Along the eastern coast, there’s a small town in New Jersey called Hazlet. Have you ever heard of it? Most haven’t since its population is a whopping 21,000. The town high school is home to the 2015 Central Jersey State Football Champions and linebacker Ryan Dickens. Ryan Dickens, the UCONN commit who was honored recently as a recipient of the 2016 Mini Max Award, which celebrates his athletic abilities, his academic accomplishments, and his commitment to community service. He actively participated in breast cancer awareness, suicide prevention, and the RAINE foundation. He was a football star from a movie. However, the movies always have happy endings.
When Ryan Dickens was leaving the ceremony after being celebrated, his phone rang in the parking lot. Elated to see who was calling, he answered his future coach. Minutes later he was torched. The coach explained that they had decided to go in a different direction only 17 days before the NCAA commitment deadline, leaving Ryan with limited options. The senior verbally committed in June which shut down other offers from coming through. Through a heartless phone call, the small-town athlete who worked endlessly to make it had to watch his dreams go up in flames.
One point which I believe is being severely overlooked is the fact that coach Edsall called Ryan and confirmed with him that there was a spot on the team, even under the new coaching staff. A mere 17 days before the recruitment season ended, Edsall contacted Dickens and crushed his dreams with a simple phone call. “We don’t have a spot for you” was probably echoing through the linebacker’s head. It was any college commit’s worst nightmare. The decision to go back on his word negatively reflects the coach himself, the program, and the school.
My question is for the coach because how can you knowingly rip an athlete’s dreams away from them days after reassuring them everything was fine? How can Randy Edsall sleep at night knowing that he left this kid who trusted him with no options? This is a disgrace to college sports everywhere.
The sad thing is that this happens more often than one would think. After being named Mr. Football of 2015, Matt Coburn from South Carolina had his offer from Louisville revoked the week of his signing. Demetrius Monday, a cornerback from Fairburn, Georgia, was verbally committed to Cincinnati when they hired a new coach. They never heard from the coach, instead, they contacted the school directly. The school advised them to start looking other places. With only weeks until the deadline, Monday was back on the market.
We, as a society, have built this world that displays to children that being a college athlete is a prestigious privilege and something that you need to work hard to achieve. Young children have dreams of attending universities like UCONN and Louisville for a sport. However, no one informs the kids of the heartbreak that goes along with it. Ryan Dickens did everything right: he worked hard on and off the field and he was left screwed in the end anyway. He deserved the privilege. What else could Dickens have done to get the treatment he deserves?
I attended a rival high school and I didn’t know Ryan Dickens personally. However, many people close to me do. I didn’t need to know him personally to feel for him in this time. He was given the coach’s word, yet in the end, it didn’t matter. The coach lied to a kid with a dream. To have your dreams snatched away from you in the eleventh hour is cruel and it’s something I wouldn’t wish upon any athlete.
