'We're just not going to recruit you': Scott Frost warns recruits about social media conduct
Scott Frost has a stern warning for recruits: watch what you post on social media.
Frost, the first-year Nebraska coach, made it clear during a recent camp that he and his staff take social media conduct very seriously. In fact, he said after looking at a prospect’s grade-point average, they will go right to a player’s social media accounts.
And it won’t be a cursory glance, either. The Nebraska coaches are digging in to see what kind of person they are potentially adding to their football program.
“What you put on social media, that’s your résumé to the world,” Frost said. “That’s what you’re trying to tell the world you’re all about. That’s how you’re advertising yourself. Be smart with that stuff.”
“Aside from GPA, when we’re recruiting kids, the next thing we’re going to look at is what kind of kid the person is,” Frost said. “And part of that is looking through every ounce of social media we can possibly look at. So if some kid tweeted something four years ago that’s bad, we’re going to know about it.
“And I’ll tell you this right now — if there’s anything negative about women, if there’s anything racial or about sexuality, if there’s anything about guns or anything like that, we’re just not going to recruit you, period. Piece of advice for you — what you put on social media, that’s your résumé to the world. That’s what you’re trying to tell the world you’re all about. That’s how you’re advertising yourself. Be smart with that stuff.”
Coaches sometimes stop recruiting prospects based on their social media
Frost isn’t the first coach to communicate this message.
Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand, back during his time at Penn State, issued a similar sentiment, but did so on Twitter. He said the PSU staff completely dropped a prospect — “another prospect” — because of his social media. It’s a point he has made many times.
Dropped another prospect this AM due to his social media presence…Actually glad I got to see the 'real' person before we offered him.
— Herb Hand (@CoachHand) July 30, 2014
Anybody who pays attention to recruiting knows that social media plays a huge role. It’s more than a communicative tool. As Frost and, in the past, Hand have shown: it is used to gauge character.
Whether these warnings are taken seriously can make or break the recruiting process for some prospects.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
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