It's Not The Players I Don't Trust
posted by Scott Hood, Thursday, December 24, 2009
It’s the agents I don’t trust. And neither should you.
The deadline for juniors to apply for inclusion in the 2010 NFL Draft is Jan. 18th, so we will hear plenty about it over the next three to four weeks.
Unfortunately, all four of the aforementioned players will probably be contacted by dozens of agents, if they haven’t already, telling them how great they are and that they’re a sure-fire first or second round pick.
But I’m sure Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook heard the same things last year, as well.
Only 64 players can be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft but I’m sure hundreds will be told that’s when they’ll be taken.
Therein lies the problem. Some agents will simply tell players what they want to hear, rather than the truth.
Regrettably, Joe Wilson isn’t there to yell, “You lie!” whenever a dishonest agent opens his mouth and begins talking.
While they claim their mission is to help players, typically their only purpose is to exploit them for quick financial gain. Sort of pro sports’ version of the hit-and-run.
Since most college football players that enter the draft are usually 21 or older, they are not children. But most of them are still naïve to the ways of the world.
They trust what they are told is the truth, and so they believe. But often it’s not the truth, as Cook discovered, too late of course, to his detriment.
Still, I wonder if the agent(s) who convinced Cook to leave school early to pursue his NFL ‘dreams’ return his phone once he went undrafted and had to fight his way onto a roster through the free-agent route?
In a sense, the decision by Eric Norwood to return for his senior year – after initially saying he wanted to turn pro hours after the Outback Bowl – could be a defining moment in the history of Gamecocks football.
USC players now see that staying an additional year can actually benefit their careers, whereas the general feeling before this season was leaving a year early was the best option.
If there’s one player I worry will succumb to the wooing of the agents, it’s Culliver, who possesses the straight ahead speed to someday make a good living at the next level.
I’m sure he’ll be cajoled with the assurance that if he participates in the NFL Combine and runs a 4.3 or something like that in the 40, he’ll earn a couple of million dollars more just the way Jonathan Joseph did five years ago.
Lightning, though, never strikes twice in the same place, or so they say.
In the end, I expect all of the eligible juniors will return even though, as Ellis Johnson said this week, some agents are running around spreading doom and gloom concerning the demise of the NFL Draft and that the players should make the jump this year rather than wait to see what the end result of the negotiations for a new college bargaining agreement bring.
What they don’t tell the players, of course, is that the NFL Draft is not the friend of the players. It restricts their options rather than giving them the freedom to go wherever they want.
When you boil it down, there are two types of people the players can listen to – the right people or the wrong people.
The bottom line is this: who will the players listen to? Their parents, coaches and teammates or, to paraphrase Johnson, “the pimp down the street.”
Without question, Cook and Munnerlyn listened to – and trusted – the wrong people last year.
Luckily, the players on this year’s team can review the situation with hindsight, which is always 20-20 as we know.
Hey, maybe one or two legitimately think they will be picked early enough to warrant making the jump. If so, good luck to them.
But for most of them, returning for their senior seasons will only boost their efforts to play on Sundays.
Let’s hope they heed the warning and refuse to listen to the wrong people.
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When Chris Culliver, Clifton Geathers, Ladi Ajiboye and Weslye Saunders say they plan to return to South Carolina in 2010, I believe them.
It’s the agents I don’t trust. And neither should you.
The deadline for juniors to apply for inclusion in the 2010 NFL Draft is Jan. 18th, so we will hear plenty about it over the next three to four weeks.
Unfortunately, all four of the aforementioned players will probably be contacted by dozens of agents, if they haven’t already, telling them how great they are and that they’re a sure-fire first or second round pick.
But I’m sure Captain Munnerlyn and Emanuel Cook heard the same things last year, as well.
Only 64 players can be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft but I’m sure hundreds will be told that’s when they’ll be taken.
Therein lies the problem. Some agents will simply tell players what they want to hear, rather than the truth.
Regrettably, Joe Wilson isn’t there to yell, “You lie!” whenever a dishonest agent opens his mouth and begins talking.
While they claim their mission is to help players, typically their only purpose is to exploit them for quick financial gain. Sort of pro sports’ version of the hit-and-run.
Since most college football players that enter the draft are usually 21 or older, they are not children. But most of them are still naïve to the ways of the world.
They trust what they are told is the truth, and so they believe. But often it’s not the truth, as Cook discovered, too late of course, to his detriment.
Still, I wonder if the agent(s) who convinced Cook to leave school early to pursue his NFL ‘dreams’ return his phone once he went undrafted and had to fight his way onto a roster through the free-agent route?
In a sense, the decision by Eric Norwood to return for his senior year – after initially saying he wanted to turn pro hours after the Outback Bowl – could be a defining moment in the history of Gamecocks football.
USC players now see that staying an additional year can actually benefit their careers, whereas the general feeling before this season was leaving a year early was the best option.
If there’s one player I worry will succumb to the wooing of the agents, it’s Culliver, who possesses the straight ahead speed to someday make a good living at the next level.
I’m sure he’ll be cajoled with the assurance that if he participates in the NFL Combine and runs a 4.3 or something like that in the 40, he’ll earn a couple of million dollars more just the way Jonathan Joseph did five years ago.
Lightning, though, never strikes twice in the same place, or so they say.
In the end, I expect all of the eligible juniors will return even though, as Ellis Johnson said this week, some agents are running around spreading doom and gloom concerning the demise of the NFL Draft and that the players should make the jump this year rather than wait to see what the end result of the negotiations for a new college bargaining agreement bring.
What they don’t tell the players, of course, is that the NFL Draft is not the friend of the players. It restricts their options rather than giving them the freedom to go wherever they want.
When you boil it down, there are two types of people the players can listen to – the right people or the wrong people.
The bottom line is this: who will the players listen to? Their parents, coaches and teammates or, to paraphrase Johnson, “the pimp down the street.”
Without question, Cook and Munnerlyn listened to – and trusted – the wrong people last year.
Luckily, the players on this year’s team can review the situation with hindsight, which is always 20-20 as we know.
Hey, maybe one or two legitimately think they will be picked early enough to warrant making the jump. If so, good luck to them.
But for most of them, returning for their senior seasons will only boost their efforts to play on Sundays.
Let’s hope they heed the warning and refuse to listen to the wrong people.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.