Both Louisiana State University and the University of Washington made headlines within the last week because of their reported interest in middle school football players, again raising the eternal question: “How young is too young when it comes to recruiting?”
News broke Wednesday that 14-year-old quarterback Tate Martell, who’s getting ready to enter the 8th grade, had verbally committed to Washington after receiving a scholarship offer a few weeks back. A day later, ESPN.com reported that LSU extended a scholarship offer to 14-year-old linebacker Dylan Moses, another soon-to-be 8th grader.
Keep in mind: No recruits can sign a binding National Letter of Intent until the fall of their senior year of high school.
The rationale of offering a student-athlete a scholarship this early, in theory, goes something like this: The player isn’t