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Is reverse racism at play when it comes to recruiting?
Monday, October 22, 2007
New Jersey high school football talent evaluator Dennis McCarthy has dealt with all kinds of recruiters from across the United States over the years.He is waiting for just one them to stand up and be heard when it comes to stereotyping.
The North Arlington (Bergen County) resident would love to see a stop to players being branded because of skin color or lack of size.
The McCarthy Report is a recruiting source for all of the nation's colleges.
McCarthy scouts New Jersey's players and ranks them by what position he finds most suitable for them to play in college. He ranked about 170 players worthy of playing D-1 college ball for the 2007 edition, which was then gobbled up by the nation's college recruiters.
Sometimes, a college will come in and sign a player and automatically move him because that player doesn't "fit" what they had in mind.
There was a time when a university would almost never consider a talented high school quarterback who happened to be black to play the position in college.
McCarthy rejoiced when colleges began nixing that sort of thinking.
Now he believes it is time for colleges to become more open-minded in other ways, such as size and yes, skin color once again.
He has dozens of stories to show that colleges are blinded by those prejudices, beginning with two of his all-time favorite high school players out of New Jersey: Sam Mills and Anthony DiCosmo.
Mills was shunned by the major colleges, and later two professional teams, because of his lack of size to play linebacker. DiCosmo, McCarthy believes, was denied plenty of opportunities because of skin color.
First, the Mills story.
"The prejudice has been going on," McCarthy said. "'You need to be this tall or this heavy to play a certain position.' My hero was Sam Mills. He's out of Long Branch High School, 1977. 'He's too short,' everyone said. Yet he made every tackle in high school. 'But he's 5-9.' "So he goes to Montclair State. They put him at linebacker. He's the best player the school's ever had. He made every tackle.
"He got a tryout with the Cleveland Browns and they cut him. He is up with the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) in preseason a short time later, he makes every tackle. He has a monster preseason, makes the team.
"They're getting dressed for the first game, the coach cuts him. Again, 'Sam, you're 5-9.' "The next year, the USFL starts, and he tries out for the Philadelphia Stars and he makes All-Pro for Jim Mora, the future Saints coach. The league folds, Jim Mora gets the job in New Orleans. Now Sam Mills goes on to be all-pro in the NFL. At the end of his career, he goes to the Carolina Panthers. He's all-pro. He later becomes a coach."
Mills died a short time later of stomach cancer. These days, he is positively idolized at Montclair State, New Orleans and Charlotte. How much is he worshiped in Charlotte? Outside of the Panthers stadium is a full-sized statute of Sam Mills in uniform. Second story: Anthony DiCosmo.
DiCosmo was a 6-3, 190-pound blur out of Paramus Catholic in the early 1990s. McCarthy filmed DiCosmo in a state playoff game at Marist High in Hudson County, a game where DiCosmo caught an incredible 270 yards worth of passes. He was also a state hurdles champion, which gives you an idea of what kind of speed he had.
But recruiters who only knew DiCosmo's name wouldn't touch him. Why?
"I'm on the phone with a Big-10 school," McCarthy recalled. "I told him DiCosmo is the No. 1 receiver in New Jersey. The recruiter questioned his speed. I got some silence on the phone.
"I talk to the same scout a month later. He says, 'We like DiCosmo, he can play.' They find out he was adopted and that was not his original name.
"Turns out, he was of mixed race. Once they found he was part black, then it was okay to recruit him."
DiCosmo went on to have a solid career at Boston College.
"I'll never forget that conversation," McCarthy said. "That tells you the prejudices that are out there. In the NFL 45 years ago, you could not be a black quarterback. It was not permitted, period. If you were black, you were put at safety, receiver, or running back. Today, who's to say Paul Robeson couldn't have played quarterback?"
The stereotypes come in all shapes and sizes, and they may have been had an impact in the Daily Record area lately.
Hopatcong's Joe Martinek set the New Jersey career rushing record last fall.
Say what you will about Martinek being the greatest runner in state history or not, but didn't he at least deserve a look at running back at Rutgers?
Doesn't being New Jersey's all-time rushing leader command any respect? But the moment he signed, he was projected by the Scarlet Knights as a defensive back, maybe an outside linebacker.
"It is quite obvious to anyone who pays attention that the deck is stacked against white skill position kids and on the line also," McCarthy said.
Former West Morris standout Greg Tomczyk was a dominant defensive lineman in high school and now plays at Louisville -- as an offensive lineman. Tomczyk told me when he signed with Louisville which one he preferred between offense and defense and he said, "defense."
But he is a solid citizen and wanted to contribute as quickly as possible, so when he was put on offense, he did what he was told. And that is where Louisville made a mistake, according to McCarthy.
"To me, he is a defensive lineman first and foremost," McCarthy said. "But he is white, he goes to Louisville, and they put him at offensive guard. I want him on the D-Line. That happens almost invariably. About 45 years ago, we didn't accept a black QB and we got out of that, thank God. But now it is time to change some of the other prejudices, like putting a white guy on the D-Line.
"With skill positions, other than QB, how many white cornerbacks are there in 1-A football? There can't be any because of the stereotypes that exists on both sides. We are programmed that way. They'll think, 'Don't look at the white kid for cornerback, maybe safety.' They'll say a white kid isn't athletic enough. If there is a kernel of truth in what McNabb said, and there is, it is the same other way.
"College coaches would never admit it. Their first criteria is skin color, second is size, third is academics. Overwhelmingly, they want to know if a kid is white or black. Scouts won't look at some of the Bergen Catholic kids because of that. The same goes for Morris County or Sussex County. Racism is wrong, no matter how you call it, white or black. I try to hold back and judge a kid on his ability. What I do is not judging, it's looking.
"But sometimes they won't even look!"
The latest example McCarthy can think of is St. Joseph-Montvale quarterback Pat Kivlehan, an exceptional player who happens to be white. He is not getting looked at by many D-1 recruiters.
"I'm on the phone the other day with a major college," McCarthy said. "Pat Kivlehan is a great player, certainly a D-1 player. He runs well, although not blinding speed. I am on the phone and I mention Kivlehan to a Top 20 team. I get silence on the other end of the phone. Silence is worth a thousand words. This kid can play."
McCarthy is noticing more and more players in counties such as Morris turning to lacrosse in order to get scholarship money. McCarthy said that Reade Seligmann could have played fullback at Rutgers but chose lacrosse at Duke.
"It's the system that is in place," McCarthy said. "A college recruiter does the scouting. They know they can't bring into the head coach white kids at certain positions. A head coach will say you're crazy. The minute that white cornerback gives up a touchdown, that recruiter will be out of a job. Just like years ago with the black quarterback. That was wrong and we have finally changed it.
"Last year, Ray Van Peenen (Wayne Hills, walk-on at Rutgers) and Garrett Mozolic (Woodbridge, redshirt at 1AA Tennessee Tech) were about the two best backs in the state. They were 5-11, great on offense and defense, clearly terrific backs. But they are not allowed. I'm tired of the lack of sensitivity. It works both ways.
"It's something that should be discussed. How else do we fight racism?
Martin Luther King did his thing and put it on the table. We need to talk about this and put it on the table."
Link
Monday, October 22, 2007
New Jersey high school football talent evaluator Dennis McCarthy has dealt with all kinds of recruiters from across the United States over the years.He is waiting for just one them to stand up and be heard when it comes to stereotyping.
The North Arlington (Bergen County) resident would love to see a stop to players being branded because of skin color or lack of size.
The McCarthy Report is a recruiting source for all of the nation's colleges.
McCarthy scouts New Jersey's players and ranks them by what position he finds most suitable for them to play in college. He ranked about 170 players worthy of playing D-1 college ball for the 2007 edition, which was then gobbled up by the nation's college recruiters.
Sometimes, a college will come in and sign a player and automatically move him because that player doesn't "fit" what they had in mind.
There was a time when a university would almost never consider a talented high school quarterback who happened to be black to play the position in college.
McCarthy rejoiced when colleges began nixing that sort of thinking.
Now he believes it is time for colleges to become more open-minded in other ways, such as size and yes, skin color once again.
He has dozens of stories to show that colleges are blinded by those prejudices, beginning with two of his all-time favorite high school players out of New Jersey: Sam Mills and Anthony DiCosmo.
Mills was shunned by the major colleges, and later two professional teams, because of his lack of size to play linebacker. DiCosmo, McCarthy believes, was denied plenty of opportunities because of skin color.
First, the Mills story.
"The prejudice has been going on," McCarthy said. "'You need to be this tall or this heavy to play a certain position.' My hero was Sam Mills. He's out of Long Branch High School, 1977. 'He's too short,' everyone said. Yet he made every tackle in high school. 'But he's 5-9.' "So he goes to Montclair State. They put him at linebacker. He's the best player the school's ever had. He made every tackle.
"He got a tryout with the Cleveland Browns and they cut him. He is up with the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) in preseason a short time later, he makes every tackle. He has a monster preseason, makes the team.
"They're getting dressed for the first game, the coach cuts him. Again, 'Sam, you're 5-9.' "The next year, the USFL starts, and he tries out for the Philadelphia Stars and he makes All-Pro for Jim Mora, the future Saints coach. The league folds, Jim Mora gets the job in New Orleans. Now Sam Mills goes on to be all-pro in the NFL. At the end of his career, he goes to the Carolina Panthers. He's all-pro. He later becomes a coach."
Mills died a short time later of stomach cancer. These days, he is positively idolized at Montclair State, New Orleans and Charlotte. How much is he worshiped in Charlotte? Outside of the Panthers stadium is a full-sized statute of Sam Mills in uniform. Second story: Anthony DiCosmo.
DiCosmo was a 6-3, 190-pound blur out of Paramus Catholic in the early 1990s. McCarthy filmed DiCosmo in a state playoff game at Marist High in Hudson County, a game where DiCosmo caught an incredible 270 yards worth of passes. He was also a state hurdles champion, which gives you an idea of what kind of speed he had.
But recruiters who only knew DiCosmo's name wouldn't touch him. Why?
"I'm on the phone with a Big-10 school," McCarthy recalled. "I told him DiCosmo is the No. 1 receiver in New Jersey. The recruiter questioned his speed. I got some silence on the phone.
"I talk to the same scout a month later. He says, 'We like DiCosmo, he can play.' They find out he was adopted and that was not his original name.
"Turns out, he was of mixed race. Once they found he was part black, then it was okay to recruit him."
DiCosmo went on to have a solid career at Boston College.
"I'll never forget that conversation," McCarthy said. "That tells you the prejudices that are out there. In the NFL 45 years ago, you could not be a black quarterback. It was not permitted, period. If you were black, you were put at safety, receiver, or running back. Today, who's to say Paul Robeson couldn't have played quarterback?"
The stereotypes come in all shapes and sizes, and they may have been had an impact in the Daily Record area lately.
Hopatcong's Joe Martinek set the New Jersey career rushing record last fall.
Say what you will about Martinek being the greatest runner in state history or not, but didn't he at least deserve a look at running back at Rutgers?
Doesn't being New Jersey's all-time rushing leader command any respect? But the moment he signed, he was projected by the Scarlet Knights as a defensive back, maybe an outside linebacker.
"It is quite obvious to anyone who pays attention that the deck is stacked against white skill position kids and on the line also," McCarthy said.
Former West Morris standout Greg Tomczyk was a dominant defensive lineman in high school and now plays at Louisville -- as an offensive lineman. Tomczyk told me when he signed with Louisville which one he preferred between offense and defense and he said, "defense."
But he is a solid citizen and wanted to contribute as quickly as possible, so when he was put on offense, he did what he was told. And that is where Louisville made a mistake, according to McCarthy.
"To me, he is a defensive lineman first and foremost," McCarthy said. "But he is white, he goes to Louisville, and they put him at offensive guard. I want him on the D-Line. That happens almost invariably. About 45 years ago, we didn't accept a black QB and we got out of that, thank God. But now it is time to change some of the other prejudices, like putting a white guy on the D-Line.
"With skill positions, other than QB, how many white cornerbacks are there in 1-A football? There can't be any because of the stereotypes that exists on both sides. We are programmed that way. They'll think, 'Don't look at the white kid for cornerback, maybe safety.' They'll say a white kid isn't athletic enough. If there is a kernel of truth in what McNabb said, and there is, it is the same other way.
"College coaches would never admit it. Their first criteria is skin color, second is size, third is academics. Overwhelmingly, they want to know if a kid is white or black. Scouts won't look at some of the Bergen Catholic kids because of that. The same goes for Morris County or Sussex County. Racism is wrong, no matter how you call it, white or black. I try to hold back and judge a kid on his ability. What I do is not judging, it's looking.
"But sometimes they won't even look!"
The latest example McCarthy can think of is St. Joseph-Montvale quarterback Pat Kivlehan, an exceptional player who happens to be white. He is not getting looked at by many D-1 recruiters.
"I'm on the phone the other day with a major college," McCarthy said. "Pat Kivlehan is a great player, certainly a D-1 player. He runs well, although not blinding speed. I am on the phone and I mention Kivlehan to a Top 20 team. I get silence on the other end of the phone. Silence is worth a thousand words. This kid can play."
McCarthy is noticing more and more players in counties such as Morris turning to lacrosse in order to get scholarship money. McCarthy said that Reade Seligmann could have played fullback at Rutgers but chose lacrosse at Duke.
"It's the system that is in place," McCarthy said. "A college recruiter does the scouting. They know they can't bring into the head coach white kids at certain positions. A head coach will say you're crazy. The minute that white cornerback gives up a touchdown, that recruiter will be out of a job. Just like years ago with the black quarterback. That was wrong and we have finally changed it.
"Last year, Ray Van Peenen (Wayne Hills, walk-on at Rutgers) and Garrett Mozolic (Woodbridge, redshirt at 1AA Tennessee Tech) were about the two best backs in the state. They were 5-11, great on offense and defense, clearly terrific backs. But they are not allowed. I'm tired of the lack of sensitivity. It works both ways.
"It's something that should be discussed. How else do we fight racism?
Martin Luther King did his thing and put it on the table. We need to talk about this and put it on the table."
Link
