big class for psu. holding on a top 25 class despite the sanctions. probably would have had near a top 5 class if we were able to keep the ones that decommitted and got 2 big PA guys that had a good chance of joinging us without sanctions.
Shelton Gibson officially signs with the good guys (WVU). Huge pickup.
__________________
"Of course giving Sather cap space is like giving teenagers whiskey and car keys." - SBOB "Watching Sather build a team is like watching a blind man with no fingers trying to put together an elaborate puzzle." - Shadowtron
Sestito still on the make a wish tour. - rholt168
Why would they do that? Mackenro is a great pick-up for any team.
He's ok but Mackenzie is a stud. I'm sure part of the reason he has an Auburn offer was to get Mackenzie or at least improve their chances of landing him.
Word from who? I doubt Ole Miss would be that stupid
Let's say it's true and they are paying guys. Well, it wouldn't really be stupid. As long as the payments are made with enough insulation from the program, the risk of being caught is fairly slim.
The NCAA isn't the FBI, their investigators can't really investigate random people in the community based on a hunch they might be associated with a recruit or a booster in the way LEOs could. Money that is paid through third parties especially if it's laundered or just handed out in plain cash won't ever be discovered and the same applies to services provided to third parties. If Recruit X's uncle who is also his "advisor" gets a job offer in a company in Collegetown, SEC that happens to have a long relationship with Booster Z you're almost never going to see NCAA action.
Everyone and everyone's dog knows Cam Newton was sold to the highest bidder and nobody ever got penalized for it precisely because the powers of the NCAA aren't that of a federal law enforcement agency and boosters/pay for play schemes tend to work along the lines of organized crime and think of all the effort the FBI, ATF and so forth have to put into those types of investigations, undercover agents etc.
If they ran a full-on fed investigation with all the tricks, undercover agents, wiretaps, paid snitches and so forth, most big-time programs would probably have to fold ASAP.
He's ok but Mackenzie is a stud. I'm sure part of the reason he has an Auburn offer was to get Mackenzie or at least improve their chances of landing him.
I never said Mackenzie wasn't a stud. But people are just writing off Mackenro as if he's some third rate safety prospect. He's not. He's a very solid 3 star kid.
Wrong. Almost all Division I teams have similar entrance academic standards (other than the schools that take props and elite schools like Stanford). This been thrown around by some OSU fans as an excuse, but in reality he could have certainly been at tOSU. Gibson himself has cleared the air with this in the past. He simply wasn't interested in going to tOSU. In reality, he is fine with the clearinghouse which means he'd be fine with tOSU.
Quote:
Like everything else in our media driven society, Twitter can be an amazing way for athletes to share their lives with fans, bringing that relationship closer than ever before.
But it can also be used in a mean and hurtful manner, as Cleveland Heights wide receiver Shelton Gibson experienced recently. The West Virginia commit has been the subject of ridicule and derisive comments from a segment of fans not happy with his choice of where to play college football.
"I just want to get my story out there, because I want the truth out there for everyone to read," Gibson stated. "I have a lot of people saying I'm too dumb to play college football, and that Ohio State dropped me because I will never qualify academically. Those things really hurt me, and I never should have argued back with people on Twitter, because I have to be more of a man and learn to ignore people."
"At the same time, I did want to let everyone know the truth about where things stand for me," he added. "I have switched schools a few times, but I am on target to qualify, and right now I am qualified through the NCAA sliding scale. I've been working very hard to get to this point, so it hurts to have people question my intelligence. When I first started getting offers, every school checked out my transcript and everything has always been fine."
Gibson was expected to commit to Ohio State or Auburn last summer, but that time frame passed without a decision being made.
"Everyone thought it was about grades, but that wasn't it at all," he explained. "It was just too early to make my choice, and I got caught up in wanting to announce on my mom's birthday in June, but I wasn't sure of my choice, so I couldn't do it. It had nothing to do with grades then, and my choice today had nothing to do with grades. I have been on official visits to Ohio State, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee, and they are all great schools, and I love each one for giving me an opportunity."
"The problem came about when I committed to one school, and some people got all mad I didn't pick their school and they came at me on Twitter and on the internet," he continued. "Again, I need to say I am above the requirements needed by the NCAA sliding scale, but if I mess up the next two grading periods I could fall below. I do not plan on letting that happen, and if it does happen then it's on me. All I need to do to be fully qualified is to maintain where I'm at, but I plan on improving where I'm at even more."
As for his interaction with a small segment of fans on Twitter, Gibson has a message for his supporters and detractors.
"I still talk to coaches from all four schools, and none of them have dropped me, including Ohio State," Gibson stressed. "I talked with them (Ohio State) last week and they said they do not know where the story is coming from that they dropped me, because they told me they didn't at all."
"The bottom line for me is that I love all four schools, and know I could be happy at all of them, but West Virginia is the right place for me," he noted. "For the Ohio State fans, there was never anything bad about their school at all. I just felt real comfortable with West Virginia. I'm an Ohio boy, and I will always be a Buckeye and root for Ohio State. I wish they could support me, like I will support their team, and maybe that can happen in time. I apologize for anything I've said on Twitter, and I forgive everyone for the things they said about me."
"I love Ohio State, just like they do," he said in closing. "All along, no matter what school I would have picked, I was still going to root for the state I'm from and that's Ohio State. It's just best for me to get away from home and grow into a man. I hope people understand."
Gibson, 6-foot, 185-pounds, is currently listed as a four-star prospect and one of the top recruits in the Midwest.
WVU doesn't take props. They take risks on kids who may not qualify, however. tOSU was recruiting Gibson until he came down to his final three. They never dropped out until then.
Shelton Gibson officially signs with the good guys (WVU). Huge pickup.
Would have been nice to have grabbed Boyd too, but no way in hell his mom was going to allow it unfortunately.
Either way, with the 3 Zona flips this is the best class that WVU has had since the Geno/Tavon/Bailey class. The depth actually looks better then that class, but we'll see how that holds up in a couple years. A few instant impact players though, especially some of the jucos.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ixcuincle
Ole Miss able to pick up the #1 OT recruit too.
Somewhere in Texas, there's an SMU booster or alum from the 80s that's saying "jesus christ guys, you can't be THAT obvious about it"
Wrong. Almost all Division I teams have similar entrance academic standards (other than the schools that take props and elite schools like Stanford). This been thrown around by some OSU fans as an excuse, but in reality he could have certainly been at tOSU. Gibson himself has cleared the air with this in the past. He simply wasn't interested in going to tOSU. In reality, he is fine with the clearinghouse which means he'd be fine with tOSU.
WVU doesn't take props. They take risks on kids who may not qualify, however. tOSU was recruiting Gibson until he came down to his final three. They never dropped out until then.
Everything I had read regarding him (Ohio State affiliated) was that Urban and Co. were worried that he's academics were a major issue in not getting in. I'm not trying to cause an argument regarding this either. Just basing it off stuff I had read.
