating at fullback and he
signed with Wagner. Stud center prospect Austin Stock, No. 24 nationally, has
given a verbal commitment to Columbia.
So who knows how the recruiting grades will turn out in the long run.
Maybe a lot of these players will soon be coming to an All-America team near
you.
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NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.
That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.
A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."
It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.
The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.
So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."
Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.
Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
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