TUSCALOOSA, AL – OCTOBER 24: A general view of Bryant-Denny Stadium during the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers on October 24, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
NCAABy Andrew Coppens on

While it is bowl season for college football, it is also showcase time for some of the best high school football players in the country. One such event is the Under Armour All-American game, which is set to take place this weekend.

Picking the brains of the best of the best heading to college next season is always an interesting exercise, and that is exactly what ESPN senior writer Jeremy Crabtree did ahead of this exhibition and annual hat dance of verbal commitments.

Let’s just say the kids didn’t hold back on their opinions of fans, social media and the schools that were recruiting them. Some schools apparently know how to use social media to make their situations attractive, while others are just downright annoying.

The leader at the social media game, especially within a fanbase? Apparently, plenty of recruits loved what the Georgia Bulldogs fanbase were doing on social media.

They weren’t the only ones that were shown some love, as Michigan came in second with seven votes and fellow Big Ten school Penn State was listed by six players. Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma had a whopping five votes each as well.

Who was the worst? Well, it would be the program and fanbase that has perhaps the most inflated sense of self — the Tennessee Volunteers.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising to see SEC fanbases on that side of the ledger, as any viewing of the Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network will prove. And seeing Alabama and Michigan high on both lists shows that it could be simply based on perspective from the recruits themselves.

But, the fans weren’t the only interesting notes here, as kids were also candid about the recruiting process with the schools themselves.

Most believe the college recruiting world to be one of sleaze, lies and illegal activity. However, those who are being recruited don’t quite see it that way.

Those that were caught in lies? Most apparently were about promises made to the recruit personally.

Some of the worst lies? Try recruiting one position with promise of moving, only to recruit like crazy at the position you were told you would be moved to.

But, Alabama may have been the worst of them all:

Naturally, academics play a role in the recruiting process. Perhaps football coaches should at least be familiar with the actual majors being offered? That didn’t happen at Virginia Tech according to one recruit.

While there were plenty of answers to the questions about the fans and schools on social media, fans base participation ultimately doesn’t seem to matter. That’s because according to most of those 94 players surveyed, it has had little to no affect on their choice of a school:

Oh, and this is as good a time as any to give my annual reminder to the fan of any team — STOP TWEETING AND FACEBOOK STALKING RECRUITS. After all, it is an NCAA violation for anyone who is a booster (and yes, you who donated a “seat licensing fee” to get your season tickets or paid directly to the school to get your tickets for that one game in September are boosters) to have contact with recruits.

Plus, it is just plain creepy to see 45-year-old grown men stalking and trying to start up conversations with 15 or 16-year-old recruits.

Just stop, please, it clearly has no effect on where a potential player ends up anyway.

About Andrew Coppens

Andy is a contributor to The Comeback as well as Publisher of Big Ten site talking10. He also is a member of the FWAA and has been covering college sports since 2011. Andy is an avid soccer fan and runs the Celtic FC site The Celtic Bhoys. If he's not writing about sports, you can find him enjoying them in front of the TV with a good beer!

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