Reading about these 2027 recruiting classes already forming just makes my blood boil. A kid putting Auburn in his top five for 2027? He hasn't even finished his sophomore year of high school. This isn't recruiting, it's a circus. It reminds me of the late 80s when Coach Kessinger would find a kid from a Kansas farm town, watch him for two full seasoons, and then sit down with his family at their kitchen table to talk about becoming a man, not just a player. That meant something.
Now it's all these "elite timelines" and "priority lists" for teenagers. They're treated like commodities before they can even drive. I saw that story about Michigan hosting a kid who's already committed somewhere else. A surprise unofficial visit. That's not a visit, that's tampering. It's poaching. There's no honor in it anymore. We used to build relationships that lasted decades, not swipe right on a highlight reel.
The whole system is broken. These kids are getting a top five list before they've had their first varsity snap. Whatever happened to earning an offer? To a coach seeing you develop over your junior year and believing in your potential? Now it's just stars and timelines and flipping commitments. It's a soulless transaction. The heart of the game, the real building of a program, died with this new recruiting calendar. It's a shame.