Normally a coach’s loyalty is not in question when recruiting player to a program. Recruiting is of course one of the key job requirements for a college coach. However, problems might arise when a coach knows he is on his way out of the door.
Such a situation has apparently happened with Houston Nutt and his staff. Nutt, the current head football coach at Ole Miss and former head football coach at Arkansas, is certainly not one new to controversy. Last month The Kansas City Star published a story chronicling first year Kansas QB Kale Pick. While Pick eventually chose Kansas, he was at one point committed to Arkansas.
The Star indicated that:
In late October, Nutt’s staff indicated to Pick that they didn’t expect to be at Arkansas after last season. On Oct. 22, with KU 7-0 and moving up the polls, Pick decommitted from Arkansas and immediately gave his pledge to the Jayhawks.
So were Nutt and his staff acting ethically when they told Pick that they did not expect to be at Arkansas more than a month before Nutt resigned? Should they have put the athlete they were recruiting before their employers in telling Pick of their expectations? Could this be construed as a way of making sure Arkansas was in a worse position talent wise once Nutt and staff were gone? These are just some questions that are brought up by this situation.
