And Another - 8th Grader from Southlake, Texas is offered.

[ABQCOWBOY]

UCLA offers 8th-grade quarterback:

Updated: June 12, 2013, 10:43 PM ET By Damon Sayles | ESPN RecruitingNation


In a recruiting world that has eighth-graders receiving offers to play college football, Lindell Stone joined the small fraternity Tuesday evening when UCLA offered the 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback a scholarship.

Not bad for a Class of 2017 QB who just completed his eighth-grade year at Dawson Middle School in Southlake, Texas.

Click here to read the entire article:
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/coll...ves-offer-8th-grade-quarterback-lindell-stone
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This needs to change. This can not be good for these young people. Something is wrong in our society when college football is more important then the well being of our young children.

 

[jterrell]

not sure it hurts the kids except maybe it goes to their heads and they get a little early fame they aren't prepared for.
call it manziel fever.

the colleges can't actually sign them so the offers are mostly window dressing.

many normal kids know in 8th grade they are going to xyz college because its the parents alma mater or something.
it actually helps to be planning for college all along.
both my daughters will be attending college and know it; and the oldest is in 8th grade.
we are visiting stanford, columbia and yale in the next year or so.
(I have a remote office in CT so Yale is easy).

Stone is actually a 9th grader and will be a starting QB as a freshman for a powerhouse in 2 weeks. Either Highland Park where Matt Stafford played or SLC where Chase Daniel and Greg McElroy played. Lots of teams will offer him next Summer is my guess. If UCLA wants him and it may well be something Troy Aikman advised, they are smart to get in early. --Troy lives in Highland Park.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

not sure it hurts the kids except maybe it goes to their heads and they get a little early fame they aren't prepared for.
call it manziel fever.

the colleges can't actually sign them so the offers are mostly window dressing.

many normal kids know in 8th grade they are going to xyz college because its the parents alma mater or something.
it actually helps to be planning for college all along.
both my daughters will be attending college and know it; and the oldest is in 8th grade.
we are visiting stanford, columbia and yale in the next year or so.
(I have a remote office in CT so Yale is easy).

Stone is actually a 9th grader and will be a starting QB as a freshman for a powerhouse in 2 weeks. Either Highland Park where Matt Stafford played or SLC where Chase Daniel and Greg McElroy played. Lots of teams will offer him next Summer is my guess. If UCLA wants him and it may well be something Troy Aikman advised, they are smart to get in early. --Troy lives in Highland Park.

That's exactly it. Normal development is arrested and the history of such treatment/behavior is well documented, both in sports and in TV/Motion Picture industry. I can not see how it could be a good thing for them. They will still be there when they are Juniors and Seniors in HS. No need to start trying to recruit them at such an early age IMO. I see no benefit to the youngster what so ever.

I believe he is already committed to go to Southlake Carroll but I could be wrong there. In any case, I see no advantage to allowing Colleges to recruit kids at such an early age. None at all.

 

[jterrell]

Hollywood and Music destroy these kids because they put them to work in an adult environment and remove them from school.
They change their social setting, their education and place adult expectation upon them while exposing them to adult themes.

Colleges recruiting kids is little different than a little nerd kid(like my youngest) being focused heavily on college at an early age.

The kid can attend any high school in Texas provided the parents move to the area. And they can afford to.
He's never walked a high school hall but will in 2 weeks.

That's the other thing.
The parents can afford any college he wants.
The colleges want in on him because he is a freak once a decade talent.

He'll be attending major camps for large schools every Summer.
By this time next year he'll probably have a handful of offers or he'll be telling teams no thanks, I 'm a Bruin.

This is no woe is the kid story. He has ridiculous advantages and everything in place to be in the NFL one day.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Hollywood and Music destroy these kids because they put them to work in an adult environment and remove them from school.
They change their social setting, their education and place adult expectation upon them while exposing them to adult themes.

Colleges recruiting kids is little different than a little nerd kid(like my youngest) being focused heavily on college at an early age.

The kid can attend any high school in Texas provided the parents move to the area. And they can afford to.
He's never walked a high school hall but will in 2 weeks.

That's the other thing.
The parents can afford any college he wants.
The colleges want in on him because he is a freak once a decade talent.

He'll be attending major camps for large schools every Summer.
By this time next year he'll probably have a handful of offers or he'll be telling teams no thanks, I 'm a Bruin.

This is no woe is the kid story. He has ridiculous advantages and everything in place to be in the NFL one day.

But how does that help the kid or the parents in trying to raise him? All of those things will still be there later. What is the benefit to the kid of having colleges trying to recruit him at such an early age?

 

[jterrell]

Just focus really.
He can go visit UCLA now and plan for his major.
He can understand what classes he needs to take and what grades he needs to make.
His parents can buy his some UCLA swag.
Pretty nice boost to his dating life is my guess.

Sure. He can do all those things later without UCLA if need be but having a school chasing you never hurts.

I had over 100 recruiting letters as a sophomore. They weren't offers and I had Rubella my junior season so interest was nil that next Summer but it was still a very cool experience that put things into perspective for me.

Mostly what I got out of it was pride and attention. I had the letters covering my wall where previously SI swimsuit models had been.
The girls liked the letters much better.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Just focus really.
He can go visit UCLA now and plan for his major.
He can understand what classes he needs to take and what grades he needs to make.
His parents can buy his some UCLA swag.
Pretty nice boost to his dating life is my guess.

Sure. He can do all those things later without UCLA if need be but having a school chasing you never hurts.

I had over 100 recruiting letters as a sophomore. They weren't offers and I had Rubella my junior season so interest was nil that next Summer but it was still a very cool experience that put things into perspective for me.

Mostly what I got out of it was pride and attention. I had the letters covering my wall where previously SI swimsuit models had been.
The girls liked the letters much better.

I guess we just see it differently JT. I see no benefit, at all, to the student. College is something that parents should already be talking to their children about from a very young age. Planning for that event starts much earlier then 8th or 9th grade I would think. The recruiting process is only something at distracts and gets in the way of raising a child. No way that an 8th grader or a Freshman in HS, by and large, is mature enough to deal with all that goes on with that process.

I would very much like to see the NCAA put a stop to this.

 

[jterrell]

that's a fair take.
i see it differently ... especially in this case where it is really a 9th grader but I understand the sentiment.
there should be some form of regulation to be sure, i am with you there.