The festivities of National Signing Day have become iconic. A teenage high school football player sits at a table with a collection of hats in front of him, each representing a possible college choice. When he confidently grabs one of the caps and puts it on, the room erupts in cheers and cameras snap away furiously.
This clip played on repeat during last week’s 24-hour televised extravaganza. Twenty-eight young men committed to attend UCLA, recruits highly touted enough for the Bruins to snag the No. 7 football class in the country.
But behind of the pomp and circumstance of choosing a school lie the less glamorous realities of actually being a college athlete. There are grueling practices, long hours of dedication, a labyrinth of arbitrary NCAA rules and the haunting specter of potential brain damage.
Yet these things are not often heard in recruiting pitches.
UCLA needs to be better than this. In order to best serve the prospective athletes, university recruiters have a responsibility to explain these possible risks and issues associated with being a college athlete, giving these high schoolers the opportunity to enter school more prepared for the field, classroom and life beyond their four years.
These dangers can really affect the decision-making process for prospective college athletes. A 6-foot-5-inch, 225-pound defensive end turned down multiple Division I football scholarships after watching the movie “Concussion” over his winter break. Faced with the stark realities of brain damage, 18-year-old John Castello chose to sit out National Signing Day and pursue basketball instead.
The concerns compound further. Can the stipend offered by the school as part of their athletic scholarship truly cover the cost of living in Los Angeles? What kind of scholarship security can UCLA provide should the recruit injure themselves? Is the prospective school equipped to handle the injuries incurred on the field? And so on. All of these questions deserve to be explored, not just by potentially naive 18-year-olds, but by the school itself when recruiting.
In fairness, when it comes questions of player safety, there may be no school more properly equipped to answer them. Coach Jim Mora has a strong involvement in concussion research dating back to before his time at UCLA, and school doctors are currently working with the Department of Defense on one of the most comprehensive concussion studies ever conducted. If recruits have questions, UCLA has the answers.
The issue, then, is whether or not the recruit knows to have these concerns and weigh these issues in his decision.
The UCLA recruiting packet advertises which scenes from which TV shows and movies have been filmed on campus, includes glamour shots of dining hall delicacies and lists the various athletic achievements accrued, but makes no mention of more serious issues such as health risks.
At the end of the day, it’s not enough for UCLA to have answers to questions they hope potential athletes won’t ask. Recruiters need to be proactive in making sure all athletes are aware of the risks involved before allowing them to sign.
To be sure, the decision-making process is ultimately in the hands of the athletes and their families. However, being honest about what the life of a top-flight college athlete could be like – both positive and negative – puts the information needed to make the best choice for themselves in their hands.
The spectacle of National Signing Day has the side effect of glossing over some of the more unsavory aspects of being a collegiate football player. This means it is up to UCLA Athletics and its recruiting staff to give these promising high school prospects the guidance necessary to make a decision that will affect their careers as college athletes, but also their future far beyond the gridiron.