Prep Rally isn’t sure if this competition was ever officially started, but if anyone was looking for the most over-the-top, ridiculous, fake-customized recruiting letter, we appear to have a winner: Say hello to North Carolina State assistant coach and director of player personnel Drew Hughes.
As you can see in the photo below, as posted to Instagram by rising senior prospect Dexter Wright, Hughes is sending out letters that appear to be highly customized with rather outlandish attempts to connect to a younger generation. Wright repeatedly refers to his subject as a “baller” and says that he’s precisely what the Wolfpack need, highlighting key phrases with, well, a highlighter.
Though tacky, the note could be seen as almost endearing because of its customization. There’s just one problem: It’s not customized at all. Instead, Hughes has apparently made a TON of identical form letters which he is sending out to targeted recruits all over the place. No sooner than Deadspin had posted Wright’s letter than another N.C. State prospect, C.J. Reavis, posted an identical letter. Literally, identical.
While this may be a minor embarrassment for N.C. State, it should also serve as a valuable lesson for coaches in this postmodern, apocalyptic, “Who the heck is in the Big East next year?” age: Don’t send anything to kids that you don’t want online.
That’s advice that holds true for subjects aged 4-40 these days, and it certainly holds true for borderline local celebrities like prominent high school gridiron stars.
Here’s hoping Hughes finds his ballers, though something tells Prep Rally that Wright and Reavis won’t be among them.
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