NCAA Endzone

Cable television, along with the explosion of information caused by this amazing thing called the Internet, has allowed more press, time and attention being given to the high school athlete.

In the old days, before this proliferation of mass media, there was your local paper, NBC, CBS and ABC. That was your only sources of information. High school athletes were known on a state or sometimes regional basis, rarely on a national scale.

My oh my how times have changed. Young athletes are studied, analyzed and hyped up so much, sometimes before they even get to high school. With all this attention given to 16, 17 and 18-year olds, unrealistic expectations and spoiled, over-indulgent activities are a given.

Take the case of the latest over-hyped phenom - Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

Clausen was a star high school quarterback in California and was named the 2006 USA Today Player of the Year. Newspapers, websites, scouting services and many recruiting experts praised him as the next big thing and Fighting Irish fans hailed Clausen as the second coming of Paul Hornung, Joe Theisman and Joe Montana all rolled into one.

Who knows? It just may happen. But to even suggest it about an 18-year old who hasn’t even played one second or down of college football is more than just a little ridiculous. Yet it happens all the time.

No need to remind everyone about Beano Cook and his now infamous statements regarding another hyped up Notre Dame football recruit? Remember Ron Powlus everyone?

Another major problem that befalls over-exposed high school athletes is the arrogant, spoiled and over-bearing attitudes many of them have. Let’s stay with Clausen for our example, but we could use a host of others.

A year ago, Clausen used the Blue-Gold game to announce his commitment to the Irish by arriving at the College Football Hall of Fame in a Hummer limousine! Hello, reality check people. Talented athletes are pampered and protected all the way from midgets to college to pros and this deifying of high schoolers by the mass media is one of the many reasons we have athletes like Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Pacman Jones today.

By the way, the unrealistic expectations have already started as many Irish fans have expressed their disappointment of Clausen’s performance at the Blue-Gold game. He was a pedestrian 3-for-7 for 23 yards. The pressure on him is way too much for a teenager to deal with.

College is the first step on the journey into manhood. If a young competitor can prove himself at the college level and beyond then by all means let the praise flow forth from every website, blog and TV station. He or she has earned it. But to glamorize and glorify the high school athlete is not only asinine, it’s hurting much more than it is helping.

Notre Dame, Jimmy Clausen, high school athlete