College Football Recruiting: Prospects Having Fun On Social Media
By Kyle Kensing
Jermaine Eluemunor, a celebrated JUCO prospect in the 2014 college football recruiting class, creatively shared his top six list of suitors via Twitter on Monday afternoon.
The offensive tackle keeps his followers up-to-date on his recruitment, sharing other such insights as this image UCLA OL coordinator Adrian Klemm presented to Bruin recruits:
Eluemunor is one of many recent recruits to use unique methods of keeping fans, media and schools abreast of the process. Social media’s presence in our daily lives grows daily, so it’s inevitable that it’s role in college football recruiting is so important.
Much like the online media boom of the early 2000s, college football recruiting is at the forefront of sports media. Burgeoning recruiting websites grew exponentially at the outset of the 21st century, and are now integral in college football media.
Likewise, social media and recruiting now go hand-in-hand. It gives the athletes an unfiltered outlet, which establishes a connection with their soon-to-be fan bases before they ever arrive on campus.
Most fans know the negatives. There are zealots who tweet or write Facebook post abuse to recruits. There are also instances of recruits causing controversy because of their misuse of social media, such as five-star Ole Miss Rebels signee Laquan Treadwell. Treadwell Instagram’d a photo holding money, which set off a firestorm among amateur infraction investigators.
The backlash prompted a response from Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze.
Bad news draws headlines, but there is much more positive to be taken away from the growing presence of recruiting on social media. Athletes are having fun with their outlets.
Michigan Wolverines commit Jabrill Peppers announced his verbal pledge on ESPNU — nothing out of the norm in the last few years. But Peppers is sure to become a viral sensation on YouTube, declaring his allegiance with the Wolverines in a rap.
Coaches must keep in stride with advances in social media, too. Recruiters like the aforementioned Klemm appeal to players through Twitter and Instagram, including the Photoshop-happy Joker Phillips. The Twitpic is gradually replacing, or at least supplementing, the postcard.