From several I know in the recruiting business they say it's very hard getting any kind of read on AB. And, I don't mean to take anything away from your post, but Brian Butler said the same thing about UNC and Bama after his visits.
Brown didn't even bring his family down here with him. According to those "in the know", he's all OU.
FWIW, it's my understanding he's taken Butler to all 3 official visits this year. The visit that confuses me is the UNC trip. I know, Butch Davis. But, UNC? The "in the know" crowd are speculating, but I think it is a solid speculation...especially since Butler is doing all the talking. It's my speculation Butler is there to serve as a buffer against anyone who tries to pressure him into a verbal, hence the title liason.
More than a liaison. Arthur Brown, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound five-star linebacker from East High School in Wichita, Kan., continues to focus on 10 schools, says his mentor Brian Butler, who operates Potential Players (non-profit) and is handling Brown's recruiting affairs. He has already visited Alabama on Sept. 21 and has visits scheduled to North Carolina (Oct. 13), LSU (Oct. 20), Miami (sometime in November) and USC (Dec. 1). "The reason we chose these five schools to visit officially is because these are the ones he hasn't seen yet. The only school he's been to twice is Alabama." Butler says that Brown has an Excel spreadsheet that his father designed which is helping him compare all of his favorites. "Arthur uses that to compare each school and track all of them," Butler said. "There's like about twenty different items on that list which he ranks on a 1-10 scale." Some of the items on Brown's list include head coach, position coach, defensive schemes, academics, environment, weather, fans, atmosphere, tradition, players, recruiting classes and others. "Obviously not everything is weighted the same," Butler said. "Something like weather doesn't count as much as coaches. The most important thing for Arthur is the relationships he has with the coaches. He wants to make sure he feels completely comfortable with the coaches and the support staff." While Butler helps assist Brown with the recruiting process, he says he doesn't try to sway Brown's decision in any way. "I don't have a favorite school because I'm not really a huge college football fan," Butler said. "There's no team that I root for and that's not what my function is. "This is a business decision and a spiritual decision," Butler said. "I know Arthur prays about it a lot and my job is to help him make the best business decision. Our goal is to make a decision that isn't based on emotions. It needs to be a fact-finding deal and based on the best overall factors and comfort. Emotions are a horrible way to make a decision." For my perspective, he's as close to an agent as I've ever seen. Business decision, doesn't care or know about college football, business decision. I have no doubt that Butler will be signing Brown when his college days are over. Brown will make his announcement mid-December from the Kansas HOF.
Yeah, you have to wonder about that situation. Going to college is a "business decision"? And this man is helping him make that business decision? If this kid was not great, that would make me kinda not want him. College athletics is more about emotions than is professional athletics. Brown may get to campus and fall in love with the atmosphere and become just as rowdy and fiery as anyone, but to me if his approach is to treat like it's strictly business, he'll probably end up being a disappointment at the college level.
Exact same comments made by Emmanual Moody's uncle before they selected Florida (after Moody left USC). It's tough not to be cynical when it comes to the surrounding cast of these high schoolers. Chris Spielman had a great segment on this about a month or so ago.
I certainly don't fault the kid for thinking about how it will impact his future. That's natural and wise, and I know every kid does it to an extent. The problem I see is that there's nothing there to balance it out. If this is all true, he's not at all interested in things like impact on the community, the pursuit of championships, being a part of a team and being a team player, college cameraderie, etc. What kind of a college player is this kid going to be? One who's just interested in himself? One who's just interested in spending his three years without getting hurt and then going to the NFL? If this is all true, I think this hurts the kid a lot in my book. I'd officially rather have Brendan Beal after hearing this stuff.
