FAYETTEVILLE — If nothing else it seems this deadly covid-19 pandemic would have taught us about assembling priorities.
Obviously, it hasn’t. Otherwise why any mask debate?
Why would the public’s right in public to be protected as best as epidemiologists know how from a contagious and 300,000-plus times deadly virus in the U.S. be debated vs. what bizarrely amounts as a freedom to infect?
The latter seems a “freedom” as sensibly restricted as penalizing the “freedom” wantonly driving through a red light or randomly yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater.
That priority seems so simple. Others of far lesser importance yet indelibly sewn into the American fabric seem complex.
Like college football. Athletes overwhelmingly showed they want to play it. Fans want to see it. And colleges and TV networks financially want to salvage what they can from it.
Much work juggling many priorities beginning last March through the summer cobbled a proceeding show must go on.
Unfortunately, at least in this view, last Wednesday through Friday marked a “priority” that should have been postponed like so many leagues postponed starting their fall seasons.
Why didn’t football’s December early signing period get postponed, too? Athletes since mid-March can’t even in person officially visit the schools they pondered.
As the pandemic rages they might not have that visiting choice in the traditional but now trickling February signing period. But last summer’s odds sure looked better for February than December.
Why the rush? Especially this year with conference championship games and even some postponed regular season games ongoing.
What about those players committed signing with the nine schools that recently canned the head coach that recruited them?
Or an Arkansas State with Blake Anderson gone to Utah State?
Do they still sign with a just hired or perhaps not yet hired coach or risk waiting until February fearing some alternatives have December filled their quota?
No pity to the schools. Just like Arkansas deeming during 2017 to fire Bret Bielema and during 2019 fire Chad Morris, that’s a recruiting price they know they will pay.
Morris and Sam Pittman paid it hamstrung their first Arkansas Decembers. Morris in 2019 and by this Top 20 rated December class signed with Pittman, benefited from an established year.
The big reason for the big rush seems to be that college football coaches as a group tend being the biggest control freaks this side of military drill instructors. Many crave high school kids graduating mid-term so they can indoctrinate them with the offseason program and spring ball.
The military has cause taking immediate control. It can prove life or death for those they train.
Football isn’t life or death. There shouldn’t be cause making it vogue for kids passing up enjoying their high school senior spring semester for too often becoming fish out of water in college too soon.
At Arkansas for every Sosa Agim and Mike Woods that benefited arriving early, this memory rebuts with more arriving one January and gone by two Augusts or before.