Would you recommend BYU to a non-LDS AA?

[jay santos]

You live outside of Utah and you're a high school coach or you have a neighbor or whatever. You're tight with the family of a high school black non-LDS football player. Assume you're the type of person that if he were a white, LDS recruit you'd be using whatever influence you could to sell BYU and help recruit the kid to BYU the most you possibly could within the rules of recruiting.

Would you do the same for a black, non-LDS high school athlete?

I think I would want to, for selfish reasons, but if I had true benevolent feelings for the kid and his family, I would highly recommend he go somewhere else.

Follow up question: knowing the high attrition rate, is BYU wrong for even attempting to recruit non-LDS black players?

[Surfah]

Of course I would recommend BYU.

[Indy Coug]

If the player has a strong religious background and strong parental support (one parent or two), I absolutely would.

[KillerDog]

You live outside of Utah and you're a high school coach or you have a neighbor or whatever. You're tight with the family of a high school black non-LDS football player. Assume you're the type of person that if he were a white, LDS recruit you'd be using whatever influence you could to sell BYU and help recruit the kid to BYU the most you possibly could within the rules of recruiting.

Would you do the same for a black, non-LDS high school athlete?

I think I would want to, for selfish reasons, but if I had true benevolent feelings for the kid and his family, I would highly recommend he go somewhere else.

Follow up question: knowing the high attrition rate, is BYU wrong for even attempting to recruit non-LDS black players?

Race has nothing to do with it. I wouldn't recommend BYU to any non-LDS athlete. I would be loathe to recommend BYU to an LDS athlete that is from a partially active or less active home or that isn't clearly a rule follower. BYU's system is too harsh for a kid with even the slightest amount of rebellion in him.

[TripletDaddy]

Depends on his other choices, frankly. But his race wouldn't be a factor in my endorsement of BYU.

[jay santos]

I like how you guys claim to ignore race, as though if we all ignore all racial issues, they would cease to exist.

The fact is a black non LDS athlete has a low chance to make it through all four years at BYU.

I'm assuming the attrition rate is at least twice as high for black non-LDS as white non-LDS, but I could be wrong on that. So I don't call it a non-LDS problem. There have been quite a few white non-LDS that have come and played all four years and I don't remember many that didn't make it. Kessman is one.

[All-American]

I'd tell the kid everything I loved about BYU and all the things he's not going to be able to find anywhere else. I'd also tell him what he can expect that isn't so great about BYU. Not everybody is going to be happy there.

[cougjunkie]

Oneill Howell, Mike Reed, Curtis Brown, Brian Mcdonald-Ashford all made it four years.

[DapperDan]

Race has nothing to do with it. I wouldn't recommend BYU to any non-LDS athlete. I would be loathe to recommend BYU to an LDS athlete that is from a partially active or less active home or that isn't clearly a rule follower. BYU's system is too harsh for a kid with even the slightest amount of rebellion in him.

This

[Indy Coug]

Oneill Howell, Mike Reed, Curtis Brown, Brian Mcdonald-Ashford all made it four years.

McDash was a JC transfer. He was a cool story -- getting into trouble briefly with the HC, converting to the church and going on a mission after graduation. IIRC, he also had some family tragedy while at BYU. Hope he is doing well.

[HBCoug]

Oneill Howell, Mike Reed, Curtis Brown, Brian Mcdonald-Ashford all made it four years.

It definitely helps to convert as half of that list did. Terrance Hooks and Daniel Coats are two others who pulled it off without losing eligibility.

[KillerDog]

This

Huh?

[Goatnapper'96]

You live outside of Utah and you're a high school coach or you have a neighbor or whatever. You're tight with the family of a high school black non-LDS football player. Assume you're the type of person that if he were a white, LDS recruit you'd be using whatever influence you could to sell BYU and help recruit the kid to BYU the most you possibly could within the rules of recruiting.

Would you do the same for a black, non-LDS high school athlete?

I think I would want to, for selfish reasons, but if I had true benevolent feelings for the kid and his family, I would highly recommend he go somewhere else.

Follow up question: knowing the high attrition rate, is BYU wrong for even attempting to recruit non-LDS black players?

Jay, just go beat yourself with a cat-o-nine tails and get on with it.

It worked out well for many. It didn't work out well for many.

Sometimes failing at something helps us all to grow up.

I also think that it isn't just non-LDS black kids, but non-LDS kids in general. It is a challenge but the more that come and are successful the smaller the challenge gets. Right now BYU is fighting an uphill battle because in the middle of this decade BYU got to the point that it had single digit non-LDS kids on the football team. I think it is improving as last year's class had 7 non-LDS kids in it alone. This year not so good but methinks this recruiting class is a bit of an anomaly due to the high number of non-LDS kids and LDS kids not planning on missions from the previous class.

[TripletDaddy]

I like how you guys claim to ignore race, as though if we all ignore all racial issues, they would cease to exist.

The fact is a black non LDS athlete has a low chance to make it through all four years at BYU.

I'm assuming the attrition rate is at least twice as high for black non-LDS as white non-LDS, but I could be wrong on that. So I don't call it a non-LDS problem. There have been quite a few white non-LDS that have come and played all four years and I don't remember many that didn't make it. Kessman is one.

No one has claimed to ignore race. It just wouldnt be a factor in recommending BYU. Why should it?

"Don't go to BYU because you are black" sounds way more racist and paranoid than "Go to BYU, it is a good school. You might not enjoy the culture there as much as other schools, but the football program is solid."

BYU needs more diversity, not less. Discouraging minorities is a silly idea.

[cougjunkie]

Everything I have read recently and from what I have seen with my own eyes is that Drew Phillips is the real deal Holyfield as a scat back, slot receiver and one hell of a kick returner.

Not LDS, but he is white. So Jay can you figure out a formula that will give me the probabilities of him making it all 4 years?