On the Banks: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
Around SBN: College Football Preseason Top 25 Rankings

The BC-UConn spat over negative recruiting

UConn beatwriter Desmond Conner reported yesterday that Husky recruit Michael Nebrich had received a negative recruiting email from a member of the Boston College staff. That caused howls of righteous indignation from UConn fans, and demands that Conner produce evidence from BC fans, which he subsequently did.

Mike:

We are hosting a one-day skill clinic on July 8.  Would love to see you there.  I know you're committed to UConn but You will have a new coaching staff there by next January.  You have a plan for that?

A BC assistant is claiming that UConn's coaching staff will soon be leaving for another program. Randy Edsall is certainly in demand, but he's stood the course in Storrs up to this point. Considering that Rutgers has absolutely lost recruits because other programs told recruits that Greg Schiano was going to Penn State, I can totally empathize. Unfortunately, negative recruiting is pretty much a fact of life, so you just have to learn to tune it out. While a little slimy, that email doesn't really compare with some of the more underhanded stuff that comes out of the SEC on a daily basis.

This story definitely raises another issue as well. Once Conner posted his first story, he and Nebrich were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They were being accused of making the tale up, so Conner then went and posted the email (without revealing the name of the coach in question). Of course, those same critics will now probably slam the pair for sharing private correspondence now. Either way, you can't win.

Well, maybe we can get some entertainment value out of the whole affair, and hopefully bog down both sides in an unproductive stalemate. Here, let me throw gasoline on the fire with some complete speculation. Conner isn't releasing the name of the BC assistant in question, but I posit that it's Mike Siravo for the following three reasons.

1. Siravo is BC's recruiting coordinator.

2. From quickly glancing at past recruiting classes, he appears to be the assistant on staff charged with recruiting Virginia.

3. While it's been scrubbed from his current Rivals profile, a Google cache shows that as of several months back Siravo was listed on the site as the BC assistant charged with recruiting Nebrich.

edit: wree, posted this in a hurry this morning and fixed some atrocious grammar.

0 recs  |  Comment 5 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Much ado about nothing

Connor likes to hear himself talk, and loves the attention this gets. I wouldn’t call this a spat in so much as it’s a shameless ploy to get some web hits. But what type of journalism/blogger publishes a controversial email but withholds the source?

Like you said, negative recruiting happens all the time. If you’re an SEC program and you’re not negative recruiting, you’re probably doing something wrong.

BC Interruption, SBN's Boston College Eagles blog

by Brian @ BCI on Jul 22, 2010 9:54 AM EDT reply actions  

July 8th date

I’m more curious what camp took place on July 8th. There was never a football camp planned, never a one-day try-out that took place. It simply did not exist.

HOWEVER, there WAS a BASEBALL camp that day, and this kid is apparently a real star on the diamond. It’s possible that a BC baseball coach was trying to get him to switch schools and sports—as that’s the only sport that had a camp on the 8th.

You wonder why the kid and / or Des won’t release the name of the contact? Probably because he’s no longer at BC and left with the baseball coaching change a couple weeks ago.

by BCMike22 on Jul 22, 2010 11:36 AM EDT reply actions  

interesting theory on baseball

although it’s hard to believe Conner would be making such a big deal about it if that were true.

by On the Banks on Jul 22, 2010 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions  

Amusing defense over the accusations. I’m sure it happened. BC did it. And they’ll continue to do it. Whatever. Its not like BC is on the list of most liked universities by the Big East anyway.

by killaarmy on Jul 22, 2010 4:15 PM EDT reply actions  

probably did

but this stuff is par for the course.

by On the Banks on Jul 22, 2010 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions  

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Your source for essays and overanalysis concerning the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Start posting about the Scarlet Knights »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Rutgers_20scarlet_20knights_small
The Preview from a FAN

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Utah wide receiver Jereme Brooks (85) celebrates a touchdown with teammates during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson)

No. 15 Pittsburgh Rallies In Fourth Quarter, But Loses To Utah In Overtime, 27-24

HONOLULU - SEPTEMBER 2:  Ronald Johnson #83 of the University of Southern California Trojans runs in for a touchdown against Corey Nielsen #8 of the University of Hawaii Warriors during first half action at Aloha Stadium September 2 2010 in Honolulu Hawaii. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) link

Lane Kiffin Is Victorious In Debut, No. 14 USC Wins In A Shootout At Hawaii, 49-36

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, left, celebrates a first-quarter touchdown with South Carolina tackle Kyle Nunn, center, and South Carolina guard Rokevious Watkins, right, during the first half of their NCAA college football game against Southern Mississippi, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010, at Williams-Brice Stadium, in Columbia, S.C.  (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick) link

South Carolina Rolls Over Southern Miss, Wins 41-13

More from SBNation.com >


Managers

Small On the Banks