The big day

I pay more attention to recruiting now than I ever have, and still that's probably significantly less attention paid to it than by 99 percent of the subscribers at TI.

I can't tell you what Tony Steward runs in the 40, what Stephone Anthony likes to eat for breakfast, or Mike Bellamy's favorite rap artist.

But gosh, it's awfully silly to look at this whole recruiting thing and say it's not a big, big deal.

Was listening to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt yesterday, and he spent time wringing his hands over the state of recruiting today. He actually mentioned the case of Jeoffrey Pagan and his decommitments from Florida and Clemson, saying something has to be done to keep that kind of thing from happening, that this has become a total circus, an outrage, and so on.

Van Pelt happened to be broadcasting from the Dallas area, chronicling the circus of circuses and the pinnacle of meaninglessness known as Super Bowl Media Day. So his apocalyptic take on the state of recruiting was amusing right off the bat.

Van Pelt is a Maryland grad, as he spends so much time pointing out whenever he can, so he doesn't really know much about big-time college football. To Maryland fans, the definition of passion is putting more than 40,000 fans in their stadium for a home game. So it's hard to take Van Pelt seriously when he gets all hot and bothered about the recruiting game.

Every year you have some folks who rail against the importance fans place on recruiting, rail against the coverage of recruiting, rail against just about everything that goes into making today such an important day for so many.

They claim that coaches and reporters prey on the minds of these poor little 18-year-olds by calling them at all hours and placing unrealistic expectations on their shoulders.

I totally get the part about expectations. There's no doubt in my mind that a lot of these high-profile kids arrive on campus with a severe sense of entitlement that can sometimes take years to eradicate (see: Bowers, Da'Quan). Some of these kids just crumble under the weight of accolades and expectations they didn't ask for, and you hate to see that. It can be troubling.

But let's stop pretending these recruits are meek, innocent beings who shouldn't be bothered as they're busy trying to complete their high school studies. So we can't talk about them in February when they sign, but then we can rip them for dropping a pass in September once they're in college? When, exactly, does this rite of passage take place?

Big-time college football is all about excess, and the consumption with recruiting is a part of that excess. The NFL has exploded into the dominant sport over the years -- yes, more dominant and popular than college football -- and thus we've seen the NFL Draft and the months-long run-up to it take on stop-the-presses importance.

There are 12 games in the college football regular season. Passionate fans pack 80,000 seat stadiums from September to the end of November, arriving at 6 a.m. for 8 p.m. games and spending a bunch of time and money fueling and following their passion.

You're telling me these people aren't supposed to keep score in every way possible from November to September? You're telling me they're not supposed to immerse themselves in talent acquisition, which, last time I checked, happens to be a fairly important part of winning football games?

I tend to prefer to wait until these kids get to campus and watch them with my own eyes before I place expectations on their shoulders. But if Clemson's coaches think Sammy Watkins is a program-changing receiver, then there's reason to pay attention. If they think Bellamy is another C.J. Spiller, then dang right there's reason for Clemson fans to get excited.

Rivals.com might end up hitting on its lofty ranking of Clemson's 2011 class, and it might end up missing. Check back in a few years, and we'll know for sure.

Yeah, there are misses on some of these 4- and 5-star types. But there are a ton of hits, too. I doubt even the most rabid followers of recruiting would deny that this is an inexact science.

Even if you're like me and don't breathlessly follow every development, consume every morsel of information, it can be entertaining to watch these high-profile battles for high-profile recruits unfold.

If you're repulsed by this stuff and can't figure out why people care, well ... go cover intramurals, brother.

LW