November 2008 Archives

Did anyone do a better coaching job than Wheaton St. Francis' Greg Purnell, who took a 3-6 team to 13-1 and a state championship in his second season?

I hope somebody will give St. Francis' Mark Kachmer and Stan Bobowski a chance to play in college.

Wouldn't you like to have Metamora quarterback Michael Fay on your team for the next two years?

Three other small-school players who impressed me a lot were Triopia running back David Arendt, Stark County receiver Calvin Lewis, Immaculate Conception linebacker Antonio Taylor and Bloomington Central Catholic quarterback Adam Rebholz. I hope they get a chance to play in college, too.

I guess I'm an old-school traditionalist. So sue me. For 50 years, I signed my name to my columns and articles that were published by the Daily Illini, Champaign-Urbana Courier, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Chicago Daily News and Chicago Sun-Times.

Criticism was welcome. But newspapers always have had a policy that letters to the editor had to be signed.

Then came the Internet.

Who are OrangeBlazer, Elwin Illini, Bloomfan101, Cabana Joe and NYDomer310 and why do they choose to use aliases instead of their real names when they tap into message boards?

University of Illinois alumni who suffered through the 2008 football season, which came to a dreadful and swift ending on Saturday at Northwestern, can be assured that help is on the way--if coach Ron Zook and his staff can develop them into Big 10 performers.

I covered the East St. Louis/Glenbard West Class 7A semifinal on Saturday in Glen Ellyn--I certainly had something better to do than spend a nauseating few hours in Evanston--and, believe me, Illini recruits Terry Hawthorne and Tommie Hopkins are the real deal.

For years, Illinois couldn't sign a player out of East St. Louis with the exception of Dana Howard. Most of the many talented athletes who played for Fred Cameron, Cornelius Perry and Bob Shannon went to Missouri. Remember Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow?

It happens every year, even before the Internet and recruiting services became cottage industries and ever-present influences on our lives. Someone--parents, coaches, alumni, friends, fans--will call or write or e-mail to tout an athlete whom they believe isn't getting his props.

They have seen another athlete who is getting more publicity and they are convinced they have seen somebody better. They have seen an athlete who has been offered a dozen Division I scholarships and can't understand why another athlete has none.

Sometimes, they are just looking for publicity.

Apparently, this is one of those times.

I've observed Maine South quarterback Charlie Goro enough times over the past two years to come to the belief that he is one of the best high school football players I have seen in 50 years. And that isn't an exaggeration.

If you saw Goro pass for a school-record 479 yards against New Trier or saw him run and pass in the cold and wind against Loyola on Saturday, then saw Graham Harrell lead Texas Tech past Texas and Oklahoma State on television in the last two weeks, you had to think Goro and Harrell are related.

In a sense, they are. Maine South offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss is the Mike Leach of high school football, a genius who has developed one outstanding quarterback after another in his spread offense, as Leach has done with Harrell and others before him.

The problem with recruiting is parents. Oh, kids make mistakes. So do their high school coaches. There are so many outside influences offering advice that it is difficult to tell the difference between A, B and C.

This is where the parents must step in and take charge. This isn't an ego trip. This is their son's future we're talking about. If they don't make a wise decision, their son will most likely become another statistic on the escalating list of de-commitments and transfers.

No, parents shouldn't decide which college their son should attend. Their son should make that decision by himself. But they should be responsible for providing all of the important information so their son can make an intelligent choice, one he won't regret.