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National Signing Day Has Become A Big Deal

Tribune photo by JIM REED

Chamberlain High School quarterback Dontae Aycock signs his scholarship papers at a ceremony held at the school Wednesday where announced he will play running back for Auburn University.

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By BILL WARD

wward@tampatrib.com

Published: February 5, 2009

TAMPA - When Earl Garcia started coaching high school football in the 1970s, National Signing Day was a fairly simple affair staged with little fanfare.

The event was usually held at the athlete's home with a parent and coach in attendance. If the player was signing with a major program and he owned a significant reputation, the local newspaper might be coaxed to send out a reporter - maybe even a photographer.

Compare that to Wednesday, when Garcia, dressed in a suit and tie, formally presented his signing day class of five Hillsborough football players flooded by the lights of television stations and flashes from cameras of Internet and print media.

"It's evolved into this grandiose affair, with who can have the most media there, the flyover, the dancing girls and the catered food," Garcia said. "I've had phone calls from every local network and every cable sports show and every print media wanting to know what time we're doing it and if we could adjust to their schedules."

It was a similar scene at other high schools across the nation Wednesday, where signing day has not only turned into a showcase for the players and their high school programs, but also a high-stakes event for the colleges they have chosen.

That's precisely why National Signing Day has turned into something of a national happening, with some colleges going as far as staging recruiting parties to celebrate their signing class and ESPN dedicating hours of coverage.

In Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State fans holds the "Bayou Bash," where attendees pay a cover charge to eat, drink, watch highlight tapes of recruits and listen to coaches talk about how great they are. Locally, the University of South Florida held a gathering for fans at Channelside's Splitsville on Wednesday, with Bulls coaches discussing their recruits.

But as big an impact the day has on the colleges and high schools, it's the individual players signing letters-of-intent who are affected most. For them and their parents, a scholarship can be worth thousands of dollars.

Athletes signing a football scholarship to a school above Division III, it's typically a full ride for nearly all their needs - books, tuition, room, sports equipment, travel expenses and physical therapy.

For someone like 6-foot-4, 230-pound Plant senior Orson Charles, one of the nation's most sought-after tight ends, a scholarship to a prestigious out-of-state school could be worth in excess of $250,000 over the course of a four- or five-year college career.

Unlike dozens of other local athletes, Charles did not sign a letter-of-intent Wednesday because he has not made a final decision. He still has an official visit to take to the University of Southern California. The importance of his decision - particularly its impact on his family - is another factor in Charles waiting a little longer to pick a school.

"I've been looking into what some of these schools cost, and without a football scholarship, there's just no way my family could afford to send me," Charles said. "I feel blessed to have the opportunity to get an education and play a sport I love."

And what if Charles was not blessed with his athleticism?

"He'd probably be doing what a lot of us did to get through college - take out a student loan, work a part-time job or both," Plant coach Robert Weiner said. "But when you look at the cost of major schools Orson is considering, particularly the out-of-state schools, I doubt that would be enough."

Even the small schools can cost a small fortune. King High running back Rodney Pugh signed Wednesday with Albany State University in Georgia. His mother, Danielle Pugh, was not only proud of her son earning the scholarship, she also seemed relieved to have her son's college finances solved with a stroke of a pen.

"If we didn't have this scholarship, there was no Plan B," Danielle Pugh said. "We'd probably take out loans, have him enroll in junior college - we'd find a way. We're just thankful this came through for us, and I give all the praise and glory to God that it did."

Of course, for every high school athlete who signed Wednesday, there's dozens who did not. And that, says Tampa Catholic football coach Bob Henriquez, is one of the hardest parts of his job. Division I-A players, he says, "recruit themselves." It's finding a college offer for the other players that he believes is "a true measure of how good your program is in terms of placing kids in college."

But some players, Henriquez says, simply aren't college material - no matter how much of a salesman the coach is, no matter how many contacts they may have in the college ranks.

"It's very difficult when a parent asks you 'Why isn't my son signing on signing day?'" Henriquez said. "It's hard to look them in the eye and say 'Well, no one has offered. I can't make Tennessee offer your child a scholarship.'"

Reporter Bill Ward can be reached at (813) 259-7456.

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