Tuesday, August 18, 2009

UNC recruit Tate signs with Padres

The Donavan Tate story was interesting while it lasted at North Carolina.

Tate, the No. 3 overall pick in the major league baseball draft in June, has signed with the San Diego Padres. He had reported to preseason camp as a freshman quarterback for the Tar Heels, but left after spending just a few days in Chapel Hill.

The Associated Press reported that Tate's deal is worth $6.25 million and quoted Padres vice president of scouting and player development Grady Fuson as saying he knew all along that football was not where his heart was.

Was Tate using football as a bargaining chip? If that's the case, why would North Carolina coach Butch Davis allow him into camp?

That's an easy call. There's always a sliver of a chance a player will come to campus and develop a camaraderie with his teammates that will cause him to decide to join your team.

Better still, getting Tate into camp should provide at least a small benefit for North Carolina in recruiting. It reinforces Davis' reputation as a coach who is recruiting all kinds of high-profile athletes to the Tar Heels. If that got the attention of even one high-caliber recruit anywhere in the United States, the exercise was worthwhile for Davis and North Carolina.

Ken Tysiac

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

yeah ken, you hit the nail on the head. bringing in the best talent, and having them leave a few days later definitely helps a coach build a program... for about a week.

Anonymous said...

Didn't one of Davis' highly touted recruits recently assault another highly touted recruit? Looks like Butch is creating Thug U over in Chapel Hill. He'll leave our program in shambles!

Anonymous said...

Look for a disappointing 5-7 (or worse) record this year from UNC since their OL has already been decimated.

Anonymous said...

OK, come clean - who taught a Wuffie how to log into a computer?

Anonymous said...

Duke is going to roll over Visor Boy Jr. in Kenan. Good luck to finding another loser head coach unc.

Anonymous said...

And the rats continue to abandon the UNC-ch lifeboat. BD will ask for another raise after a 4-8 record this season. Pathetic!

Anonymous said...

Who cares? Is it basketball season yet? Shut up!!!