Jordan Burch is signed to USC. We can learn a lot from the media hysteria

Jordan Burch signed with South Carolina, after an extended
hysteria caused by the media.
Photo Courtesy Rivals.com

National Signing Day has come and gone. One of the biggest media-made events saw the usual major prospect signings, prospects switching at the last minute and the usual "class rankings" to decide who won and lost signing day.

I can't hold my nose too high to it. During my time as a high school beat reporter I covered a slew of signing events, where athletes signed to places such as Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Wake Forest to little known Divison II programs.

It was and remains a huge coverage day on the local level. On the national level, it has helped fuel the creation of the recruiting industry, for better or worse.

For South Carolina, the focus fell quickly to Jordan Burch, a national-level recruit out of Hammond, a private, independent school in Columbia who signed with the Gamecocks on February 6.

But the story behind that signing took some turns. Turns social media and illegitimate media members created and used to feed views and ratings.

For context, Burch first made a non-binding, verbal commitment to the school in December to play football for head coach Will Muschamp. I say non-binding because while a big deal is made about players committing, nothing is solid until a national letter of intent is signed, either in December or February.

Also to note, February signing period athletes have until April to sign. The February date marks the first day they are permitted to sign per NCAA guidelines.

LINK: Learn all you wanted to know about signing day and the contracts athletes sign

The reason Burch did not sign in December was simple. He wanted to sign with his fellow teammates in February.

But as the recruiting media, and namely area radio personalities, need things to talk about, the rumor was Burch was not fully verbally committed and was still looking around.

Did anyone verify this? Was this something Burch or anyone in his family said? Nothing was on record because Burch had a very quiet recruitment.

So where did these "experts" get their info from? Who knows.

I'm thinking it is somewhere the sun doesn't shine, but I can't verify that.

The road to signing took a turn in February, when Burch at the signing ceremony was reported to be seen signing a piece of paper, but the letter was not faxed to South Carolina the same day.

This then further led to speculation from media members again saying their "sources" said he was not fully committed, and was speaking with LSU, fresh off a national championship.

Again, none of these claims were substantiated by a reputable, named source.

Truth be told, in my coverage experience, I have not had something like that happen before. It is an odd turn, but that is all anyone can say...it was odd.

Anything other than that was pure speculation or projection of that person.

Rumors also ran wild, saying there was dissent between Burch and his mother about where he would go, that one favored Carolina over LSU, with the party allegiances switching depending on who you read.

The fact there was no consensus should have immediately qualified that rumor has such, and that line of thought should have been abandoned.

Also, the usual character attacks on a player from people whom have never met the athlete persisted.

Because a head case, attention-seeking athlete would have a near quiet recruitment only to want to hog the spotlight at the last second. That is not how those types of personalities work, and Burch displayed no type of that.

Plus, multiple comments from coaches, his coaches, paint a different picture. Below is a brief interview with Hammond coach Erik Kimrey, courtesy Gamecock Central's Youtube channel.

A quick Google search to that interview should have quelled the glory hound rumors.

So why did he wait? Who knows.

Could he have been hearing from LSU? Maybe. Coaches can contact players until the NLI is sent.
Could he have been having second thoughts? Maybe. Picking a school is a big decision.
Could he have gotten a lawyer to look over the contract? Maybe. I think more athletes should do that before signing an athletic scholarship.

Could he have needed time to film this for the school?

Jordan Burch is officially a Gamecock!#GarnetGang20 pic.twitter.com/dv4OnLNpwC

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) February 7, 2020

Maybe.

But that is the point. Every answer to questions I posed were maybe. Not yes, not no.

This whole bit of hysteria is a two-fold issue.

One, media members first need to learn restraint. If you can't verify a claim with a named source or verified documentation, don't put the information out.

And for the most part, the reputable media members do that. Gamecock Central and TheBigSpur have good staff members who really work to verify things. Also, David Cloninger of the Post and Courier and Mike Uva of the Columbia Fox affiliate are known for their accuracy.

It is typically media members not on the beat, and also radio personalities who don't do their own reporting, but instead read a headline and then go on their own unverified thought tangent.

Their names will not appear in this piece because they don't deserve the recognition.

And secondly, some of the onus falls on fans. Many do the radio broadcast mentality and come up with their own insane conspiracy theories, because facts ruin a fantastical tale.

Fans must first have a high standard and follow reputable journalists on social media, not the talking radio heads. I'd also shy on staying away from the national reporters when it comes to athletics.

And if you find a personality on Twitter, hold their claims accountable. If they get wrong more than they get right, they aren't someone worth following.

And also, stop attacking 18-year old athletes over social media because they don't pick your school. They don't owe or answer to you. If your happiness is contingent on the decisions of 18-to-24 year olds, you need a knew life center.

No question, National Signing Day is exciting. It is filled with potential of the future for an athletic program. Stay excited, stay optimistic. That is what makes sports fun.

But also hold yourself to a higher standard, while holding your trusted media members to an even higher standard. That is how you get better, more responsible journalists.