Finish Of \"Me\" Generation

[50's PONY]

On a recruiting trip to the University of Florida, prep All-America linebacker Willie Williams assaulted a female student, punched a man in the face outside a nightclub and discharged three fire extinguishers at the Gainesville Hilton, which is a felony.

When Williams signed with Miami, details of his Gainesville spree became public.

It turned out that recruit Williams already had 10 theft-related arrests and was on an 18-month probation for burglary.

Miami soon announced that it intended to fulfill its commitment to Williams.

Recruiting gurus and Web sites now abound in what has become a multi-million-dollar garage industry.

College football fans, it seems, still are eager to pay good money for what often is bad teen-age information.

A recruit will tell one caller that he's committed to A&M, and the next that he's headed to LSU. The Web's recruiting bulletin boards pour gasoline on the rumors.

There are legendary stories about Arthur McDuffy and Montego Powers, two of the alleged most talented recruits ever to come out of Mississippi and Georgia, respectively.

The problem is that neither existed. As the story goes, they were created by rival recruiting gurus who suspected each other of stealing information.

The latest warp in the recruiting universe is the sudden emergence of the nationally televised commitment. ESPN, Fox Sports Net and College Sports Television, to name three, have all gotten blue-chip recruits -- Perrilloux and Bennett among them -- to agree to announce their college choices on live TV.

I won't be watching, thank you. But millions probably will.

Gentlemen, start your hot tubs.


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Gil LeBreton, (817) 390-7760 [email protected]

[EastStang]

TCU Purple Hearts?