April Fool’s (Signing) Day!
College Football, Hazing, Sad. February 6th. 2008, 11:18am
Kevin Hart, a lineman from Nevada, gathered his entire school in the gymnasium to announce which college football program he’d be joining in the fall. Once all eyes and ears were on him, he announced his intention to attend the University of California.
Too bad nobody from Cal had ever heard of the kid: (Rivals.com via Detroit Free Press)
The Cal staff has had no contact whatsoever with Coach Hodges or Hart, and they have not visited him; nor has Hart been on a recruiting trip to any school.
This story is either hilarious or deeply depressing depending on where you are in your life. Seriously though, who picks a college without at least hitting up one open house?
The police are currently looking into the hoax. Whoever did this was good - they were able to convincingly portray Cal Coach, Jeff Tedford, which is no easy task. Hart chose Cal because of the close relationship he was forming with the faux-Tedford:
“(Berkeley coach Jeff Tedford) and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me that real personal experience,” Hart told local media after his announcement on Friday.
All I can really add at this point is: Shoulda been you Terrelle Pryor.
Update: The family gave a “recruiter” money. [ESPN] Yikes! He really doesn’t get how this whole “major college football program” thing works does he? They’re supposed to pay you. Not vica versa.
[Hat tip: SterlinSharpe]
[Deadspin]
46 Responses to “April Fool’s (Signing) Day!”
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February 6th, 2008 at 11:21 am
That is so wrong and yet so hilarious at the same time.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
It’s hilariously depressing. Seriously, it’s ridiculous that these kids buy into the hype so extensively that they believe where they choose to go to college is deserving of a school assembly. It just sucks that it had to be some nobody who got duped.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I bet it was the kid himself trying to get pub. and make a name for himself. Fantastic prank if it is…if not, man thats a sick joke to play on someone.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Oh, and I didn’t know that Stone Cold was a principal now…talk about a lifestyle change.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
At least he has the Oregon hat to fall back on.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
he looks confused trying to pick a hat. poor kid
February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Terrelle Pryor just announced he’s going to Pitt.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
If he did it himself (I doubt it), he’s a douchebag.
If someone else did it, it’s the best and worst thing I’ve seen in some time.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Dave MN +1
February 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Neither of those hats are really there, man!
February 6th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Picking between schools that don’t actually want you can be tough, irish.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:28 am
George Mason’s club football team would give him a shot. Cheer up kid!
February 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
The worst part is that the guys coach was tricked too. Its one thing to fool a kid, but how stupid is the coach to not know anything about college football recruiting!
February 6th, 2008 at 11:32 am
lol.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Whoops, the story on the head page at espn says that his family gave a “recruiter” money. So he was duped while being a party to a recruiting violation, crazy story.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Depends where he coaches Ray. Some high schools never see recruiters and are coached by some former player from the school.
If this kid thought he was going to Cal or Oregon but wasn’t actually recruited by anyone, it doesn’t sound like he plays big time high school football. But I don’t know that for sure.
BTW, isn’t Kevin Riley the back-up QB for Cal?
February 6th, 2008 at 11:38 am
@Dornoch: Yes Riley is the back up for Cal.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I wonder if the Valedictorian held a class assembly when they decided which school to attend.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
good catch Sterlin
February 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
/updated
February 6th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I read that the school has never had a kid go D-1, so the coach probably has as much experience as the kid. Which is none.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Wow–this is sad for the kid.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
So wait was Oregon fake recruting him too or can he at least go there?
There would many opportunites for him to take a gateway to happiness after this mess.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Oregon might have been fake as well…
February 6th, 2008 at 11:47 am
If this guy lands some nice tail he would be a prime candidate to be on hotchickswithdouchebags
February 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am
CRM, the family recruiter said his name was Kevin Riley.
This story is both weird, and wierd, depending on how you choose to spell it.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:50 am
The article off of the Reno Gazette Journal implies that Oregon was fake as well.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I am not sad at all for this kid. I think we are putting too much emphasis on sports in our schools and education is taking a backseat. This kid was stupid and violated NCAA rules by giving money to a recruiter. I laughed when I read this because the kid and his family were dumb enough to really believe this recruiter and the fact that they held a fucking school assembly to praise this kid who blocks well.
Instead,let’s praise the kid who busted his/her ass in school every day to maintain their grades and will go on to contribute to society.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am
This kid could contribute to society. Like someone else mentioned, if he scores a hot chick he is a prime candidate for that hot chicks with douchebags site.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Regardless PKI, I feel bad for the kid that he was used by a recruiter (assuming he was). He could be a small town kid that cant afford to go to a big out of state or private school, so he thought this was his shot. No hate to kids that bust their ass every day but you arent on academic blogs commenting all day are you? Sports bring money.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Speak for yourself Sterlin, The Big Read, Mathdog and Cousins of the Department of Education are my first three stops every day.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Reminiscent of Constanza “negotiatiating” for less money with the NBC president.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Pryor thinks this dude is an absolute clownboot.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
@Sterlin -I fully understand this money aspect, but it just irritated me to see the school holding an assembly to glorify this kid. I am the son of a teacher and am dating a teacher so I am a little biased when it comes to these issues. I think the root of the problem here is that these are just kids and ESPN and others really hype up this issue more that it should be. These are people who are 17-18 years old who are getting exploited by both the media and schools for profit.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I agree with you PKI, but it is what it is. When I was in High School the coach at our Flagship state institution came into my class MID-EXAM and pulled our stud RB out “for a meeting”. Im sure he got an A on the exam (know the teacher) and he signed with that school. It sucks, I wasnt 1st in my class but I was top 5% and just got used to not being as important.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
@pki–I agree with your most recent comment much more than the one before. True, it was dumb of the kid (and/or his family, not sure who actually made the payment) to pay anyone, but you’re right. This situation is indirectly a product of everyone hyping this stuff beyond belief. And either way, it’s still sad. He might’ve dismissed a smaller school because he thought he had Cal and Oregon in his back pocket, and now he’s screwed. I don’t know. I see some school stepping up and giving him a scholarship for the goodwill…not one of the big schools or anything, but a mid-level or lower school.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Fuck, we started out fine today and then Mr. McGuffie says he is thinking about not going to UM. I sure hope Fred Jackson has his bags packed if McGuffie doesn’t sign. RR (probably) only kept him on because of his McGuffie recruitment. I hate my life.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Cheer up, Maggio. Kevin Hart is apparently available.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
FYI - There are “recruiting” services out there that take money from parents ($1500 +) to promote their kid and help them get money to play in college. Several of them are reputable. It appears Mr. Hart’s firm was not.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Does anyone know what kind of player this kid is? Was he even all state??
February 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
@ TSP I heard that none of the recruiting services had him ranked. Someone said he had no upper body strength at all.
I think this is hilarious. Stop kissing the asses of these 17 and 18 year olds, this whoe TP thing today, Fuck You! He already thinks he is bigger than whatever school he is going to choose, he loves the attention and realized once he signs the letter of intent the attention is over for a couple of months and he has to go back to school.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
The hat shuffle day only gets more retarded. Kid got duped and probably deserved it for researching more.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
ESPN story says he was legitimately recruited by Nevada and Washington. How do those schools feel about being out recruited by a con man?
February 6th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
So thats why Ty Willingham was fired.
February 6th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
The little fucker made this shit up!
February 6th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
All a ruse. This kid has to be hating himself right now. So he tells his huge lie, and then what’s supposed to happen?
moron