About that scholarship offer... We were kinda kidding

A high school recruit is suing the University of Hawaii and defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold, who he says promised him a scholarship but later rescinded it.

The recruit claims that after an unofficial visit, Reinebold called and offered him a scholarship. But there was a catch.

"Right before he offered it," the recruit recalled, "He said 'If we offer you a scholarship, we want you to be 100 percent committed to us, and we'll be 100 percent committed to you.' ... I told him I was 100 percent committed, and I committed right there."

That commitment, the recruit claims, kept him from pursuing other opportunities to play football, which included a written offer from the might Division I-AA Portland State. And when head coach June Jones left for Southern Methodist, the recruit got a call saying that the scholarship he'd counted on wouldn't be available after all. (Shoulda gotten it in writing...)

So now he's suing, but the kid insists that it has nothing to do with money.

"I'm not trying to get any money. I'm just trying to get my scholarship that I was promised 10 months ago," he said.

Let's say he wins the lawsuit, and the judge awards him a full ride scholarship to play for the Warriors. How do his teammates react to him? Will the coaches treat him well? Extra wind sprints for the wannabe is probably more like it.

College football recruiting is a high stakes game, and sometimes innocent kids get trapped in sticky situations. But other times -- remember the kid who staged a press conference to sign with a school that never offered him a scholarship? -- the kid and his parents get so excited about the prospect of big-time college football that they forget to think.

The picture is not completely random. Search for "Hawaii football scholarship" on Google Images and you'll see what I mean. For more on this story, check out the nice piece by Sports Illustrated writer And Staples.