Big 12 powers speak out on exodus to IMG
Recent departure of high schoolers out of state has coaches on edge
On Dec. 28, 2015, San Antonio Reagan quarterback Kellen Mond announced his transfer to IMG Academy.
The next day, St. Thomas receiver Jhamon Ausbon followed suit. The final domino fell two weeks later, when then Allen freshman lineman E.J. Ndoma-Ogar publicized his enrollment at the Florida football behemoth.
The flight of top football talent to IMG, owned and operated by the international sports management conglomerate, provoked the Texas High School Coaches Association to address the player poaching in its February magazine.
“I’ve not known of players leaving their high schools in Texas and going on to private areas to train and playing on travel teams,” THSCA president Glen West wrote. “I wasn’t aware our state had to do that. It certainly happened this offseason, and I felt like that needs to be made (known). You’re getting ready for the next year of your season and you’ve got players on your team that are returners and, all of a sudden, they’re leaving and going to train somewhere else.
“The idea of athletes being raised through your program in your community, being part of your community, until later in their career (they) think they need to go to a specialist. We don’t agree with that.
“We’ve sent a lot of people on to college and the NFL. We think we do a good job of sending them there. We’re with them from day to dark. I will stand strong on that I think our coaches do a great job.”
West’s stern message didn’t exactly insulate the state from IMG’s influence like he had hoped.
IMG has had a few recruits from Houston on the roster, most notably Ausbon and Grant Delpit (Lamar). Ausbon and Delpit are freshmen at Texas A&M and LSU, respectively, now. Cypress Ranch tight end Logan Compton announced his intention to transfer to IMG Academy in June.
Elsewhere in the state recently, highly regarded four-star wide receiver Joshua Moore from Yoakum transferred to IMG Academy to complete his senior year but opted to transfer back to Yoakum. Two former San Antonioarea standouts — former Clark long snapper Hayden Hood and Boerne Champion linebacker Chase Gatlin — transferred to the Bradenton based boarding school in January. Junior Noah Cain, the No. 2 running back in his class, enrolled at IMG after two seasons at Denton Guyer. Strong reaction
The rash of player movement prompted two of the state’s most visible college coaches to lash out at last week’s THSCA convention in Houston.
Baylor’s Matt Rhule suggested a straight ban on recruiting at any schools that take players out of the state. Texas’ Tom Herman didn’t call for a full embargo on IMG and other similar programs but said players should be dissuaded from taking that path.
“I think we have to do whatever we can to discourage those young men from thinking that’s a better option than playing with the people and for the people in their community,” Herman said. “Now, it’s also a free country, too. So, I don’t know any answer to solve it, other than to continue putting pressure on people that make the laws in (the) UIL and so on and so forth.
“We don’t want recruiting to become like basketball, where I’ve talked to college basketball officials and they’ve signed kids to full scholarships and never stepped foot in a high school.”
Of course, it’s in Herman’s best interest for top prospects to remain in his recruiting backyard, so his comments were at least partly self-serving. Those comments also endeared him to high school coaches scattered around arguably the most football-rich state in the nation.
Herman didn’t land any IMG products in two years at the University of Houston but has offered scholarships to Cain and 2018 cornerback Houston Griffith since arriving in Austin. Linebacker Ayodele Adeoye, a UT commitment, will attend IMG this fall after spending his first three seasons at Ritenour High School in St. Louis. Backtracking
Of the 12 IMG seniors ranked among 247Sports’ top 200, Adeoye is the only one pledged to a Big 12 school. The others are committed to schools in the SEC, ACC and Big Ten.
Despite sparking some controversy, Rhule has stood by the comments he made in Houston.
On Tuesday, Herman walked his back a bit.
“I do think there is great value in playing high school sports in your community and nothing like Friday Night Lights in our great state,” Herman said in a statement. “I wanted all of the outstanding coaches across Texas to know that. I also do realize there are other opportunities — whether it’s charter, private or boarding schools like IMG Academy — where a young man can grow and flourish, as well. I do think it’s important to talk through it with people you trust, but ultimately that decision is up to each young man and his family.
“As I said to the Texas high school coaches, playing football in our state is tremendously rewarding, but I also recognize the value for those who choose to pursue other opportunities.”
It’s a delicate dance for Herman, who surely wants to appease coaches around his state without alienating those players who attend one of the nation’s most powerful prepatory programs.
The state’s antagonistic relationship with IMG has not yet hurt Herman. UT’s 2018 recruiting class, whose bulk is composed of in-state players, is ranked fourth in the nation.
“That has to be our mission,” Herman said during his national signing day news conference in February, “to keep the best players in the state of Texas in the state of Texas.”