Well I guess it worked since the QB committed... http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...uiting-letter-to-granato-s-cat-142731906.html Is this the start of a new recruiting trend? Houston-area high school quarterback J.T. Granato was a recruiting target of Houston school Rice, and the school sent him a recruiting letter earlier this week. But instead of addressing the letter to Granato himself, the school sent a letter written to Granato's cat. It was from Rice co-offensive coordinator Billy Lynch. “As you know we’re trying to convince J.T. Rice is the place for him. I know you’d like to keep him close so he can feed you and change the litter box. Please help us to get him to choose us. Paw me if you have any questions.” It could have been the letter that sealed the deal. Granato, a three-star pro-style quarterback according to Rivals, committed to Rice on Thursday. Per Rivals, Baylor, Florida, Houston, Michigan State, Mississippi and Purdue also had interest in Granato, but only Houston had offered him a scholarship as well. The current "hot" recruiting technique has been to send recruits Photoshopped or drawn images of themselves in a school's colors. But this is certainly a creative step forward. If we assumed for a moment that pets were able to read and were aware of the recruiting process, this could be a golden technique for schools recruiting local recruits like Rice and Granato. As Rice likely correctly assumed, no pet wants to see his or her owner(s) be far away for four years. And since pets can't read and it's the recruits and families reading the letters instead, the human guilt can be just as strong. Who wants to feel bad about leaving their pet? Rice may be on to something here, or is simply downright crazy. Maybe it's both.
Sounds like some cutesy pee-pee game his dad probably okayed or even setup. TAMU has a helicopter, UT has a network, Rice has stuffed animals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/JTGranato10">@JTGranato10</a> committed to Rice today. Rice closed the deal by sending JT's cat a recruiting letter. Well done Owls <a href="http://t.co/NBCqPX7PIG">pic.twitter.com/NBCqPX7PIG</a></p>— John Granato (@johngranato) <a href="https://twitter.com/johngranato/statuses/467118009275146241">May 16, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Looks like it is his son http://www.ysr1560.com/john-granato/ Upon reading, I noticed John went to school in my home town, Know College. Small world.
He better study hard. If Rice is his football destination, pretty good chance that he's going to suck.
I think it's a great recruiting move. If you're Rice, you have to throw a wrinkle in there that others schools won't. Even though it's hokey, this was definitely different.
Not true. Rice has had three QBs get signifcant play in the NFL. More than UT. Of course, one (Bert Emmanual) was drafted by SF as a wide receiver, because he was the fastest player in the NCAAs that year. He was the guy who beat UT on ESPN....running the wishbone and calling a quarterback sneak to his Center as an option. He touches his center to block forward while the rest of the line and defense doesn't know. He ran 45 yards through the heart of the UT defense untouched. FTW
I've got no horse in the race (go Coogs) but if I was graduating high school with UT and Rice coming at me - and I was a traditional college talent (not a huge NFL prospect) I'd be hard pressed not to take Rice and get the better education.
Just remember that JJ Watt wasn't a huge NFL prospect coming out of high school. Neither was Russell Wilson. Both of those were two star recruits. Playing at a major college with the visibility that comes with it and making the most of that opportunity can make a big difference.
