I guess this is a PSA type post in case anyone getting recruited is reading these boards.
Once you enter this recruiting game, your tweets start getting read by a bunch of old guys who are going to form impressions of you based on what they see.
Things like quoting lyrics from popular music can get mis-interpreted and cost you (happened to Yuri Wright).
Short tweets without frame of reference are mis-interpreted (fans always assume you're talking about recruiting).
Stuff that you'd normally joke about or that has been semi-private among your circle of friends goes to a national audience that doesn't remember what it's like to be a 17 year old guy (so friending porn stars doesn't make you look good).
The way you talk to friends doesn't always play well outside your circle and the media is always looking to make a story out of you, so cuss words, racial slurs you might use when bantering with friends/teammates of other races, words seen as disparaging to women, homophobic language (even referring to something lame or stupid as "gay") can all make you look bad or even blow up in your face now.
Do the "adults" need to lighten up? Sure. But they won't. It doesn't matter if you're in the right and being mis-understood. You're marketing yourself with your social media. Think about how you want to package that product to earn a scholarship now and, hopefully, endorsements deals later when you get your pro contract.
I brought this up because of a tweet I saw from Penn State's recruiting coordinator this morning. Might be bull**** and he's just trying to send a message. Might be true. Don't take the risk of turning people off is the lesson, though.
[tweet]494457320064421888[/tweet]
Once you enter this recruiting game, your tweets start getting read by a bunch of old guys who are going to form impressions of you based on what they see.
Things like quoting lyrics from popular music can get mis-interpreted and cost you (happened to Yuri Wright).
Short tweets without frame of reference are mis-interpreted (fans always assume you're talking about recruiting).
Stuff that you'd normally joke about or that has been semi-private among your circle of friends goes to a national audience that doesn't remember what it's like to be a 17 year old guy (so friending porn stars doesn't make you look good).
The way you talk to friends doesn't always play well outside your circle and the media is always looking to make a story out of you, so cuss words, racial slurs you might use when bantering with friends/teammates of other races, words seen as disparaging to women, homophobic language (even referring to something lame or stupid as "gay") can all make you look bad or even blow up in your face now.
Do the "adults" need to lighten up? Sure. But they won't. It doesn't matter if you're in the right and being mis-understood. You're marketing yourself with your social media. Think about how you want to package that product to earn a scholarship now and, hopefully, endorsements deals later when you get your pro contract.
I brought this up because of a tweet I saw from Penn State's recruiting coordinator this morning. Might be bull**** and he's just trying to send a message. Might be true. Don't take the risk of turning people off is the lesson, though.
[tweet]494457320064421888[/tweet]