Here I was, wondering if we'd ever see Wichita Eagle columnist Bob Lutz write K-State again (not that we'd be sad if he didn't). Back on November 28, 2007, Lutz typed a column in which he called out Frank Martin for his potty-mouth while ignoring a previous column in which he exonerated KU football coach Mark Mangino for his f-bomb-laced rant (the column is no longer on the Eagle Web site, but is quoted extensively in my previous post).
Since that day, Lutz has only seen fit to write primarily about K-State once, when on December 1, 2007, he broke the incredible news that this year's K-State basketball season will be "interesting." In the meantime, he's found thrilling story lines involving Wichita State basketball (currently 7-4 with losses to Monmouth, Texas-Arlington and UMKC), Barry Bonds, KU football, and the 4-11 Kansas City Chiefs. The fact that Lutz could ignore K-State for so long is pretty incredible, especially considering that only one day after Lutz took Frank Martin to task for saying naughty words, K-State forward Bill Walker peed in a towel on the sideline.
Anyway, we should really stop living in the past and get on to what Lutz put before his loyal 'beaks readers this morning. The headline: "Harper right to renege." To put it as basically as I can to you, Lutz applauds Wichita quarterback Chris Harper for decommitting from K-State after offensive coordinator James Franklin (who recruited Harper) left for Maryland. Wait, check that. He applauds "strapping" Wichita quarterback Chris Harper for decommitting from K-State. Harper is strapping, as opposed to all those other scrawny, pansy FBS recruits.
Lutz somehow manages to make Harper the victim in all this:
So imagine Harper's surprise when, just a few days after his commitment to K-State, Franklin announced he was leaving to become the assistant head coach at Maryland.
Merry Christmas.
Oh yes, woe be unto young Mr. Harper. He gave his "commitment" to K-State, then Franklin stabbed him in the back by leaving for Maryland. Except, as anyone who has followed college football recruiting for more than 10 minutes knows, Harper merely gave K-State a verbal commitment, which is non-binding. A verbal commitment in recruiting really only means the recruit has found the school that he likes best, for now. It doesn't mean other coaches have to stop recruiting him (although they risk image problems if they do) and it doesn't mean the recruit is required to attend the school he has "committed" to.
Lutz mentions in the article that Harper is looking at colleges based on academics, because he wants to be a broadcaster. For considering his academics, Harper should be commended. But narrowing your school choices down to schools that have a broadcast journalism major is kind of like narrowing your dating options down to female homo sapiens. There are certainly better broadcast journalism schools in the country than K-State's, but K-State offers it as a major and there are more than a few graduates of the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications who are doing just fine in the broadcasting industry.
So we've picked through this article, and at this point you're likely asking, "What's your point, TB?" Unfortunately, I can't really give you a point, because Lutz doesn't address why he's writing the column. There has been no large public outcry against Harper for decommitting, like there was from former Husker Information Minister Jim Rose when Freeman decommitted from Nebraska. Sure, there has been plenty of chatter on the message boards, but Lutz never mentions that in his article. He insinuates that his point is that K-Staters should listen to his unquestionable moral authority to pronounce Harper's decision just and right and worthy of highest moral praise.
I wish I could tell you I had a grand point, but it's hard to make a point about a piece of writing that has no point itself.