[panther nation]

D-1 Prospects are not made by newspapers... they are made by camps, competition, and connections.

That my point exactly a lot of the kids around parents can't afford to send their kids to these camps. Where they would get there name out there. When you live in the poorer areas of the state you have to make cuts to get by. Camps is one thing that not in a lot of thems budgets. Then you talk about connections. Come on man, you know there is very few people is these areas that has any kind of connections, and what little they have they use to try to get a better paying job or get someone in their family one.

So no I don't agree with you saying that anyone has the same chances as kids from these bigger towns. They don't have half the chance those kids do.

[EKUAlum05]

That my point exactly a lot of the kids around parents can't afford to send their kids to these camps. Where they would get there name out there. When you live in the poorer areas of the state you have to make cuts to get by. Camps is one thing that not in a lot of thems budgets. Then you talk about connections. Come on man, you know there is very few people is these areas that has any kind of connections, and what little they have they use to try to get a better paying job or get someone in their family one.

[U][B]So no I don't agree with you saying that anyone has the same chances as kids from these bigger towns. They don't have half the chance those kids do[/B][/U].

Where did I say that or even come close to saying that?

I said that newspapers don't make prospects... then I proceeded to give geography as one of my disadvantages saying that distance to camps and to be scouted is one of the main problems. This in addition to the fact there aren't as many athletes that are D-1 caliber in the first place.


You said there is just as much talent in EKY as Louisville and Lexington and that is completely absurd. And I am a diehard EKY supporter.

You then blamed it on the media or lack thereof... IMHO media has very little to do with it... I then gave my reasoning for the disadvantages that lead to a lack of collegiate talent from EKY.

You think these kids from the Westside of Louisville have parents who can afford to fly them all over the country or drive 6 hours all summer to different camps? They do not... but they live in a place that geographically gives them an advantage to attend more camps, be seen by more scouts frequently due to talent immediately surrounding them and accessibility. More importantly...there is simply an astronomically higher % of kids who are just more natural athletes by the standards of college recruiters (once again DOES NOT MEAN BETTER PLAYERS).

Instead of complaining abut the media being unfair and insinuating articles have some hidden context or bias.. the finger should be pointed locally to make sure local programs schedule tougher and more talented opponents, coaches actively try to host combines to prepare prospects and get exposure, and players who do earn scholarships must perform to a high level instead of washing out or never cracking the 2 Deep.

[Cat Daddy]

D-1 Prospects are not made by newspapers... they are made by camps, competition, and connections.

I am as fervent of a EKY Mountain Sport supporter as anyone, but the argument that there are as many D1 talents in EKY as Louisville, Lexington, and NKY is absurd.

I am going to speak very bluntly here, and in no way shape or form do I want what I say to be taken out of context or mis-represented as anything other than a frank comment that is statistically correct.

The crux of why EKY does not produce as many D-1 prospects begins and is most closely tied with the inherent lack of African Americans in the population base. The vast majority of D-1 players are African American and the concentration of the population simply isn't remotely close to the geographical areas of the State (Louisville, Lexington, WKY) that produces the most D- prospects. To illustrate this further, consider the most prominent D-1 Athletes to come out of EKY in recent years and the names Arliss Beach, David Jones, Dante Wright, and Durrell White would be toward the top of that list. That's not to say that is a pre-requisite... as guys like Tim Couch, Irv Dotson, Jeremy Caudill, Nate McPeek, etc all had great careers... but from a shear % stand point it is not even close.

Secondly, EKY has been hampered for year with kids who don't pan out at the next level. I don't mean to single these individuals out but guys like Gerad Parker, Michael West, Joey Stepp, Jonathan Chapman, Jared Hostetter, Channing Fugate, Dallas Greer, Brent Slusher, etc who go on to play D-1 ball and never really make a significant impact. Some are due to injury and that can't be held against them, but it seems there is much higher than normal rate of guys who simply don't cut it academically or mentally. This does have an impact.

Third, geography is a negative. It simply limits the ability to get noticed because camps and combines are so far away, and even more important it is not feasible from a logistical standpoint for scouting. For example, on any given Fall weekend there are no less than 15-20 D1 prospects within a 20 minute radius of where I live in Georgia. A collegiate scout can visit all of those guys in one day.. whereas in EKY where you may only have 3-4 potential prospects he would be lucky to visit 2 in the span of a day.

Finally, there is a snowball effect that is associated with recruiting. Even your best EKY programs like Belfry and Bell County that have produced several D-1 prospects over time are lucky to have a legitimate prospect once every 5 years. Compare that to a Louisville Central, Trinity, or Highlands who produce probably a player each season. It is advantageous for the collegiate scouts to develop relationships at those schools since they will be there frequently recruiting a player.. this in turn leads to under the radar guys being found..and guys gaining offers who may not actually merit one in hopes of keeping that relationship strong for a Blue Chip Prospect who will follow behind him. A prime example of this is Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, GA. This school has not won a State Title in recent memory..yet they produce 7-10 D-1 prospects per season. Of those 10 players only 4 may end up being a major contributor at the D-1 level.. but coaches..including the UK staff.. have offered and taken guys who may not even be as good of other prospects for the simple goal of maintaining a relationship with the staff and having pull when that stud DE prospect becomes a Senior.

I would have to disagree with you about Channing Fugate not panning out. Channing may not be a star at Tennessee but he is a contributer. Channing has started every year on special teams for the Vols, and he has received a lot of playing time at FB, and LB, during his career. If I remember correctly, he started three or four games at FB, as a true freshman. He has been named "speicial teams player of the week" numerous times during his career. He has also been through three head coaches in his four year career. Regardless if you think he has been a bust or not, everyone in Breathitt County is proud of Channing's accomplishments.

[EKUAlum05]

Channing was the #3 prospect in KY and a 5.6 3* player by Rivals after having some of the greatest rushing stats in KY HS FB History. Playing Special Teams is great.. and unlike several athletes Channing is to be commended for sticking it out and getting his education paid while seeing sights we could only imagine.. but let's call a spade a spade.. how many colleges would waste their time coming to EKY for a guy who will play Special Teams the entire time? The majority of D-1 Special teams units are comprised of Freshmen and/or walk-ons . With the exception of kickers and punters and the very rare occasion of a long snapper..most D-1 schools would never offer a guy a scholarship on the sole premise being he will be a 4 year Special Teamer. I never called him a bust, but at the same time it is fair to say he is an example that a Great HS Player does not mean a Great Collegiate Player.

**FWIW, in all fairness to Channing that 2010 Recruiting Class has been absolutely dreadful. Of the Top 10 players in Rivals Rankings for the State of KY Channing has probably panned out the best of them all besides maybe Miles Simpson.. Austin Collinsowrth is the backup Safety for Notre Dame..so he may get the edge as well.. but some guys didn't even see a meaningful snap**

[64SUR]

I just think there should be a better way to scout these young men.I would just love to see these small college to take interest in eastern Kentucky kids,if we could just get our local college watching high school games an showing interest in these kids things might just get going we need help. :worthy::worthy::worthy: and ekualum05 great posts you can get this ball rolling.

[EKUAlum05]

64sur..

What I have always wanted to see was a stronger effort by the EKY Programs to give the kids more exposure. For too long EKY teams have basically cannibalized themselves..only playing games within the region. You can't blame them.. lots of pride, rivalry, and it cut down cost on expenses.. but when your area is already isolated, all it does is make you even more isolated.

Would love to see more teams reach out of the area to play non-district games and historically storied programs. For your bell cow programs like Bell, Belfry, Johnson Central, and Harlan County... go out of your way to bring in high quality out of state competition. Bring in a team from Pittsburgh, a team from Georgia, a team from South Carolina. Charge 12.00 a ticket and try to promote it to a Fox Sports to get it on National Television (like what Highlands is doing). These are the teams with fanbases large enough to pony up a little extra to see something unique. These are also the programs with the boosters and sponsors who would find a way to pay for the expenses to cover the travel of the other school.

The other thing I want to see is something Panther Thunder has been exceptional at. There needs to be more education throughout the Mountain Schools at how the college recruitment process works and how to properly promote players. How to do the camp circuit, how to train for the drills at combine settings, how to properly put together a highlight film, when to start this process... all things that is lacking.

As I previously said, it is very apparent that the shear athletic talent is not nearly as concentrated as other areas..but I do feel that every year there are 8-10 guys who settle for NAIA ball that could have potentially had enough talent to play for a low level D-1 school or at the very least FCS level. The success ratio of EKY kids who went to MAC schools is substantially better than those that went to Major D1 schools... with 5-6 MAC and C-USA schools within 6 hours of EKY.. and another 5-6 FCS schools.. this is potentially the quickest way to get these kids to a major college.

[64SUR]

I want everybody to no that Dalton Sizemore is not my son. His dad is my cousins.when I live in Leslie county back in the day of Tim couch they will come.I agree 100 percent you need to play schools in Lexington an Louisville an I hope in the future mountain teams will play in the big cities schools Harlan,belfry,perry,Knox,clay,laurel,bell,hazard, Williamsburg,Corbin,Leslie Johnson central,letcher,Middlesboro and all eastern Kentucky.so coaches schedule tough team its not just about wins an losses you just maybe help a kid get a scholarship :notbad:

[inspiron]

Great points and arguments in this thread! For years eastern ky football has been non exposed in many ways to the rest of the state. I believe the talent level is just as good as any across the state over the history of the game (that being determined by east ky teams coming up short on playoff or state championship game runs). Many great athletes have made there way across the football fields in the eastern part and would love to see more success across the board. If kids aren't exposed to the real world of "what talent is out there" then they have no way of knowing how to better prepare themselves for their future in every aspect.

[Brandon40403]

channing fugate has nowhere near contributed to ut as he did while at breathitt he has had a solid and respectable career i would not say that he is a bust but more of a role player