It is quite upsetting that underperforming stars in college football still receive so much national attention, just because of their notoriety from high school. It may be the result of playing for big-time programs, but the press should pay more attention to the players who actually make an impact for their respective teams.
Brian Cushing's career has been derailed by shoulder and ankle injuries, limiting him to only one full season.
His production has never been that great, tallying 105 career tackles, which includes both solo and assists. In three seasons he has only amassed five sacks from his rush linebacker position.
Brian is obviously a phenomenal athlete with great size, strength, and speed. But what frustrates me as a college football fan is when he makes the Bronco Nagurski Award Watch List and the 2008 Preseason Playboy All-American Team, and gets tons of publicity from fans and writers.
My only conclusion is that fans and media are so enamored with how many stars each prospect had and his Rivals numbers that people overlook reality. There is no reason that he should be well known enough for me to be writing about him.
I am not bashing Brian Cushing—I want to make that clear. He will probably have a solid senior season and go on to get drafted. So glorify him after this season when he has accomplished something.
I am bashing a system where big-time high school prospects live off their reputation, and it is ridiculous. Not to mention, they take attention away from productive players from smaller conferences.
This leads me to my next player—Myron Rolle.
Myron Rolle, in two seasons as the starting rover for Florida State, has had one interception. He does not break on the ball well with his 220-pound frame and is often out of position in the passing game, resulting in opposing first downs.
In two seasons he does have 144 total tackles, mostly from wrapping up receivers after big gains or tackling running backs 15 yards downfield.
There has probably never been a more publicized recruit to ever commit to Florida State, resulting in the program worshipping this player. The media went nuts when they found out he had a 4.0 in prep school and wanted to be a brain surgeon.
Another undeserving Bronco Nagurski Watch list candidate living off his high school reputation, Myron is similar to Brian in the sense that they are physically built for the NFL and have all the measurables—but they both have not produced.
Some people will say he was only an underclassman last year, but as a high school repeat, Myron is much older then the average junior in college this year. Myron Rolle's plan was to graduate from Florida State in three years, according to
numerous scouting services, before turning pro.
This will be the last year of the two five-star players whose high school careers leveraged them into supposedly good college players.
Did Mark Sanchez throwing 28 touchdowns in Pop Warner make him ready for a great college career? Nothing you do before stepping on a college campus
should mean anything—yet to fans and media it does.
17 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Adam Rothlisberger about 1 year ago
Thomas... glad someone pointed this out finally. All I hear about is how good the USC linebackers are when Cushing has failed to do much to far in his career. I've seen him on preseason all america lists when he was injured all of last year... just doesn't make sense. It almost seems like USC every year has a guy getting preseason praise for nothing just because he is playing in LA.
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Cody Blubaugh about 1 year ago
While I agree that stars and rankings do not make a player, I think that you contradict yourself with the Cushing example. You state that he has been relegated to merely one full season due to injuries yet say he has had an unproductive 3 year career thus far. You can't have it both ways to fit your argument. I don't necessarily think Cushing making pre-season all american lists has anything to do with "stars", but rather that fact that he starts for one of the top programs in the country. Blame ESPN and their hype machine for all things USC football, not Scout or Rivals.
Coaching staffs dont pay attention to how highly rated their recruits are, nor the stars they recieve. These services merely provide a guide to the college football fanatics to realize some of the potential coming into the program, nothing more.
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Reggie Garcia about 1 year ago
Good article. I am on rivals.com almost everyday and the attention and hype these 17-18 year olds get is ridiculous, inevitably leading to pressure and sometimes underachieving.
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Cody Blubaugh about 1 year ago
"I am on rivals.com almost everyday"
You don't think this has something to do with the enourmous hype and attention these athletes get? Recruting has provided a new fix for football fans, and the masses are eating it up. I am on Scout everyday, much like you and Rivals, and people like you and I are fueling the fires.
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Reggie Garcia about 1 year ago
Thats very true Cody. I am a huge college football fan, so that's kind how I get my fix. What do you think we can do to stop this recruitment hype?
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Cody Blubaugh about 1 year ago
I'm not sure if there is really anything we can do at this point. These recruitment services took off so fast, and continue to grow exponetially it would be hard to stop all of the hype. I think the first step would be for the ESPN hype machine to just stop: stop publicly televising commitments and putting so much pressure on these kids. Second, it's up to fans to be responsible and realize these kids aren't saviors, but I'm not counting on that. "Responsible fan" is an oxymoron these days.
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Reggie Garcia about 1 year ago
I totally get what your saying. Nat'l Signing Day is televised, in newspapers, its everywhere because ESPN takes it too far, really. I watch ESPN alot, I am not going to lie, and I remember when Pryor had not signed anywhere yet, ESPN was just giving predictions, what he can do for a team, etc. Pryor seems like a pretty level headed kid, but even media attention like that can turn the best person bad. Fans, I think, are the ones that are making it out to more than it really is. You go to a state like Texas, where football is everything, and recruiting is huge, where the hometown kid went, where he lives. It has gotten to the point where people know everything about these kids because of rivals.com, ESPN, Scouts Inc. For example, I go to SJSU games alot, and SJSU gets like 2-3 star kids, most transfer from CC, and when Utah State came to play, there were some fans that sat in the SJSU side of the stadium. Instead of heckling them, all the SJSU fans joked around with them, made fun of players. It was that way because they do not hype up players, or teams. I bet if you were to go to DKR Stadium it would not be the same. I see nothing but bad comes from recruitment (Ex: OJ Mayo) where adults, like you said, see these 17 year olds as saviors for their states football team. Overall, recruitment is bad. It can't be stopped, and imagine what it will be like in 10-15 years.
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Paul Hoffman about 1 year ago
Thomas, I can tell by what you say in your article that you are not very close to USC football. Brian Cushing is part of a great USC corp of linebackers and could be the best of all of them. Cushing has had a shoulder injury in his freshmen year and incurred a high ankle sprain in the first quater of the first game last year against Idaho.
Brian Cushing played the LEO position in his sophomore year, so he was standing at DE and dropping back into coverage as well. Brian Cushing is the best playmaker USC has at linebacker. He may end up to be the best player USC has on defense this year, and that says a lot. Brian Cushing is a five star and more. You are barking up the wrong tree choosing Cushing for your example. Good reporting isn't just looking at stats. Get your facts straight.
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Paul Hoffman about 1 year ago
You forgot to mention that Brian Cushing was the defensive MVP in the 2007 Rose Bowl. Pretty good for a player you're saying isn't living up to expectations.
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Daniel Brommer about 1 year ago
I agree with almost everything you've stated in your article, but the truth is this. Cushing and Rolle are both freaks, they are physically gifted, probubly two of the most gifted players in the nation, but they haven't lived up to their hype. Cushing has been injured a lot so i'll give him that, but Rolle hasn't. I've been waiting two years now for him to be the player he was made out to be and i still think he will be that player. I still think he'll be a high draft pick also, both of these guys will.
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Paul Hoffman about 1 year ago
Cushing has perfomed as a five star recruit every since he came to USC. Circumstances have hindered his playing time, but when he has played and practiced he has more than lived up to being very highly touted.
All's well that ends well. USC is expecting Brian to have a big senior year. Recruiting analysts were right about Brian Cushing.
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Adam Rothlisberger about 1 year ago
I think you failed to see his real point. How can someone become a pre-season all american when he hasn't even played in over a year. For example.. let's say he played for Oregon State two years ago and lets pretend they went to the Rose Bowl and he was defensive MVP in that game. Then the following year he was injured and forgotten. People would not be putting him on pre-season hype lists.. just wouldnt happen. The fact that he is playing for USC is the only reason anyone knows his name. And the writers other point was the fact that these guys who are highly recruited are highly hyped throughout their college years when they haven't even produced results that were expected.
I love college football and follow the recruiting process religiously... but I will admit that there are lots of players in college that get hype that is not deserved just because they were a 5 star recruit... Cushing is for sure one of them. Laurinaitis was only a 3 star athlete and look at him... he is getting the hype because he worked for it and is the best linebacker in college football. Cushing should not be recognized because of what he did to get to USC. Paul you say he has performed as a five star recruit... you can't say that because he has only played 1 full season.
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Paul Hoffman about 1 year ago
You certainly haven't followed USC football, if you think Brian Cushing hasn't been on the field enough to warrant some national attention. He played quite a bit at USC as a true freshmen. If you think that's easy to do with the kind of defenses USC puts on the field, you're mistaken.
Brian had a very good sophomore year playing the LEO and Elephant position. USC did that so they could get him on the field as a starter. Last year Cushing got a high ankle sprain in the first quarter of the first game against Idaho. It limited his playing time the first half of the season, but he finished the season playing very well.
Brian Cushing could be the #1 LB on the #1 Linebacking unit in the nation. If that doesn't deserve some attention for All American, I don't know what does? You're going to have your eyes opened when you see him on the floor of the coliseum Sept 13th.
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Michael Collins about 1 year ago
Jeff Schweiger, another USC star recruit, came to USC listed as the number 3 Weakside DE in 2004. He has now transferred to San Jose State.
His national honors from high school - 2003 USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American first team, Prep Star All-American, Insiders.com All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 100, Super Prep All-Farwest Defensive MVP, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Gatorade California Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team.
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Thomas Brown about 1 year ago
Whats your point
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Eric Brown 12 months ago
Thomas,
As much as I disagree with nearly everything you write, I've got to give you credit for the Myron Rolle section. Him being mentioned by anyone on television or in print is a crime, and is certainly only the result of his high prep ranking (though keep in mind that ESPN had him as their No. 1 guy while everyone else had Percy Harvin. ESPN is in the business of proving themselves right and/or burying their mistakes). However, if you think about it, you're probably more upset at the national sports reporting media than you are with the ranking services.
The two examples of Cushing and Rolle can't be used to sum up the research done by these major publications on a yearly basis. Rivals ranks 250 players every year and tries to say something nice about the remaining 3-star crop. Since 2002, that equates to over 1,000 players who they took the time to scout and assign a numerical ranking to. They've nailed some, whiffed on some, and probably put the bulk of the guys within 20 spots of where they finished their careers.
I, like you, have questioned whether or not there was some built-in bias among how these kids are ranked. Seemed like every year a California QB would be in the top 20 overall. Same with a California RB. I went through and counted up the top guys by state and found out that there was no conclusive evidence. In other words, they do their best to be accurate in terms of where the player is when college begins. From there, tons of factors come into play.
I liken this process to the NFL draft and have concluded that the pros are right and wrong at just about the same clip as the Rivals guys are. It's a guessing game. You're basing a lot on measurables, then checking on the intangibles.
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Brent Parker 11 months ago
Brian Cushing is a good player derailed by injuries. He believe he gets the benefit of the doubt as other athletes get when they play at USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas. There are kids that are better than Cushing but won't get the ink because of where they play.
For example Dan LeFevour. He is just as good as Tim Tebow, however, he plays for Central Michigan and hardly anyone knows about him. Dan LeFevour had one of the best statisical years for a QB in history, but Chase Daniel, Matt Stafford, Brian Brohm get more attention.
It's just the name of the game.
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