In a very odd story, a high school prospect in Nevada has committed to Cal.  The thing is, Cal never offered the prospect or even been in direct communication with this prospect.

The young man at the center of attention is 6′5 300 lb. Kevin Hart of Nevada (Rivals profile).  He is a 2009 recruit - meaning he can’t actually sign a LOI (Letter of Intent) until February 2009.  But apparently, Oregon and Cal had offered him scholarships very early on and Mr. Hart was ready to pull the trigger and commit. 

[EDIT: Mr. Hart is a 2008 recruit.  HydroTech mistakenly interpreted some information.]

Being that Mr. Hart is the first student at his highschool to be offered a scholarship at a major D1A school, there was apparently a big announcement ceremony with lots of local media present.  Mr. Hart had a Cal and Oregon hat out in front of him, and then donned the cap for the school of his choice: Cal.  

But this supposed commitment struck Scout and Rivals by surprise.  Being in the business of recruiting, they’d know if Tedford & Co. were in contact with said recruit.  They’d know if there was a scholarship offer.  And to their knowledge, there is no scholarship offer. 

So what gives?  A big prank?  Well, not a prank by Mr. Hart, but possibly by someone else.  Someone has got to be playing a big prank on Mr. Hart.  A well played one at that. 

The linked news article above quotes Mr. Hart as saying: "They really sold me … Coach (Jeff) Tedford and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me the real personal experience."  

This quote certainly seems to suggest that someone had been posing as Tedford and calling the young man frequently enough to develop a rapport and relationship.  Such a good faux relationship to cause the Mr. Hart to truly believe he was talking to Tedford and was offered a scholarship.  Amazing. 

Frankly, I feel sorry for Mr. Hart.  Whether the prank was intended merely as a friendly joke or with malicious intent, he’s the victim, and now at the center of attention of a very embarrassing situation.  The local media that was also duped probably isn’t very happy.  The coach who was probably duped too, isn’t very happy.  Most of all, Mr. Hart and his family isn’t very happy. 

How can this happen?  

I don’t know.  Who ever as at the helm of this elaborate prank must know what they are doing.  They must have made the calls as realistic as possible.  Or, the coach was a little negligent in his duty as a liaison to the faux Jeff Tedford. 

When a college football program recruits a player, they contact everyone.  They contact the coach.  They contact the parents.  And the friends.  And the girlfriend.  And the friend’s friends. And the recruit’s teachers.  They talk to everyone.  They want to know if the recruit is a quality kid.  They want to know of prior injuries.  They want to know if he dozes off in class.  If he gives 110% in practices.  What size shoe he wears.  If he’s right or left handed.  If he likes Burger King or McDonalds.  And if he wipes from front to back or back to front.  Literally, they want to know everything.  And I’m serious.  For those of you who have highschool friends who have been recruited, you know this.  My best friend’s younger brother was recruited by Cal and a few WAC schools.  His parents told me about the recruiting process.  About the phone calls.  About the letters.  About the ridiculously thorough background check which occurs.  My point: if a kid is being recruited, the coaches should be in contact with his coaches, friends, and family.  They’ll want to see his recruiting videos.  And he’ll have to divulge everything.  Everyone connected to the recruit will know that the recruit is being recruited, and will have had some sort of contact with the recruiting coach(es).

So did Mr. Hart’s coach get a call from Tedford & Co.?  Did the coach send off Mr. Hart’s highschool videos to Cal and Oregon?  Did Tedford call Mr. Hart’s girlfriend and highschool teachers?  If not.  Then clearly, I think the coach let one slip by him that shouldn’t have.  If yes, then clearly the prankster knows what they are doing.  

Anyways, this whole thing has apparently turned into a criminal investigation now that it has been painfully confirmed that Tedford & Co. has never offered Mr. Hart a scholarship or even been in direct contact with him.

An updated article by the Reno Gazette Journal states confirms that there is no scholarship offer from Cal, that the investigation has become a criminal investigation, and that Cal coaches cannot comment on the situation since Mr. Hart is still a recruitable prospect.