I'm a man

[Coug1990]

Mike "I'm a man" Gundy, says twitter and social media is a large reason why there are so many flips.

"I think the fans play a role in that, because they can contact the recruits. I think they're a huge impact in recruiting now, whether we as coaches (believe that or not). These fans who are contacting these players can affect the way they think. You never know why kids do what they do, but I'm convinced, in some of the ones we were involved in this year, they were affected be people who contacted them on their Twitter account."

With Simmons leaving and social media the way it is, it could be a factor in WSU's class.

This post was edited on 2/5 8:55 AM by Coug1990

Mike Gundy on flipping

 

[cr8zyncalif]

Particularly in Sark's case, the outside fans contacting the kids may have coffee cups of cash. Of course, Sark would have no knowledge of such things, as in the past...

 

[Coug95man2]

And while many, including on this site, profess that these sites don't influence recruits, I will disagree for the very reasons Gundy points out here, regarding Twitter. I've seen too many twitter posts with screen shots of this, and other, sites to know… These kids watch, read and keep up on these sites. Wanna be debby-downers, they are reading it. When some are smashing a player, they are reading it. How much they allow it to influence them is up to them… But make no mistake, the internet, in all it's social forms, influence and that includes this and other sites.

 

[425cougfan]

I agree with him ... I've been saying this for years. Some of our fans will tell you in one sentence that recruits are able to tune that noise out, making intelligent, dispassionate decisions based on factors like playing time and academic programs, and then in the next sentence tell you that "recruiting is crazy," kids make emotional decisions all the time, guys are making decisions literally based on coin flips, and so on.

I think at the very least, the fans interacting with recruits on Twitter affects their overall impression of the school and fan base. With so many schools having similar offerings -- all Pac-12 schools claim to have great facilities, great coaches, and a "family" atmosphere -- I think *everything* matters in terms of creating an impression with recruits. It's silly to pretend that 17-year old kids are completely unaffected by a bunch of people on social media.