Teddy Kider/South Florida Sun Sentinel

Ricky Gary gets his motivation from a cell phone.

He speaks proudly, almost boastfully, of the electronic messages that pop up on his phone four or five times a day: Good luck. Work hard. You can guard anybody. It’s not the size of the person, it’s the heart of the person.

For the 5-foot-9 senior running back and defensive back at Pahokee, the hundreds of text messages he has received from football coaches tell him that he’s not an average player, that he has those “special talents.”

And that’s what he wants to hear.

“Growing up, this was all I wanted,” Gary said. “It’s a high school player’s dream to be highly recruited by Division I schools. I get a D-I scholarship, I’m going to be something in life.”

Gary said he gets most of his text messages from Pittsburgh and Minnesota, two of the many Division I-A college football programs using the newest recruiting tool to establish relationships with high school athletes.

But while this relatively easy form of electronic communication is quickly becoming a regular part of recruiting — some players said they receive up to 15 messages a day — there are those who aren’t as happy as Gary.

“Most of the time they’re annoying,” said Brandon Heath, a senior receiver and defensive back at Palm Beach Lakes. “They know I have enough to do at night, and it’s aggravating.”

The NCAA officially separated text messaging from heavily restricted telephone calls in 2004. The difference, the NCAA said, is that recruits can decide whether to answer messages but not calls.

Now players and coaches are beginning to take sides: It’s either a nice and easy way for college coaches to communicate with athletes and encourage them, or it’s a disruptive nuisance that keeps coaches in touch with recruits at almost all hours of the day.

While the NCAA keeps a close watch, text messaging is quickly changing the way college coaches compete for recruits. And it’s quickly becoming a big part of recruits’ everyday lives.

Personal touches

They can come at any time, and they usually do.

De’Andre Morgan, a senior defensive back at Suncoast, says he once received a text message from a Wake Forest assistant coach at 1 a.m. Although he has committed to playing at North Carolina State next year, he gets 10 to 15 messages a day.

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