Florida president: Grayshirting is "morally reprehensible"

Donate To GopherHole


I know the president of a school in the $EC isn't trying to play moral high ground regarding recruiting LOL.

But yeah, that's not even how it works, or at least, not how it's worked from what I've seen. Maybe that's how they do in the south haha.
 

I think it depends on a kids goals and objectives. If playing football is a means to an end and the kid wants to become a doctor or get a PHD in a scientific discipline then yes I have a problem with grey shirting. It delays school in a process that is already so drawn out and timelines become critical.

Hockey is no different though, forcing those kids into junior hockey programs delays the start of their education by a year or two. For most it isn't an issue but for some it may be.
 

WOW, what a terrible article. Why doesn't we write a letter to himself and the rest of the SEC and stop signing 30+ kids. That is 'morally reprehensible', you jackass.

According to Rivals, since 2007, the SEC has signed 30+ kids 11 times. The Big Ten, in the same time frame, this happened once. Us in 2008.
 


Monty519 said:
Maybe that's how they do in the south haha.
Click to expand...

I think your on to something with that phrase. Grayshirting from how I see it fine. The students seem to know well ahead of time whether they enrolling in the fall. I'm not so sure that is the case everywhere.

Given appropriate timing and disclosure grayshirting is fine; given a yanked promise after one arrives on campus is reprehensible.

However, I guess I have no real idea if that practice is common in the South or not. I simply saw the Houston Nutt and Les Miles piece on oversigning and assume there are games being played with timing.
 

So I take that it would be okay if we were to start oversigning and then telling fully qualified commits that there isn't room for them in this class, that they have to sit out the season and take a grayshirt?
 

pharmacygopher said:
WOW, what an terrible article. Why doesn't we write a letter to himself and the rest of the SEC and stop signing 30+ kids. That is 'morally reprehensible', you jackass.

According to Rivals, since 2007, the SEC has signed 30+ kids 11 times. The Big Ten, in the same time frame, this happened once. Us in 2008.
Click to expand...

OK, so he has oversigning and greyshirting confused. They are, of course related. Greyshirting is one consequence of oversigning. The embarrassment is that a university president should use his words carefully and accurately, he didn't. His office should also be embarrassed. I'm sure that a couple of people are supposed to proof and fact check every presidential statement.
 

Plinnius said:
So I take that it would be okay if we were to start oversigning and then telling fully qualified commits that there isn't room for them in this class, that they have to sit out the season and take a grayshirt?
Click to expand...

That's not what happens at the U or from what I've seen at any Big Ten school. The recruits know in advance they will be a grayshirt and have agreed to it. The abhorrent practice isn't legitimate grayshirting, it's over signing and then informing the player they don't have a spot on the team, or force an upperclassman from the team to make room for the new player. Its hard enough for young men to decide what school is best for them, and many pass up opportunities at other schools. To be told after signing day they no longer have a scholarship can really set the recruit back because the other schools he was considering may no longer have an opening for him. It's the over signing that should be stopped, not the legitimate grayshirting.
 



Grayshirting IS morally reprehensible, but over-signing is just fine and dandy.

Because in grayshirting, the player knows ahead of time that he is enrolling late. With over-signing, the players find out after it's too late that their scholarship was pulled.

In the $EC, honesty is morally reprehensible and cheating is the path to eternal glory.
 

In the Big Ten Greyshirting is not seen as a problem because Big Ten teams are not allowed to oversign. So Grayshirting becomes a tool that the recruited athlete agrees to going in. Where it becomes a problem is with conferences like the SEC that oversign as a matter of practice. Then they drop a Grayshirt designation on a recruit at the last minute without him having any idea it might happen so that they can make room for the players they designate as having a better chance to contribute to the program. So when he speaks of Grayshirting as being "morally reprehensible", in the context it is used in the SEC, he is correct.
 

I just think its poorly titled. Seemed like more of a shot at people who use grayshirts to make up for oversigning. Not applicable to any big ten school.
 

Courtney James said:
In the Big Ten Greyshirting is not seen as a problem because Big Ten teams are not allowed to oversign. So Grayshirting becomes a tool that the recruited athlete agrees to going in. Where it becomes a problem is with conferences like the SEC that oversign as a matter of practice. Then they drop a Grayshirt designation on a recruit at the last minute without him having any idea it might happen so that they can make room for the players they designate as having a better chance to contribute to the program. So when he speaks of Grayshirting as being "morally reprehensible", in the context it is used in the SEC, he is correct.
Click to expand...

I presume he is talking about this happening after a player signs an LOI which restricts them for a year.
 




(1) If a kid is set on being a doctor, he's probably smart enough to know whether or not gray-shirting is a good idea for him.

(2) There's this thing called summer school so there's little problem at a large university to make up the credits one might miss in the fall by gray-shirting. Further, large universities tend to offer their "101" courses every semester.

(3) A vast number of football players are red-shirting as it is, so kids are in school for five (or at least five seasons with a December graduation) years. What's another semester?

It's always funny when folks for the SEC can't see past the misdeeds of their neighbors and realize that most everyone else in the country doesn't fall into the same category.
 

50PoundHead said:
(1) If a kid is set on being a doctor, he's probably smart enough to know whether or not gray-shirting is a good idea for him.

(2) There's this thing called summer school so there's little problem at a large university to make up the credits one might miss in the fall by gray-shirting. Further, large universities tend to offer their "101" courses every semester.

(3) A vast number of football players are red-shirting as it is, so kids are in school for five (or at least five seasons with a December graduation) years. What's another semester?

It's always funny when folks for the SEC can't see past the misdeeds of their neighbors and realize that most everyone else in the country doesn't fall into the same category.
Click to expand...

Yes there is nothing wrong with Grayshirting when used properly and in the Big Ten it is a non issue. I think the mistake of the article is that it does make clear that the real issue is oversigning. Grayshirting is simply something that can be used unethically when put in the context of oversigning.
 

Who knew some people actually believe the SEC cares about academics.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom