USA Today- Early Enrollment- UofM and Forcier
My immediate reaction to early enrolees is that the decision makes it academically easier on the student-athletes since they have 1 extra semester to spread their credits out over, reducing their courseload on average. Not sure why Duke (or any other school) would really be that concerned. Seems like a win-win.
but, I am not sure it is great for the kids. That last semester of high school is a cakewalk and is something to be enjoyed. I can easily see this becoming an issue as coaches try and pressure more and more kids to follow suit.
that coaches can just pressure a kid to do. it's something that has to be planned in advance, before the kid likely even knows where he's gonna go.
Having taught high school, I can tell you that very few of my seniors enjoyed their second semesters. Most couldn't stand having to come in every day when their schoolwork "didn't count." Prom and maybe extracurricular stuff was pretty much all they looked forward to. If kids want to graduate early, more power to them.
if tate didn't enroll early, and with sheridan going out, this spring would have all been but a complete waste with cone or kennedy at the helm.
as long coaches dont pressure, them into i dont see a problem. I also dont mind the coaches suggesting it. While the last semester of high school was fun, im sure going to play football and going to college is a a better experience.
Anything that provides a significant competitive advantage, for the player or the school, will soon become required if you don't want to fall behind: Many players will enroll early to avoid falling behind in the race for playing time (how does Denard Robinson feel about early enrollment now?), and many coaches will pressure players to do it, so that their teams are more competitive in the fall (many coaches in RR's position would pressure incoming QBs to start in the spring?). Not all, of course, but many.
The NCAA should protect the kids from this pressure and ban them from joining their college team until their high school class has graduated. The cost to the kids is minimal and they can enjoy the last semester of high school.
Go Blue!
a player who is looking to enroll early has probably started the process early in their high school career. By skipping their last semester, they've probably already taken heavy course loads their first three years/summer school.
There's obviously positives and negatives to both sides. One of the positives is they obviously get to know the playbook and are better prepared for football in the fall. At the same time, it'd be interesting to know how enrolling early helps players deal with college in the fall semester. I'm guessing for a lot of players who don't enroll early, fall semester is a big schock, especially at a school like UM where the academics aren't that easy. You're essentially working a full time job, football, while trying to get adjusted academicly to the college lifestyle.