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Signing Day Means Lots of Decisions, Hard Work
January 31, 2017 02:20 PM | Football
So, they tell me tomorrow is National Signing Day. Well, of course, I know it’s signing day!
Football director of communications Mike Montoro has an office right next to mine and the work he has put in tracking down the names, heights, weights, high schools, 40 times, stars, biographies … you name it … for this year’s group of signees is never-ending.
Our video production crew is assembling a web show for tomorrow more suited for a Star Trek convention, while our digital guy, Grant Dovey, already knows more about our football recruits than I know about my children - and I’m under contract to know a helluva lot about my children!
Incidentally, Grant informed me the other day that one of the players in this year’s signing class is a phenomenal singer, but I have already forgotten who it is so I will have to watch tomorrow’s webcast right along with you to find out.
The guys revealing the names on our live stream (which will also be going out live on Mountaineer football’s official Facebook page) - Dan Zangrilli, Jed Drenning and Dale Wolfley - have been cramming just like they did back in the day when they took their SATs.
In fact, the Wolfman stopped by my office earlier today looking like he had just pulled an all-nighter.
Then, there is our hard-working group of compliance people making sure the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted. I can’t begin to imagine how much effort that has entailed over the last nine months - or longer - or how many people it involves.
Oh, and don’t forget the hard work the football staff has put in over the last couple of years chasing down these 17 and 18-year-old kids.
On Thursday, they get to hit the reset button to begin chasing down the next batch of 17 and 18-year-olds.
Then, there is all of the hard work from the guys and gals in the media reporting which players are going where, how good they are and why they made the choices they did.
Talk about an impossible job!
All of this for one day, which begins tomorrow when school opens around 7 a.m. at some places, and typically ends by early afternoon if everyone has made up their minds.
Sometimes it takes 'em a little bit longer to come to a decision.
And who can blame 'em? It’s only the next four or five years of their lives that they are trying to figure out when they finally sign on the dotted line.
My 16-year-old daughter has trouble figuring out what she wants to eat for breakfast each morning, so I can only imagine what is going through their minds when it comes to this!
Some do need a little more time to think things through; others will make their decisions impulsively - perhaps even by a flip of a coin.
I actually remember that happening a few years ago with a linebacker who ended up choosing Rutgers instead of West Virginia when the flip came up tails instead of heads, or vice versa.
I wonder what he’s doing today?
Well, I know what many of you will be doing tomorrow - making sure all of those teenagers follow through on their promises.
It’s not always easy because a lot of promises are usually made.
Bagel or cereal? Or, perhaps some fruit?
That’s what my daughter will be trying to decide tomorrow morning. It’s a tough call.
Me?
I’m going with oatmeal and blueberries, topped off with some orange juice. Those pesky HDLs and LDLs have already made that choice for me.
Who says things don’t get simpler with age?
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