Is ANY recruit worth this?

[Jacie]

Think back, has Oklahoma ever recruited anyone and allowed them to have this much clout? Marcus DuPree? Adrian Petersen? I don't think so. What does this say about Dabo Sweeney to let a recruit tell him who else must be offered a scholarship for him to go there? If/when any of Nkemdiche's boys get in trouble, will Dabo be able to discipline them? No matter how good this kid thinks he is, he should be sat down and have it explained to him how the system works.

Top recruit threatens to look elsewhere if Clemson doesn’t offer his teammate

By Graham Watson

Robert Nkemdiche, the nation's No. 1 recruit, is holding his commitment to Clemson hostage unless the Tigers' coaches meet his demand — offer his high school teammate a scholarship.

"I am waiting on Clemson to offer Ryan; when that happens, it's locked … it's a done deal … it's over," Nkemdiche, a defensive end, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ryan Carter is a 5-foot-10, 175-pound safety, who already has scholarship offers from Ole Miss, Georgia State, Tulane, Arkansas State and Southern Miss. According to Nkemdiche, giving Carter a scholarship wouldn't be a big deal because he's already caught the eye of Clemson's coaches.

"Clemson said they like Ryan a lot and that he's at the top of their board. Yes, sir, if Clemson offers Ryan, it would seal the deal. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. David and Ryan, those guys are like family. They are like brothers to me. I'm close to them. We've had success playing football together and I don't want to change it."

Several of Nkemdiche's Grayson High teammates already have committed to play at Clemson — running back Wayne Gallman, defensive back David Kamara and former Grayson quarterback Nick Schuessler gave up his scholarship at Mississippi State to be a preferred walk-on with the Tigers.

Nkemdiche just wants Carter to be invited to the party.

So what if Clemson doesn't offer Carter? Well, Nkemdiche said he plans to look elsewhere like Ole Miss, where Nkemdiche's brother plays and where Carter already has an offer.

"If Clemson doesn't offer Ryan, it would make me look at Ole Miss a little more, it would," Nkemdiche said. "It's very important that I have my boys with me."

[rock on sooner]

I've seen this in the pros...David Thompson and Monte Towe comes to mind
but in college football. If Sweeney has any brass, he'll pull the offer to
Nkemdiche and say "Happy Trails!"

[marfacowboy]

The kid has a lot of nerve doing that, although it's certainly not unheard of for colleges to take kids as "package deals," especially if it involves brothers. If the coach wants to do it, it's one thing. A kid demanding it is something else. I'd wish the kid the best of luck at another school.

[MamaMia]

I understand that guys like to have their friends around. I'm sure almost everyone on any given team would like to be recruited on the basis of some high school pal buddy plan, but thats not how it works. If I were the coach and hadn't planned on offering his friend Ryan by his own merits alone, and in accordance with the needs of my team, I would tell him to look elsewhere.

[rock on sooner]

It will speak volumes about Sweeney if he gives in and BV
will be thinking "WTF?"

[yermom]

is this other kid just awful?

i can't imagine this is that uncommon, just more coverage nowadays

the problem is more that it's getting/gotten out. now if it doesn't happen he's in a tough spot to actually stay there if he wanted to

[8timechamps]

Probably not as dramatic as the article leads you to believe. This isn't too uncommon actually. We recruited Trevor Knight last year, and a big part of getting him to commit was assuring him that his brother would be a preferred walk-on. Of course that's not the same as a scholly player, but you get the idea.

There is no shortage of recruits that think they are everything. I think it's becoming tougher to avoid those types of players with all the media coverage nowadays.

[PalmettoSooner]

I've seen this in the pros...David Thompson and Monte Towe comes to mind
but in college football. If Sweeney has any brass, he'll pull the offer to
Nkemdiche and say "Happy Trails!"

He will never pull the offer in fear of losing the top recruit in the nation and that is something that Clemson has rarely ever had. I hope his buddies are worth it b/c if its not then he will have wasted 3 or more schollys.

[rock on sooner]

He will never pull the offer in fear of losing the top recruit in the nation and that is something that Clemson has rarely ever had. I hope his buddies are worth it b/c if its not then he will have wasted 3 or more schollys.

Ummm, let's see...integrity or #1 recruit....#1 recruit or integrity. Sweeney
runs the program or the #1 recruit does. Seems pretty clear to me.

The real issue is the kid taking this thing public.

[PalmettoSooner]

Ummm, let's see...integrity or #1 recruit....#1 recruit or integrity. Sweeney
runs the program or the #1 recruit does. Seems pretty clear to me.

The real issue is the kid taking this thing public.

This is what I am waiting to see.....Dabo has a policy for recruits is that unless they are 100% committed to Clemson, they he will not accept their commit or offer. He has pulled offers on kids that committed but took visits to other programs afterwards. Now, Nkemdiche's brother is at Ole Miss (which is recruiting him also) and he is suppose to visit "his brother" later this month. The question is if he takes a offical visit, will his offer be pulled?

[Eielson]

He's the #1 recruit, and it's not like Clemson is some powerhouse. It's in the best interest for both parties to do this. It's really not that big of a deal that he wants to play with his friend. Y'all thought it was admirable when WW3 brought TJ Franklin along.

[ouwasp]

this shoulda been done in private, if at all

[MsProudSooner]

He's the #1 recruit, and it's not like Clemson is some powerhouse. It's in the best interest for both parties to do this. It's really not that big of a deal that he wants to play with his friend. Y'all thought it was admirable when WW3 brought TJ Franklin along.

Franklin was an excellent student and a walk-on. Unless this guy's friend is a 4.0 student and will be a recruited walk-on, the situations aren't similar.

[SoonerorLater]

As far as I'm concerned Nkemdiche has put Sweeny in an untenable situation. If I'm in Sweeny's shoes you can't offer these guys scholarships now. You can never give even a hint of an impression that the players are running the game. Sweeny should let Nkemdiche go also. The worst thing a coach can do is let his players think he has lost control. Giving in to some high schooler's demands will never work. Better to just boot him right now. The kid sounds like nothing but a headache. Talented but a headache.

[olevetonahill]

WWBD?

[rock on sooner]

WWBD?

Eff off, bud! Good luck at Ole Miss or wherever...JMO!

[salth2o]

Hail to tha gnaw. Tell him to FO and good luck somewhere else. I would never give in to his extortion attempt.

[olevetonahill]

Eff off, bud! Good luck at Ole Miss or wherever...JMO!

Yup, Even tho the article said that they were eying this other Kid , Think Id tell em both to look else where.. That one Kid put em in a bad position

[badger]

He is doing his friend a disservice by saying this publicly. The friend should be able to get a scholarship on his own merit, not need the No. 1 recruit in the country to demand he be offered one. And if he gets a Clemson scholly now, he'll never have the respect of his teammates nor his coaches.

[cleller]

Sounds a little too chummy, chummy.

This Ryan Carter kid should tell his buddy he's decided to grow up and go his own way in life. Only way to save face now.

[BillyBall]

this shoulda been done in private, if at all

Exactly, no doubt that this sort of thing happens but to make it so public was a bad move.

[Sabanball]

Of course not.

Early on, Nkemdiche was thought to be an Alabama lock due to several reasons(camped with us the last three yrs, HS coach is a Bama alum, fan since childhood) but when he pulled this stunt with us Saban basically told him to pound sand. The same thing happened with Keenan Allen last yr, who ended up at Cal. Smart coaches like Nick and Bob are never going to agree to package deals that involve players that don't have the talent to play at the D-1 level, it doesn't matter how good the blue chip player in question is. A scholly is simply too precious of a commodity to hand out like that. It just shows desperation on the part of Clemson.

Dabo SWINNEY was part of our staff here at Bama back in 2000 that landed us on probation and almost got the program shut down. He is dirty and one day it will come out.

[Dan Thompson]

What is the name of the song, "Hey Hey Goodby"?

[rock on sooner]

I've been calling the Clemson coach Sweeney, it is Swinney.
Oops, thanks Sabanball.

[ashley]

In the eighties this was sometime done, especiall it the second guy could play a little. During the days of 55 scholarships it was not all that uncommon.

[MamaMia]

If Ryan were any kind of true friend or person of integrity he wouldn't want to get on a team by riding on anyones coat tails. Sounds like a couple of primadonnas to me.

[Jacie]

Early on, Nkemdiche was thought to be an Alabama lock due to several reasons(camped with us the last three yrs, HS coach is a Bama alum, fan since childhood) but when he pulled this stunt with us Saban basically told him to pound sand. The same thing happened with Keenan Allen last yr, who ended up at Cal.

Dabo SWINNEY was part of our staff here at Bama back in 2000 that landed us on probation and almost got the program shut down. He is dirty and one day it will come out.

The combination of these two things would seem to indicate trouble down the road for Clemson (any Clemson lurkers on this board?). I did not know Dabo's pedigree, his connection to Bama. Now if only BV can survive the fallout from the inevitable crash . . .

[PalmettoSooner]

The combination of these two things would seem to indicate trouble down the road for Clemson (any Clemson lurkers on this board?). I did not know Dabo's pedigree, his connection to Bama. Now if only BV can survive the fallout from the inevitable crash . . .

I'm born and raised in South Carolina and grew up hating Clemson. Clemson University is the town of Clemson and it is very small. I think there are things going on down there but due to the tightness of the town and university...I believe a lot of it gets swept under the rug. I will give Clemson folks credit...they love their team but it wasn't until just a few years ago that they started bringing in big time recruits. I'm not saying anything is going on but it puzzles me that they are getting big time recruits over elite programs in the South when Clemson hasn't been that great in football in the last 20+ years.

[rock on sooner]

I'm born and raised in South Carolina and grew up hating Clemson. Clemson University is the town of Clemson and it is very small. I think there are things going on down there but due to the tightness of the town and university...I believe a lot of it gets swept under the rug. I will give Clemson folks credit...they love their team but it wasn't until just a few years ago that they started bringing in big time recruits. I'm not saying anything is going on but it puzzles me that they are getting big time recruits over elite programs in the South when Clemson hasn't been that great in football in the last 20+ years.

Sometimes recruiting runs in strange cycles (e.g. OSU getting big time players once in a while)
but if Sabanball is right then the smell will turn into a big pile...especially if Swinney lets
the inmates run the asylum.

[Eielson]

Franklin was an excellent student and a walk-on. Unless this guy's friend is a 4.0 student and will be a recruited walk-on, the situations aren't similar.

Regardless of what you might say, it is similar. Is it the exact same? Of course not.

[badger]

I guess the article link I thought I posted didn't get posted?

Read the original, not the blogs and such that picked up the story since:

Linky (http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/07/06/robert-nkemdiche-clemson-can-seal-the-deal-if-they-offer-another-grayson-teammate/)

From the original, it just sounded like he was trying to put in a good word for a teammate, not hold Clemson hostage.

He was quotes in the Sunday NYT as saying:

“Of course I would want to play with him,” Nkemdiche said of Carter. “But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll still go to Clemson.”

Nkemdiche said he never demanded that Clemson’s coaches pursue Carter; he said Carter joining him at Clemson would simply make a good situation better.

“I didn’t give Coach Swinney an ultimatum about anything,” Nkemdiche said. “I hope he doesn’t feel obligated to offer anybody a scholarship because of my commitment.”

So, perhaps he just feels pressured to back off secret demands now that this is all public. Or perhaps, he was taken severely outta context by news sites and blogs that didn't even talk to him personally.

Quite frankly, I only care because of Brent Vulnerables. While I'm a Sooner fan first and foremost, I don't like seeing our ex-coaches and their programs get trashed upon (unless that program is whorn and the ex-Sooner in question in DKR)

[Seamus]

While I'm a Sooner fan first and foremost, I don't like seeing our ex-coaches and their programs get trashed upon (unless that program is whorn and the ex-Sooner in question in DKR)

Or Mack.

[ouflak]

I wasn't if this wasn't perhaps overblown a bit, just to stir up things.