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Classic Huge Recruiting Tool For Participants

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 18, 2007

ORLANDO - The big crowds and variety of entertainment make the Florida Classic one of the primary recruiting tools for Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M.

"It's huge in recruiting," B-CU coach Alvin Wyatt said, "and we definitely need some help."

The rise of several state schools the past decade has made it even tougher for B-CU and FAMU to attract athletes.

"USF, UCF, FIU, FAU, they're all getting the players we used to get," Wyatt said. "We're at the bottom of the barrel fighting for athletes."

Officially, only the home team is allowed to invite players to the game and Bethune-Cookman had 40 athletes in attendance. Those prospects saw the Wildcats at their best - a 34-7 victory - and FAMU at what may have been its worst.

"I would certainly hope an event like this would help us with recruiting, but we're still trying to recover from the penalties loss of 16 scholarships that we got in 2005 before I got here," Florida A&M coach Rubin Carter said. "And this was not a good day for us as far as showcasing our program."

Wyatt was very satisfied with the effect the Florida Classic had on his prospects.

"This most definitely is going to help our program," Wyatt said. "We're going after the fifth- and sixth-tier athletes after the big schools get what they want. This is going to help us turn the corner with those 30 or 40 kids we had here tonight, especially if they were thinking about going to Florida A&M."

GAME OF INCHES: Florida A&M QB Eddie Battle said his team's offense was close to clicking all afternoon, which seems odd considering the Rattlers had only nine first downs and 158 yards total offense.

"It was like we were off by an inch all night," said Battle, whose 24-yard scoring pass to Jarvis Funderburk was the only scoring play for FAMU.

"If the quarterback was off by an inch one play, the receiver was off by an inch the next. I don't think this game shows the kind of talent we had on the football team. We're way better than what we showed here tonight."

THIS AND THAT: The attendance was announced at 65,367, the lowest total since the first year the Florida Classic moved to Orlando in 1997. The game had drawn more than 70,000 fans for eight straight years. ... Walt Disney World, the primary sponsor for the Florida Classic, presented the two schools a check for $400,000. That brings Disney's total contributions in 10 years to $2.7 million. ... The inventive fans at the Classic amused themselves for about half the second quarter by doing various version of the wave, including a slow-motion move that took nearly 30 seconds to work its way around the Citrus Bowl. ... Florida Gov. Charlie Crist did the pregame coin toss, won by Bethune-Cookman. ... The famed halftime "Battle of the Bands," which typically ran for an hour in years past, lasted 31 minutes. Observers blamed TV. The game was televised by ESPN Classic. ... B-CU QB Jimmie Russell and FAMU TB Phillip Sylvester were named the game's Most Valuable Players. Russell rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown and passed for 78 yards. Sylvester ran seven times for 77 yards. ... The 336 yards rushing by B-CU were a record for either team in the Florida Classic.

Bill Fay

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