Top recruits turn to Facebook, Twitter
Video
High school football video: Kevin McReynolds talks Twitter
Kevin McReynolds, an offensive and defensive lineman on the St. John's High School football team, discusses how he started using Twitter and the attention that he has received from his account.
By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
As St. John's defensive end Kevin McReynolds, one of the Washington area's most heavily recruited high school football players, toured West Coast colleges last weekend, he tried to give his fans an unusual inside look at the recruiting process.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pound rising senior shared some behind-the-scenes pictures on Twitter, including photos of himself with head coaches (photos that he posted during his meetings with the coaches). He wondered whether one of the coaches he met with - Southern Cal's Lane Kiffin - was "an okay dude?" on Facebook. He wrote of being impressed that UCLA has maids cleaning dorm rooms.
It was an unusually candid snapshot into the recruiting of a top football prospect and elicited responses from McReynolds's more than 3,200 Facebook friends.
While some players eschew talking about their thoughts in the recruiting process, McReynolds is the opposite. He's using social networking to create an online persona.
"The rest of my career is always going to be public knowledge every step, whether it's in the NFL or in college," said McReynolds, who also plans to post video of his trip to Oregon. "I felt I might as well get used to it early so it doesn't affect what I do on the field."
