Several Ohio State commits were prominently featured on ESPN just one week ago as part of its annual high school football kickoff event, when programs like Las Vegas, Nevada, Bishop Gorman and Brandenton, Florida, IMG Academy traveled out of state to take on some of the nation's best.
It's was not only a great opportunity for high school athletes to gain exposure — especially those who aren't household names — but was also a chance for the communities to be a part of something unique.
Honestly, how many times have ESPN's cameras been to your high school?
Now that college football is in full swing, though, The Worldwide Leader has scaled down its prep coverage to just one or two games every Friday through November. And while Ohio State fans anxiously await matchups between programs like Bishop Gorman and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, St. Thomas Aquinas or IMG Academy and Jacksonville, Florida, Trinity Christian, one game on ESPN's schedule sticks out like a sore thumb.
Every game listed will take place on a high school campus … except for last Friday's matchup between Paramus, New Jersey, Catholic and Baltimore, Maryland, St. Frances Academy. In fact, both teams traveled more than eight hours by bus to play at Michigan Stadium.
"Taking a bus a pretty good distance and playing in such an enormous venue is certainly something that's out of the norm for any high school team," Paramus Catholic coach Dan Sabella told the Detroit Free Press.
You don't say?
Ohio Stadium has welcomed out-of-state high schools in the past for events such as the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic, but unlike Friday's game up north, the teams were always matched up with an in-state programs like Centerville or Cleveland Glenville.
Proponents of the game at The Big House will note that Paramus footed the bill, which totaled $10,345, while critics will point out the fact that Michigan is heavily recruiting two senior Paladins: linebacker Drew Singleton and defensive lineman Corey Bolds. Add in the fact that Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh gave a commencement speech and held a satellite camp at Paramus this summer, it's hard to not to think of Friday's game being anything other than a clever recruiting tactic.
Paramus president James Vail doesn't see it that way, though.
“There's all these very interesting conspiracy theories,” Vail said. “Up until a few years ago, I knew nothing about the University of Michigan. I had nothing good to say about them, I had nothing bad to say about them.
“I know passion. I know hard work. That's what I see here,” he continued. “I'm very happy about that for our students who have chosen to go here. It's people. Not the institution. I'm loyal to the people that are here, and I'm loyal to people that are at other places. It just so happens that I know more of them here than some other places.”
Two of Michigan's best players — Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary — hail from the Garden State powerhouse, so Harbaugh would be wise to do everything he can to keep the pipeline flowing. But let's stop pretending this was anything other than a recruiting trip disguised as a football game with complex logistics.
“I've been here six times now,” Paramus Catholic assistant coach Steve Kanoc said. “It's a great place to be. Our kids fit in so well from the way we run our system into how they run things here. There's a natural comfort level because things are so similar. The parents feel it, too, when they get to experience it. For our guys who have the opportunity to be here, it's truly a natural fit and has been.”
While Ohio State would probably like to avoid following in Michigan's footsteps, it's hard to deny what kind of recruiting advantage this gives the Wolverines. The same issues were raised with satellite camps, and yet the Buckeyes still hosted a handful this summer.
Maybe you think Ohio State is too good to host a glorified recruiting trip or maybe the staff doesn't see any value in it at the moment because they're already doing so well on the recruiting trail. But I ask, what would be the downside in two pipeline schools like Bishop Gorman and St. Thomas Aquinas playing their Sept. 30 game in Columbus instead of Las Vegas?
