Princeton vs Alabama

Fantastic, I'm proud of him and I've never even heard of him before!

Lots of good stuff in there....

Sounds like a thoughtful kid. Interesting that Tua was the player assigned to him. 

I agree. Nice article. Nice player with a good head on his shoulders. He had the benefit of his brother going before him, which helps. Sounds like his parents have their heads on straight as well. 

Thanks for sharing. Seems like a nice kid & definitely a great read. Sure the Princeton starting CF (who is also Wide Receiver) is happy.

I wonder how it came down to those two schools.  Good enough for Alabama, but Stanford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or Duke are not in the mix?  Surely Princeton is cream of the crop academically but there are a few schools such as the above that are also top tier but with much stronger football.  I wonder if he realized there are too many educational compromises to be made as an athlete even at a top tier P5 school.

Not sure, Smitty, but funnily enough, the outgoing Princeton QB Chad Kanoff (who is a fringe NFL prospect: http://draftanalyst.com/ranking?position=QB&year) turned down Vandy to go to Princeton.

2019Dad posted:

Not sure, Smitty, but funnily enough, the outgoing Princeton QB Chad Kanoff (who is a fringe NFL prospect: http://draftanalyst.com/ranking?position=QB&year) turned down Vandy to go to Princeton.

Yeah, saw that in the article.  I wish they probed a little into the reasons behind the decision (particularly since this was the whole point of the story).

Smitty28 posted:

I wonder how it came down to those two schools.  Good enough for Alabama, but Stanford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or Duke are not in the mix?  Surely Princeton is cream of the crop academically but there are a few schools such as the above that are also top tier but with much stronger football.  I wonder if he realized there are too many educational compromises to be made as an athlete even at a top tier P5 school.

It didn’t come down to these two schools. He chose Princeton over several PAC 12 schools and some other Power 5’s. His brother was the QB at ASU. Alabama was a late suitor. They came calling after he had already made the Princeton decision. I’m betting Alabama pursued him after other preferred QB recruits committed elsewhere. If I’m the kid I’m thinking I’m nothing but long shot QB insurance at Alabama.

What happened is the kid doesn’t have stars in his eyes. He experienced the BS in his recruiting process. He saw what his brother went through playing big time college football. He’s mature enough to look at life after football. If he doesn’t flunk out of Princeton (unlikely) he’s set for life with the network he’s entering. Anyone want to bet against he’s working on Wall Steet in five years.

Great story, and thanks for sharing.  His self-awareness is off the charts.  

RJM posted:

Smitty28 posted:

I wonder how it came down to those two schools.  Good enough for Alabama, but Stanford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or Duke are not in the mix?  Surely Princeton is cream of the crop academically but there are a few schools such as the above that are also top tier but with much stronger football.  I wonder if he realized there are too many educational compromises to be made as an athlete even at a top tier P5 school.

It didn’t come down to these two schools. He chose Princeton over several PAC 12 schools and some other Power 5’s. His brother is the QB at ASU. Alabama was a late suitor. They came calling after he had already made the Princeton decision. I’m betting Alabama pursued him after other preferred QB recruits committed elsewhere. If I’m the kid I’m thinking I’m nothing but long shot QB insurance at Alabama.

What happened is the kid doesn’t have stars in his eyes. He experienced the BS in his recruiting process. He saw wanat his brother went through playing big time college football. He’s mature enough to look at life after football. If he doesn’t flunk out of Princeton (unlikely) he’s set for life with the network he’s entering. Anyone want to bet against he’s working on Wall Steet in five years.

^^^This. 

RJM nailed it.

Had to question my friend: how much does your son expect to make as a professional LAX player?  As smart as he is shouldn't he be thinking about life after college?  Wouldn't Mich, ND, Navy, or Princ be stronger options than DU?  He decommitted and committed to Princeton shortly after.

(When this article came out, he texted it to me right away...Kid also went from a 27 to a 34 ACT which had to open up their eyes for possiblities)

Smitty28 posted:

I wonder how it came down to those two schools.  Good enough for Alabama, but Stanford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or Duke are not in the mix?  Surely Princeton is cream of the crop academically but there are a few schools such as the above that are also top tier but with much stronger football.  I wonder if he realized there are too many educational compromises to be made as an athlete even at a top tier P5 school.

Recruiting, especially QBs, Catchers, Point Guards...maybe SSs are a little different than other positions.  Sorta one-slot-per-school per recruiting cycle.  And then there's the mutual interest thing, the "fits our system" thing and a few others - those other schools probably were locked into someone else who fit all of the above.

justbaseball posted:

Smitty28 posted:

I wonder how it came down to those two schools.  Good enough for Alabama, but Stanford, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt or Duke are not in the mix?  Surely Princeton is cream of the crop academically but there are a few schools such as the above that are also top tier but with much stronger football.  I wonder if he realized there are too many educational compromises to be made as an athlete even at a top tier P5 school.

Recruiting, especially QBs, Catchers, Point Guards...maybe SSs are a little different than other positions.  Sorta one-slot-per-school per recruiting cycle.  And then there's the mutual interest thing, the "fits our system" thing and a few others - those other schools probably were locked into someone else who fit all of the above.

Yeah, good point.  The schools pick the kid too.

Brevin White did not choose Princeton over Alabama. He choose Princeton over Arizona State, Boise State, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Fresno State, Memphis State, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Washington State. All these programs made offers. 

At the last minute, desperate for an additional QB recruit Alabama tried to poach White from Princeton after he made a commitment and was accepted ED. Alabama was probably thinking what the hell is a football player thinking going to an Ivy? We’re Alabama. This will be easy. 

White gave Alabama the courtesy of a visit. If I’m a college recruit or the sensible parent I look at who has been recruiting me and ask what’s wrong with this picture? Why is the #1 program in the country contacting me at the last minute when none of the top programs have been interested in the past? And if Alabama is  trying to poach me as a committed recruit who says with this level of ethics they won’t throw me under the bus in the future? Fortunately for White he saw the situation for what it was. He was going to be roster filling QB insurance. Alabama is now trying to poach other committed QB prospects. 

RJM posted:

 Alabama is now trying to poach other committed QB prospects. 

RJM posted:

Brevin White did not choose Princeton over Alabama. He choose Princeton over Arizona State, Boise State, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Fresno State, Memphis State, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Washington State. All these programs made offers. 

At the last minute, desperate for an additional QB recruit Alabama tried to poach White from Princeton after he made a commitment and was accepted ED. Alabama was probably thinking what the hell is a football player thinking going to an Ivy? We’re Alabama. This will be easy. 

White gave Alabama the courtesy of a visit. If I’m a college recruit or the sensible parent I look at who has been recruiting me and ask what’s wrong with this picture? Why is the #1 program in the country contacting me at the last minute when none of the top programs have been interested in the past? And if Alabama is  trying to poach me as a committed recruit who says with this level of ethics they won’t throw me under the bus in the future? Fortunately for White he saw the situation for what it was. He was going to be roster filling QB insurance. Alabama is now trying to poach other committed QB prospects. 

I think you missed my point.  ASU, Boise State, Cincinnati, etc are not high academic schools so I'm not surprised he said no to them.  I was wondering why schools like Stanford, Duke, Vandy were never in the mix and Justbaseball reminded me that recruiting is a two-sided coin.  I get your point about Alabama and I agree.

Smitty28 posted:

RJM posted:

Brevin White did not choose Princeton over Alabama. He choose Princeton over Arizona State, Boise State, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Fresno State, Memphis State, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Washington State. All these programs made offers. 

At the last minute, desperate for an additional QB recruit Alabama tried to poach White from Princeton after he made a commitment and was accepted ED. Alabama was probably thinking what the hell is a football player thinking going to an Ivy? We’re Alabama. This will be easy. 

White gave Alabama the courtesy of a visit. If I’m a college recruit or the sensible parent I look at who has been recruiting me and ask what’s wrong with this picture? Why is the #1 program in the country contacting me at the last minute when none of the top programs have been interested in the past? And if Alabama is  trying to poach me as a committed recruit who says with this level of ethics they won’t throw me under the bus in the future? Fortunately for White he saw the situation for what it was. He was going to be roster filling QB insurance. Alabama is now trying to poach other committed QB prospects. 

I think you missed my point.  ASU, Boise State, Cincinnati, etc are not high academic schools so I'm not surprised he said no to them.  I was wondering why schools like Stanford, Duke, Vandy were never in the mix and Justbaseball reminded me that recruiting is a two-sided coin.  I get your point about Alabama and I agree.

Academics aside none of them are top shelf football programs. Washington could possibly be returning to prominence. He probably is not the kind of prospect a Stanford, or similar would recruit. 

Then out of nowhere, at the last moment Alabama appears. It’s probably more of a recruiting numbers game than he was likely to ever get on the field there.