It’s being reported that Leggett may be another casualty of UM’s high academic standards, something that has made alumni proud, while frustrating the Hurricane fan tied to the program for football and little else.
Leggett has a 2.4 GPA and scored a 22 on his ACT, so grades aren’t the issue. The fact that he’s been to more than two high schools, is. Leggett started at South Miami as a freshmen, transferred to Booker T. Washington as a sophomore, attended Gulliver Prep as a junior, Homestead this past summer and back to South Miami as a senior.
Leggett also insists all the jumping around was his parents’ decision and he’d have preferred to have only attended Booker T. and South Miami.
Leggett committed to head coach Al Golden months back, briefly switched his commitment to the Seminoles and then back to the Canes. Florida State is still interested in Leggett, as is Ohio State, but plans remain up in the air.
Another factor in the decision-making process; Leggett’s eleven-month old son A.J. III.
Leggett’s coach Lamont Green has chimed in on the subject, starting with commending UM for being open and honest with the process.
“At least they’re letting him know now before he puts his signature on any documents what the deal is,” Green said of Miami.
“We’ll see what he wants to do. Sometimes in college football things work out, sometimes it don’t. They told him they definitely want him, but they want to be up front and not have him get frustrated. I don’t know what he’s thinking. I’m waiting on AJ to see how he wants to attack it.”
Leggett is a Miami product who committed to the Canes back in February – a year prior to Signing Day 2012. “The U” has always been his top choice.
“I’ve been wanting to play at UM all my life,” said Leggett. “I see a lot of opportunity there. I’ve been working hard to get my grades right, my test scores, my classes and stuff in line.”
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like those stars are going to align and when hearing the entire saga, you have to feel for the kid as a lot of circumstances out of his control seem to have him in this bind.
Why the Leggett family bounced their son around remains an unknown, but based on growing up around football-first families in South Florida, one would think it had to do with coaching staffs, playing time, position, exposure and anything that was going to keep a premier player in the spotlight.
Leggett is currently a senior and is ranked the tenth-best corner in the nation, aspiring to play for a program in dire need of help in the secondary.
One can only imagine the frustration Golden, defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio and defensive back coach Paul Williams are feeling in the wake of this blow. Probably even worse that Leggett, who will thrive wherever he winds up.
Florida State and Ohio State simply don’t have the academic standards as Miami. I’m sure that statement would surprise the casual college football observer who wrongly lumps UM into that category, but the days of Sun Tan U are long gone in Coral Gables.
Not only has Miami become a premier university worldwide, but its athletes are expected to succeed in the classroom, as well. UM’s Athletic Progress Report (APR) rating is again in the top ten nationwide a big part of that is higher academic standards for football players.
No one is going to confuse Miami with Stanford on an academic level anytime soon, but the point is that grades to matter if you’re going to play football for the Hurricanes.
In this case, it looks like Leggett will be casualty of jumping around and paperwork woes, as his grades and test scores are good enough to get him into Miami. Leggett would need paperwork from all four high schools, which would be a tedious process that would call for one year of prep school to sort everything out.
So here sits Leggett at a crossroads; go to a prep school for a year, leave his son at home, put in the work and return to Miami for three seasons as a Hurricane – or – call it a day, go elsewhere for the next few years and take the show to the NFL in due time (barring a successful, injury-free career).
The story doesn’t even need to play out for Miami fans to know how this one is going to end. If you’re the betting type, you have to believe Leggett will be in garnet and gold next season. Ohio State is too far, Florida State is an eight-hour car ride from Miami and big time college football combined with instant gratification always seem to win out with teenagers over dues-paying and working towards a larger goal.
As an eighteen-year old, a year seems like a lifetime to Leggett, which is understandable. The thought of “doing time” at a prep school and not seeing the field for Miami until 2013, it probably sounds like the end of the world to him.
Of course in the grand scheme of life, adults know a year is a fleeting moment. The blink of an eye. It passes before you even know what happens. (On that note, where the hell has 2011 gone?)
As a parent, you hope that Leggett’s folks are giving their son sound advice – starting with an explanation about paying dues and working towards the ultimate goal. If Miami is truly Leggett’s dream destination, then don’t sell the dream short. Put in the year elsewhere (if need be) and come to Coral Gables hungry in a year. Period.
Of course if the dream is the NFL and college is just a stepping stone, then Tallahassee and Columbus are serviceable and three years from now, if the kid is as good as advertised, he’ll be playing on Sunday.
Wherever Leggett winds up, here’s hoping that he’s content with the choice. Canes fans may be frustrated about losing such a talented athlete, but at the end of the day, “next man in” comes into play and you simply recruit another corner and hope he gets the job done.
This isn’t a sports story as much as a human interest commentary and a desire to see a young man with a lot on his plate, guided the right way and doing what’s best for him and his young son. Period.
There are rules in this game of life and you either abide, break or choose another path. UM’s standards are what they are and can’t bend here as the integrity of the entire system and process go out the window if you make an excuse for one.
If anything, be proud that this university – in dire need of cornerbacks – will hold its ground, even with someone as talented as Leggett dying to get on board. Golden and staff would give anything to add Leggett to this class and obviously hope he goes the prep school route for a year while i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. That said, a safe bet they don’t expect it and are making other plans.
It’s a moment like this that should be revered as much as a win on a Saturday, reminding you that is it truly great to be a Miami Hurricane.
Good luck in your journey, Amos. Hope you’re a Cane. Understand if you’re not. – C.B.
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So I'm confused as to the reason Leggett is unable to attend the U.
Is it that Al Golden has decided that Leggett's track record of jumping around in High School and the wavering commitment is an indication of an unreliable student Athlete?
OR
Is the school not allowing him to be accepted because of grades and test scores?
OR
is the school not allowing hi to be accepted because he attended multiple schools? (I didn't know this was a rule).
Just wondering....
Nono - Check Manny's blog. It's all in there.
UM isn't telling him he can't come to the program. They are letting him know in advance that the paperwork will be a nightmare (based on past kids) and that odds are he will need to go to prep school for a year while that all gets sorted out.
A safe bet that Al Golden and staff aren't trying to shoo away the tenth best corner in the country for a program that was beyond weak in the secondary this past season.
Leggett can either go to prep school, if that's necessary, and then can come to UM ... or he can go elsewhere. There really is no other play.
This explains why the SEC is such a powerful conference. You constantly hear how great the SEC is. How Boise State would be crushed if they had to play these schools. Nothing is ever said about how pretty much anyone can play in the SEC. Talent and ability on the field is all that matters. GPA's, not so much.
He'll probably go to LSU and become the next Patrick Peterson and we can hold our head up high and say he didn't have all of his I's crossed and T's dotted, Geeze. Lets be real hear 90% of the kids come here to play football and hope to get into the league. They are not ivy league scholars, and that isn't a knock, just the truth. How can we compete with the big dawgs when we can't get the players in. I am against this policy. Let the dude in so he can play football. If he had character issues tha'ts one thing, but its not his fauly his family bounced him around. This is another reason UM will struggle to ever be what it was. Too snooty, unbelievable!
Carlos - 90% may come here with the intent of getting to the League, but the number of kids who winds up there is much lesser and we all know that.
If other schools want to cut corners, good on them. Miami isn't going out like that.
As for Patrick (Johnson) Peterson, please - we all know that was more than grades. His pops was playing games and pulled a Cecil Newton with his kid. It simply wasn't proven, but if anyone thinks that LSU didn't hand that family a wad of cash for their son's services, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Please.
We're talking about right versus wrong and ethics versus corner cutting. Don't trivialize by just saying it's dotting i's and crossing t's. Miami is in the right in how this is behind handled and again, if you want to point a finger, point it at parents who had their son changing schools five times over four years. Had Leggett stayed at one or two schools, he'd be signing at Miami in February. End of story.
Please explain why it is so difficult to get the paperwork. You walk into the school, hand the registrar $5, and they send an official transcript to U.M.
... there's obviously more to it than that, mcanes or there'd be a lot of fans more than ready to pony up $20 for transcripts from all four schools.
As I understand it from reading Manny's blog and this post, the problem is gathering all of the documentation from each of the 4 different high schools.
Wouldn't this obstacle also be an obstacle at the different schools? What part of UM's administrative process makes it difficult for a student athlete to enroll in the school if he/she attends more than 1 high school? Is this an issue only present at UM?
Come on CB, time to work the phones.
RSA - What makes it difficult is getting all the proper information from all four schools, making sure it all checks out, making sure there are no NCAA Clearinghouse issues -- again, which is all a process. From what's being reported, coaches are letting Leggett know that this most likely won't be dealt with in a timely manner and that prep school would be his best option for 2012 if he wants to come to Miami.
As for the issue being only "present at UM" -- no. There would be issues at a lot of schools that actually care about academics, while football factories like Florida, LSU, Alabama and Ohio State would "find a way" to get a kid in.
It is what it is. Hope it works out and A.J. winds up at UM, but again, the bigger issue here is the fact that he's changed high school five times in four years, attending four different schools, most likely because family was putting football over academics. A disservice was done. Especially when Leggett is quoted as saying he'd have been happy at Booker T. or South Miami, and didn't need pit stops at Gulliver or Homestead.
In the end it's the right decision by the school. Academics come first. Best of luck to AJ. Classy move by golden and staff to let him know before hand.
Dude, I may never get over not having Patric Peterson! We would have won two more games each year he played! That means 11 wins in 2009! Nothing wrong with being a football factory!!
... Jack, everything wrong with being a football factory. Also everything wrong with getting jacked around by some kid and his parents who wanted a payout and played games with the coaching staff.
Would've loved to have Peterson. A complete baller. That said, he was the issues, not UM. He took his show to LSU because it was more lax and that was obviously what he was looking for. A kid like that probably wouldn't have even fit in at UM anyways. Randy's discipline would've been too much and odds are this is yet one more kid - based on where he wound up - who would've been caught in Shapiro's web.
Since his collection of schools is local, I would think that the final high school he is attending could consolidate his records in the interests of making sure his graduation requirements are met (I am a high school teacher and this is what we would be trying to do for the student). Is he any relation to Lance Leggett?
These types of decisions by the school will continue to handcuff the program...just you wait and see.
... maybe so, but they're not going to change. Ever. The SEC, Big XII and Big Ten have their football factories. Miami will never be one. Going to have to win this way and going to lose some kids in the process.
Stanford isn't exactly letting in slackers and they're doing just fine. It's about coaching, bringing in solid talent, having depth and being well-conditioned. So Miami may never be LSU or Alabama - so what? If they want to cut corners academically, that's on them. UM isn't going to do that and if our fans are looking for a football factory-type program, they might want to start rooting for the SEC.
Heard from a classmate of Leggett that Nick Saban was there the other day trying to lure him to Alabama.
Legitt shows 6-0 and 175 for a DB on Rivals. Is thie big 'enuf, or is this another example of 'Golf Cart' recruiting by the Miami staff. viz 'get em local and save the travel expense'.
I say we need NATIONAL recruiting - not just go up to Norland (or whatever) and pick up the UF, FSU, FAU, UCF, USF and FIU rejects.
c'mon Coach - get on a jet plane and brimg in some NATIONAL talent. The South Florida high school base is depleted by additional schools and plays 'scramble ball' anyways.
... no offense, but you're way off base. Leggett is listed as the tenth best corner in the country by some and he's looking at both Florida State and Ohio State, as well.
In one breath fans scream about locking down local talent and putting a fence around Dade County, but here when one of the best local prospects wants to come to UM, we have some fans complaining that there should be more national talent.
Furthermore, you get more "national talent" when you're nationally respected and are winning on a national stage. When the nation sees four six-or-more-loss seasons in the past five years, they're not impressed. The only ones who are going to buy-in are the local kids who grew up with and love the program.
Win with the best local talent and THEN cherry-pick the best players nationwide.
By the way, Tyrann Mathieu is a 5-foot-9, 175-pound corner and that's working out just fine for LSU.