-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
- Thread starter scarletngrey11
- Start date
ysubuck
Be water my friend.
Why would I think otherwise? By all acounts he's been offered. I'm seeing HotMic say that there's a possible offer with all kinds of strings. I see a newspaper article that says that he's going to decide between Alabama and Ohio State.
That would lead me to believe that there's a possibility.
That would lead me to believe that there's a possibility.
Upvote
0
ysubuck;604656; said:
By all accounts? The only account that I would trust on this is Tressel's. Lazear can say anything right now - let's see where he sends his LOI next February.
Remember Travis Tolbert, Evans Desir, Kenyon Buford, Conredge Collins, Gartrell Shavers, Frank Morton, and Aaron Johnson? They all "committed" to Ohio State. Where are they now? Kids say the darnedest things....
Upvote
0
goodguy
I loathe goodguy
LordJeffBuck;604663; said:
Tolbert was classic. He had the recruiting services fooled. Fellow recruiting nerds please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Tolbert claim to be in touch with Coach Fickell........... Lazear has also mentioned Fickell. I'm not implicating Fickell, it's just funny/sad how he get's associtated with me messes.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
USAToday
Colleges, society flunking prep stars' inflated sense of self-worth<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--startclickprintinclude--> <!-- EdSysObj ID="SandboxLede" FRAGMENTID="13719075" sleahy --> <script type="text/javascript">swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader');</script><!--endclickprintexclude--> This is the story of a Maryland high school football player, a budding star, who has found himself in a lot of trouble. Pat Lazear is his name, and, this spring, he was arrested for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, charges that each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Police say Lazear provided a gun and dropped off one of his friends at a smoothie shop. The pal allegedly showed the gun and left the store with $463. Lazear and his friends then allegedly switched into a different car and divided the money.
This wasn't Lazear's first run-in with the law. In November 2004, according to The Washington Post, he used a stolen credit card to buy a $130 pair of sneakers and received 90 days of court supervision.
So how is Pat Lazear being treated in today's culture for his behavior, both alleged and official?
PREP RALLY BLOG: Should Pat Lazear be allowed to play this season?
He has been offered college scholarships by more than 20 Division I universities and will likely choose to go to either Ohio State or Alabama, The Post reported.
What's more, Lazear also hasn't lost his chance to play high school football. He was reassigned from one high school to another, where not only is he playing linebacker and running back in his senior year, his new teammates voted him team captain.
You read that correctly. Team captain.
Ah, the great game of football, giving young people the chance to learn all kinds of wonderful lessons about life, responsibility, blah, blah, blah. Wonder what fascinating tips his coach tries to impart to his players each week after allowing Lazear, charged with two felonies, to not only play on his team but lead it?
Innocent until proven guilty is the only one that comes to mind, but ? please ? that just doesn't fly in this case because it ignores the 2004 incident. And it assumes, incorrectly, that playing football is a right, when it is in fact a privilege that can, and should, be taken away for any number of reasons, even for someone who can run the 40 in 4.6 seconds.
For those who say the kid needs the structure of football now more than ever, that might wash if it appeared he was learning any lessons from this experience. Instead, as he told The Post about his criminal charges: "If this drags on ... it might mess up getting to school and getting started with football."
This season, Lazear must wear a black ankle monitor so authorities can track his whereabouts at all times. "He's at the 20, he's at the 15, he's at the 10 ..."
Lazear told The Post the monitor is light enough so he can hardly tell it's on when he plays. He also said it definitely doesn't hamper his ability to make his moves. Don't we all feel better knowing that?
Still, we're talking about a kid here. But what of the adults who want to enter his life? I put in calls to the athletics directors at both Ohio State and Alabama to ask about their continued courtship of Pat Lazear (Notre Dame and North Carolina State, among dozens of other schools, are no longer chasing this kid) but did not hear back from them. Had they gotten in touch, I would have asked a simple question, something along these lines: What in the world are you thinking?
Another thought crossed my mind about the top-ranked Buckeyes: Were they pursuing Lazear simply because they didn't get enough time studying police blotters when Maurice Clarett was around?
But the athletics directors could have returned the favor by asking what dream world I'm living in. Didn't I know Lazear is 6-2 and 225? Worst-case scenario, if he goes to prison, that can always be his redshirt year. And we all know that signing potential felons doesn't cost anyone points in the BCS.
The unfortunate reality is that the Ohio States and Alabamas of this world are just following a trend of permissiveness that permeates our society. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in big-time football, not only in college, but also high school. We have gone so overboard on high school football that there's no chance of a return to reality anytime soon.
Look at this newspaper, running its national high school rankings every week, or that Ohio high school football extravaganza this weekend, where teams are flying in from all over the country. How can exercises such as these give children anything other than an overinflated view of themselves and their sports?
Or, how about that reality cable TV show featuring Hoover High in Alabama? Having a national TV camera in kids' faces is the new normal in America. Pretty soon, though, we'll get bored with the story line of the quarterback and cheerleader. In today's world of high school football, reality is much edgier.
Colleges, society flunking prep stars' inflated sense of self-worth<!--startclickprintexclude--><!--startclickprintinclude--> <!-- EdSysObj ID="SandboxLede" FRAGMENTID="13719075" sleahy --> <script type="text/javascript">swapContent('firstHeader','applyHeader');</script><!--endclickprintexclude--> This is the story of a Maryland high school football player, a budding star, who has found himself in a lot of trouble. Pat Lazear is his name, and, this spring, he was arrested for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, charges that each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Police say Lazear provided a gun and dropped off one of his friends at a smoothie shop. The pal allegedly showed the gun and left the store with $463. Lazear and his friends then allegedly switched into a different car and divided the money.
This wasn't Lazear's first run-in with the law. In November 2004, according to The Washington Post, he used a stolen credit card to buy a $130 pair of sneakers and received 90 days of court supervision.
So how is Pat Lazear being treated in today's culture for his behavior, both alleged and official?
PREP RALLY BLOG: Should Pat Lazear be allowed to play this season?
He has been offered college scholarships by more than 20 Division I universities and will likely choose to go to either Ohio State or Alabama, The Post reported.
What's more, Lazear also hasn't lost his chance to play high school football. He was reassigned from one high school to another, where not only is he playing linebacker and running back in his senior year, his new teammates voted him team captain.
You read that correctly. Team captain.
Ah, the great game of football, giving young people the chance to learn all kinds of wonderful lessons about life, responsibility, blah, blah, blah. Wonder what fascinating tips his coach tries to impart to his players each week after allowing Lazear, charged with two felonies, to not only play on his team but lead it?
Innocent until proven guilty is the only one that comes to mind, but ? please ? that just doesn't fly in this case because it ignores the 2004 incident. And it assumes, incorrectly, that playing football is a right, when it is in fact a privilege that can, and should, be taken away for any number of reasons, even for someone who can run the 40 in 4.6 seconds.
For those who say the kid needs the structure of football now more than ever, that might wash if it appeared he was learning any lessons from this experience. Instead, as he told The Post about his criminal charges: "If this drags on ... it might mess up getting to school and getting started with football."
This season, Lazear must wear a black ankle monitor so authorities can track his whereabouts at all times. "He's at the 20, he's at the 15, he's at the 10 ..."
Lazear told The Post the monitor is light enough so he can hardly tell it's on when he plays. He also said it definitely doesn't hamper his ability to make his moves. Don't we all feel better knowing that?
Still, we're talking about a kid here. But what of the adults who want to enter his life? I put in calls to the athletics directors at both Ohio State and Alabama to ask about their continued courtship of Pat Lazear (Notre Dame and North Carolina State, among dozens of other schools, are no longer chasing this kid) but did not hear back from them. Had they gotten in touch, I would have asked a simple question, something along these lines: What in the world are you thinking?
Another thought crossed my mind about the top-ranked Buckeyes: Were they pursuing Lazear simply because they didn't get enough time studying police blotters when Maurice Clarett was around?
But the athletics directors could have returned the favor by asking what dream world I'm living in. Didn't I know Lazear is 6-2 and 225? Worst-case scenario, if he goes to prison, that can always be his redshirt year. And we all know that signing potential felons doesn't cost anyone points in the BCS.
The unfortunate reality is that the Ohio States and Alabamas of this world are just following a trend of permissiveness that permeates our society. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in big-time football, not only in college, but also high school. We have gone so overboard on high school football that there's no chance of a return to reality anytime soon.
Look at this newspaper, running its national high school rankings every week, or that Ohio high school football extravaganza this weekend, where teams are flying in from all over the country. How can exercises such as these give children anything other than an overinflated view of themselves and their sports?
Or, how about that reality cable TV show featuring Hoover High in Alabama? Having a national TV camera in kids' faces is the new normal in America. Pretty soon, though, we'll get bored with the story line of the quarterback and cheerleader. In today's world of high school football, reality is much edgier.
Upvote
0
I think from the reverse side of things this situation has gotten a little out of control...every newspaper in the northern hemisphere is now dropping in with their own op-ed piece on Lazear and the treatment of high profile prep athletes. I know I am getting tired of reading about it so I can only imagine how Lazear and his family feel right now. If any of you have ever had a brush with the law and gotten a second chance, you know how hard it is to escape the public's perception. Let's put it this way...just for argument's sake, let's say he was cleared of all charges. You think there would be as much written about that as there has been already? Of course not. If you think JT, Gene Smith and the rest of the people who matter at Ohio State aren't well aware of this situation, you are crazy. But obviously they have made the decision to extend and official offer to Pat, whether it be contingent or not. I think it's time to move past this whole mess and like LJB said, let's see where he sends an LOI in February.
Upvote
0
I wish. Then moronic Penn State fans couldn't send my dad emails asking "What is Ohio State THINKING!?"
Upvote
0
HINYG8
You never come back from Copperhead Road
Perhaps I am looking for the spin and trying to justify the OSU offer when I say this...but there must be some details to the crime or the rest of his behavioral record that he is able to continue playing high school ball.
Kids are often kicked off the high school team for MUCH lessor offenses..so maybe there is some info that justifies his HS eligibility and the lack of retracted DI offers?
I just can't see him being allowed to play HS FB after an armed robbery charge unless there was a good reason for the judge and all involved to let him put on a helmet. They know there will be a lot of questions/heat in the wake of this decision... so they must know something we don't.
Right? :(
Kids are often kicked off the high school team for MUCH lessor offenses..so maybe there is some info that justifies his HS eligibility and the lack of retracted DI offers?
I just can't see him being allowed to play HS FB after an armed robbery charge unless there was a good reason for the judge and all involved to let him put on a helmet. They know there will be a lot of questions/heat in the wake of this decision... so they must know something we don't.
Right? :(
Upvote
0
No one knows for sure how genuine our interest is in Lazear. No one knows all the facts regarding his off the field issues. From the outside it's easy to make judgements and assertions. At what point does Coach Tressel get the benefit of the doubt from Buckeye fans? I'm not suggesting people can't express their concern about Lazear's recruitment but I can't imagine what more Coach Tressel and the staff have to do to gain the confidence of the fan base that he/they will do right thing.
Upvote
0
goodguy
I loathe goodguy
wadc45;606419; said:Nutty agreeing with me...shocking...
I think all this discussion will be for nothing in the end, I doubt Lazear will become a Buckeye. It's a shame the coaches can't speak up.
That USA Today writer did zero research about how recruiting works. If she only knew that the coaches can't speak about recruits and that recruits aren't always telling the truth about offers. Someone should Email her.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
OSU SPORTS
All-American
Although NCAA rules forbid statements about the recruits status, there are other ways to get the message out. The Maryland athletic dept didn't have any problem. They merely discussed their emphasis on character and the message was sent. The kid himself has stated that some schools have dumped him, but not OSU and Bama. At this point I dont care if the kid is as pure as the driven snow, OSU doesn't need this type of pub. Perception, unfortunately, is everything in this area. There are plenty of great kids all over the country without any baggage, real or perceived. If this kid even shows up on an official visit in October, it's a huge blackeye. It's time for OSU to distance itself from this recruit. If you want to try and kid yourself and think this isn't a blackeye on the program, you are mistaken.
Upvote
0