An overwhelming majority of Georgia high school football coaches surveyed during the offseason believe illegal recruiting is a significant problem in their sport, and 24% say it’s rampant and out of control.
More than 80% said the GHSA should do more to combat the situation, with 47.3% saying stiffer penalties are needed before the practice ruins high school sports.
One-hundred eighty-eight coaches responded to the six-question survey, conducted by Georgia High School Football Daily and the AJC. Coaches were promised confidentially unless they gave permission to reveal their answers or comments.
The most surprising finding might’ve been the coaches’ choice as the No. 1 instigator of illegal recruiting. Most pointed the finger at private coaches and trainers (53.7%) followed by coaches and school officials (20.0%), players and parents (17.7%) and booster clubs and fans (8.6%).
The coaches’ sentiments come days before the 2021 season and following an explosive offseason in which the state’s most storied football program, Valdosta, was hit with $7,500 in fines, forfeiture of seven 2020 victories and a ban on the 2021 postseason for breaking GHSA bylaws on recruiting and undue influence. Five Valdosta players were declared ineligible.
Accusations of recruiting are common, but the GHSA rarely gets the goods to punish programs. A handful of football teams have forfeited games because of recruiting in recent years. Valdosta is the first banned from the playoffs strictly on recruiting charges, although Atlanta’s Midtown High, then known as Grady, was banned in 2014 over falsified documents related to transfers.
The GHSA defines recruiting/undue influence as “the use of influence by any person connected directly or indirectly with a GHSA school to induce a student ... to transfer from one school to another, or to enter the ninth grade at a member school for athletic or literary competition purposes.”
GHSA executive director Robin Hines, who spent Wednesday in a Valdosta courtroom defending the GHSA’s right to strip a Valdosta player’s eligibility, declined in a recent interview to speculate on the prevalence of recruiting, but he conceded the GHSA’s limitations.
“People have to understand we don’t have an investigative arm,” Hines said. “There are 13 people who work for the GHSA. One is a compliance officer. So what has to happen is that schools have to monitor themselves.”
When presented with credible allegations, the GHSA typically calls on the accused school or school system to conduct its own internal investigation and bases decisions off those findings.
The Valdosta case was unique in that it was based primarily on a secret audiotape recorded and made public by Valdosta’s former booster club executive director. On it, football coach Rush Propst is heard talking about recruiting athletes and needing a “funny money” account to pay for their housing and utilities. Valdosta ultimately fired Propst, who denies the allegations against him.
“What happened last year (at Valdosta) was shameful and embarrassing and devalues our sport and championships,” said one veteran head coach who has won several region titles.
Almost 93% of coaches head football coaches agree that recruiting is common, if not out of control, according to the survey.
“Recruiting at the high school football level is great if you just want two or three schools to be good in each class,’’ said Casey Soliday, coach of two-time Class A Public champion Irwin County. “If even and fair competition is the goal, and if you do not want to penalize smaller poorer schools, then the rules on recruiting should be enforced. Recruiting is cheating at the high school level, period.”
Coaches working to build up struggling programs were especially adamant about finding ways to curb it.
“It is hard enough to try to win with the kids that I am supposed to get,’’ said Morris Starr, coach of Lakeside in DeKalb County. “It is impossible if they are being recruited away and never enter my building.”
“What makes recruiting so frustrating,” Berrien’s Tim Alligood said, “is you spend blood, sweat and tears developing a kid, and then someone else gets to benefit from the fruits of that effort.”
Other coaches said that the prevalence of recruiting is exaggerated, that top players changing schools often draw unjustified suspicion.
“Recruiting in high school athletics is like Big Foot – often talked about but rarely seen,” said a coach whose teams have won multiple state titles. “A lot of people make accusations and innuendos about recruiting but offer no proof of any wrongdoing. The bottom line is people have the right to live where they want. If they decide they want to move to a different school zone, then that is their right.”
Another coach defended the GHSA. “The GHSA is doing its due diligence to stop/limit recruiting,” he said. “The GHSA is not a group of private investigators or lawyers, so they can only research/enforce recruiting when it arises on case-by-case scenarios.”
Coaches generally agreed that financial assistance, which sensationalized the Valdosta story, was a rare or minor problem. Only 38.7% called it common or rampant.
Coaches believed that illegal recruiting was more common in schools that are private (76.2% said so), larger in enrollment (63.2%), from small city school systems (64.3%) and from metro Atlanta (50.8%).
Private schools were excoriated by some coaches in the survey.
“The private schools are pillaging DeKalb County, specifically Dunwoody, Chamblee and northern DeKalb,” one public school coach said.
A Middle Georgia coach told of losing his best eighth-grade player the past three seasons to local private schools. “There isn’t anything I can do about it because it’s been going on for decades,” the coach said. “It’s just part of the culture here and just about every area of the state. The GHSA doesn’t have the manpower to police it. So I focus on who wants to be here.”
Private-school coaches cringe at the characterization that they are more guilty than others. Mount Pisgah Christian’s Ryan Livesey, in his 12th season as a private-school head coach, pushed back.
“The perception seems to be that private schools are recruiting kids from the public schools,” Livesey said. “The reality is that large public schools are consistently recruiting the best players from private schools, especially the small privates.”
Another target of coaches’ frustration was private coaches and trainers, whose ranks have significantly increased the past 10 years. Many players, especially those chasing college scholarships, now get strength and agility training or position-specific coaching year-round outside their high school teams.
“Private coaches are becoming the worst culprits,” one coach said. “More often than not, you can chase the connections of kids transferring to a trainer and their relationship with coaches at schools that get the transfer.”
The survey didn’t ask for specific solutions, but Glynn Academy coach Rocky Hidalgo had a creative one that entailed hiring retired GBI investigators.
“If School A accuses School B of recruiting, the investigator conducts the inquiry,” Hidalgo said. “If no evidence is found, then School A pays the expenses of the investigation. If School B is found to have participated in illegal activity, then School B is responsible for the cost. Schools caught recruiting players should forfeit the entirety of their playoff money from the previous season.”
The GHSA has hired private investigators at times, but even they can’t always find a smoking gun.
“It’s rare to find text messages or secret recordings,” Hines said. “But looking over the past few years, when credible information has come to us, we deal with it 100% of the time. We don’t need to have actors even entertaining these thoughts of bringing kids outside into their schools. If we find out, we’re going to deal with it.”
Survey results:
Should recruiting be illegal in high school football?
Yes – 95.2%
No – 4.8%
How prevalent is recruiting in high school football?
Rare. Not a problem. – 0.5%
Occasional. Minor problem. – 6.4%
Common. Significant problem. – 69.0%
Rampant. Out of control. – 24.0%
How prevalent is recruiting that entails financial assistance to a player or family?
Rare. Not a problem. – 12.4%
Occasional. Minor problem. – 48.9%
Common. Significant problem. – 35.5%
Rampant. Out of control. – 3.2%
How would you rank the most common instigators of recruiting? (1=most common; 2=next most common, 4=least common.)
Private coaches/trainers – 52.8% ranked No. 1
Coaching staff and other school administrators – 21.4% ranked No. 1
Parents and players – 17.0% ranked No. 1
Booster clubs/fans – 8.8% ranked No. 1
Do you believe recruiting is more prevalent at any of these school types? (Check all that apply)
Bigger schools – 63.2%
Smaller schools – 10.3%
Public schools – 26.5%
Private schools – 76.2%
City schools from one-school districts – 64.3%
Metro Atlanta schools – 50.8%
South Georgia schools – 19.5%
Schools in more densely populated areas – 33.5%
Affluent schools – 37.3%
Should the GHSA do more to address recruiting?
No, the GHSA is doing enough; recruiting is not a big problem – 2.1%
No. Recruiting is a problem, but it’s too impractical/expensive to enforce much further. – 17.9%
Yes, put more resources into investigating/enforcing. – 32.6%
Yes, make this a major priority with stiffer penalties before it ruins high school sports. – 47.3%
Selected coaches comments (given confidentially):
“Not the same profession it was when I got in. Sad.”
“Some coaches have no problems openly recruiting a kid.”
‘’Recruiting occurs mostly through parents, personal coaches and the players themselves. In today’s society where professional teams are creating super teams, parents and players believe, why not us. Very seldom do coaches instigate a move.”
“I think schools with a highly ranked player use that player to talk other kids into transferring. I do not believe at all that this is done without the knowledge of coaches. I believe they promote it.”
“The reason that it continues is because these people breaking the rules are preying on the increasing number of absolutely delusional kids and parents. These delusions are only magnified by social media. Everyone is chasing an ‘offer’ rather than a great experience.”
“Recruiting in Georgia high school football is out of control. It’s happening statewide. Trainers and outside influencers are where it starts. Then they bring other coaches in on it.”
“Transfers are common, but I’m not sure that recruiting is. Kids move to where they believe benefits them the most. Just because you see a transfer doesn’t mean the kid was recruited.”
“A lot of people assume kids that move/transfer are recruited. Bottom line, kids, and their parents, want to be coached and given opportunities to continue a college career. They will find the schools that they think give them that opportunity.”
“Public schools are not on the same playing field as private and city schools. They can recruit players with no ramifications.”
“I coach at a private school. We do not recruit. We provide a good product, athletics and education. If a family chooses to attend, they are invested in the program in terms of paying tuition, no free ride.”
“I do not agree with recruiting, but I feel in the minority. The only real answer is to turn us all loose to recruit. Give us rules and parameters and then turn us loose. I do believe it will ruin high school sports, and I am opposed to it, but the current situation is ruining high school sports already, and those of us not willing to sell our souls to win are paying the biggest price. We cannot compete with the schools that bring guys in. So, let us all bring guys in and see where we fall.”
“The easiest way to stop recruiting is to financially punish the offending schools’ athletic department and the head coach with a stiff fine. Punish the adults, not the kids.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say they need to do more. I would only say that when caught there should be extremely harsh punishments.”
“Kids move around. It’s the world we live in. Kids talk to friends and decide on their own where they would rather play. In my opinion, just let them go. I lost four kids. I wished them well and hope their new setting allows them to flourish. No hard feelings at all. I will coach the ones I have and am thankful for them.”
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