Someone not happy with the UConn coach

[USF_Bill]

02/9/07 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom  

DAILY RECORD FILE PHOTO

Par Hills quarterback Mike Gerardi is a first-team All-State player. Yet, D-I schools seemed to overlook the talented senior.  

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Recruiting shows its ugly side

Friday, February 9, 2007

When the curtain came down on Parsippany Hills' football season, college coaches practically made a conga line into Vikings coach Dave Albano's office.

The subject of the coaches' admiration: Par Hills quarterback Mike Gerardi.

What was there not to like? Gerardi wowed college recruiters for the entire season, led his team to a state championship game, and was an Associated Press first-team All-State player.

But when push came to shove, the conga line left Albano's office.

And Div. I offers never materialized.

Now, Gerardi is left with a smattering of schools to choose from, with Wagner the lone Div. I or I-AA. He is set to visit East Stroudsburg Wednesday.

Gerardi has also received an offer from Mount Union, which is also perhaps the best Div. III program in the country.

The D-I schools that had loved him? Well, they really were acting like a high school girl who had a crush on a cute guy ... for this week.

"Not to badmouth these schools," Albano said, "but we were led to believe a lot of things. Coaches came here daily."

But the interest never amounted to anything in the end.

During the season, when Gerardi was building a case for being arguably New Jersey's best quarterback, UConn seemed to be the lone Div. I school showing interest in Gerardi. The Huskies loved the 6-3, 200-pounder so much that they asked Albano to not reveal his QB to anyone else.

In other words, hide him for us and then we'll sign him. UConn is quickly becoming known as WEConn in this area.

After the season, UConn said it wasn't sure where it was going, QB-wise, and Albano was now free to promote Gerardi. But it was too late -- and it wasn't the first time a local football player has been left at the altar by the Huskies.

"UConn did the same thing with Jason Harper a few years ago," said Pope John coach Vic Paternostro, who no longer takes his team to UConn summer camp.

"They were on him every single week. Then the week before signing, they dropped him. It's not right what they do."

Albano said that Western Michigan, Syracuse, UMass, New Hampshire, Maine and Temple were all in but never offered. How does Western Michigan fit into the mix with all of those eastern schools? Well, Albano said that the UConn recruiter surrendered the Western Michigan recruiter's phone number because he would be certain that Gerardi would not run into the Huskies in the future while playing in the midwest.

But by that time, Western Michigan had gone in a different direction.

"They all liked him on film, but there were numbers problems," Albano said.

"He lacked the exposure."

What may have haunted Gerardi was the fact that, before his junior year, he transferred from Seton Hall Prep to Parsippany Hills. That summer, he worked out with his new teammates but wasn't able to play right away. So when he started playing midway through last year, there wasn't much interest. A talented player's junior year is optimum to the recruiters.

So if you are sitting as a junior, the recruiters aren't coming -- apparently, no matter how good you are as a senior. Gerardi is living proof -- and he was first-team All-State good as a senior.

"Schools said he can play Div. I, but they wanted him to get another year under his belt," Albano said. "Let me tell you, coaches loved him on tape. But he only played seven games as a junior. Coaches will tell you they loved him, but then there is no spot, or they just signed a kid. UMass we thought would offer, but he turned out to be third on their list. It's not like they were recruiting linemen, where there were about 10 other kids they could sign."

Gerardi, who declined to be interviewed for this story, might consider prep school. Albano is aware of West Morris product Greg Tomczyk, who had a brilliant junior season for the Wolfpack, slumped as a senior (lowly Temple was his only offer), resurrected himself at the Hun School in Princeton, and then signed with national power Louisville.

The odd thing is, Gerardi is loved by almost everyone in the ranks of the colleges. But being loved doesn't get you a full ride.

"He is a great player, a terrific player, who could play at UConn," New Jersey recruiting guru Dennis McCarthy said. "We knew who he was as a junior but didn't get a good look at him. We saw him against Weequahic (in November) and he lit us up. He was accurate, can run, and throw on the run. He could be D-I, no doubt about it."

Could be, should be, but isn't -- a victim of the flim-flam world of college recruiting.

[The_Reaper]

maybe we should take a look

[smazza]

dont buy it

if he is talented he would get  a scholly

there is no more hiding recruits in this day and age

[South_Florida_Flip]

Wouldn't surprise me if this is true. Didn't some of the players that Edsell kick off the team after our game actually play in the game first? You can't tell me he found out about the drinking incident after we played.

[BullsFanInTX]

dont buy it

if he is talented he would get  a scholly

there is no more hiding recruits in this day and age

Agree.  Are they telling us if he is this good, that not one of the 119, or howevery many D 1A schools there are wouldn't offer.  I don't buy it.  If he is D1 calibur, someone, anyone would offer him.  You find a place for talent.  We are not getting the whole story.

[bulls96go]

something is missing

no offers?

not even as a prefered walk on?

and the coach is an asswipe for not promoting his player to the hilt, so he must "know" something that he was willing to "hide" a stud player (he was benefiting or the player was not that good)

where are the parents in all this.

this smells :-X