Growth of social media shapes recruiting landscape in high school sports

The growth of social media continues to shape the college recruiting landscape. As more high school athletes turn to Facebook and Twitter to update their status — whether about official campus visits or what movie they’re going to — more college coaches are keeping a close watch. And with national signing day Wednesday, at least one top football recruit found comments posted on his Twitter feed cost him scholarship offers.

“It gives you a chance to see a little bit more about that young man that you’re recruiting,” Maryland Coach Randy Edsall said. “In terms of what is on his Facebook? If they twitter, what are they twittering? It’s good because you can find out a lot about an individual by following them on social media and taking a look at their Facebook page.”

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Last month, highly rated recruit Yuri Wright from Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) had a scholarship offer yanked by Michigan after tweets on his personal account, many of which included derogatory language of a sexual or racial nature.

Not every school was scared away, however. Wright subsequently committed to Colorado.

Colleges reacting to athletes’ use of social media is not unprecedented. Northwestern’s women’s soccer team was suspended for pictures of hazing posted on the Internet in 2006. Former Robinson All-Met football player Lucas Caparelli was suspended from Wake Forest in 2008 for posting a violent message on his Facebook account.

But keeping watch over prospective recruits’ accounts is a new way for coaches to gain insights into potential players away from the field.

“There’s people that we felt by doing that, by watching and monitoring those kids, that they might not fit into the concept of what we’re doing here,” Edsall said. “Sometimes you’ll see something and let that person know, ‘Hey what you put on there you should think twice about that and how that’s making you look as a person or athlete before you do that.’ But there have been instances as you start to get into the recruiting process where you see certain things and they steer you away.”

At least a few area high school football coaches are taking a more proactive approach to the way they handle players’ use of Facebook and Twitter.

Some, like Stone Bridge Coach Mickey Thompson, the 2009 All-Met Coach of the Year, said they now must become more educated about Twitter in order to better educate players on its dangers.

Last week, Quince Orchard held its first team meeting of 2012. In a packed classroom downstairs in the school, 2011 All-Met Coach of the Year Dave Mencarini closed the meeting by warning his players about their use of social media.

“I want to caution you,” Mencarini said, “About using Facebook and Twitter. . . . I want to caution you about what you say, how you say it and who you say it to.”

High school athletes have taken different approaches to their use of social media. Some accept any friend or follow requests, including those from fans of schools vying for their commitment. Others keep feeds private or have been careful not to tweet or post anything that may impact their recruiting process.