Business as usual
Recent reports of angry Palm Beach County high school coaches don't seem to be affecting FAU's recruiting efforts.
Originally published on
1/27/2012
by
Chuck King
If there is a backlash among Palm Beach County high school coaches following FAU's decision to pull its scholarship offer to Delray Beach-Atlantic wide receiver Chad Ward, Owls' recruiting coordinator Jeff Sims hasn't felt it.
“We have not had a kid tell us, 'I am not going to come in because you are Florida Atlantic University.'” Sims said.
The Owls' recruiting efforts have been in the news this past week because FAU pulled a scholarship offer to Delray Beach-Atlantic wide receiver Chad Ward and because of confusion surrounding the Owls' status with Greenacres-John I. Leonard wide receiver Nesly Ovincy and defensive lineman Andy Daceus.
Atlantic coach Chris Bean has told several media outlets, including ESPN 760, that recent actions by FAU coaches would keep Palm Beach County players and coaches from considering FAU.
The numbers would seem to contradict that line of thinking.
FAU is expecting eight recruits to make their official visits on this, the final weekend before the Feb. 1 National Signing Day. One of those players, West Palm Beach-Forest Hill wide receiver Mike Bullard, is already committed to FAU. Another, Glades Central defensive back Cre'von LeBlanc, could commit this weekend.
“There's more guys out there that we want than we have scholarships we can offer - that's a compliment to the high school coaches in Florida. That's a compliment to the talent in the state of Florida. But our job is to put the best class together for Florida Atlantic University,” Sims said.
Ward accepted a offer from FAU's previous coaching regime, led by Howard Schnellenberger. While NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting on recruits before they sign, new FAU coach Carl Pelini has said that his spread offense will feature smaller, quicker receivers. It would seem, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Ward doesn't fit that mold.
“I think some things get overblown,” Sims said. “We have been professional and honest with every kid every step of the way. There are emotions involved in it sometimes, but I find it hard to believe with how good the high school coaches are here that they are going to limit the opportunities of their future football players to play at a local university if the local university feels they are good enough to play for them.”
In the case of the John I. Leonard players, there is some question as to whether either player ever received an offer from FAU.
NCAA rules won't allow coaches to comment on players, even if those comments would correct inaccurate reports.
“People in this area need to understand that this is not a unique situation to Florida Atlantic,” said Sims, who came to FAU after spending a year as Indiana's recruiting coordinator. “When I was at Indiana you could pull up our Rivals page at any time and there would be three to four kids that were not offered by us that were committed [to Indiana].”