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People focus on Clouse based on his historical work, but his hire and part-time arrangement didn't move the needle at all for me. So far, the quantity and type of content he's produced there has largely confirmed that impression. When it was essentially just Carpenter doing everything and the occasional Clouse chat, I had a hard time seeing Rivals surviving even having the legacy subscriber base and one of the few markets in the country that could theoretically support three (or more) pay sites.
However, the moves he's made recently have really been impressive. Greg Smith strikes me as a recruiting correspondent who actually brings some unique value. He clearly has the motivation and ability to get in with local prospects. His recent pieces on Coleman, Gottula, and Hall have each been worth checking out--nothing like that right now on On3. Indeed, having a local guy that knows the area and is able to actually visit high schools and camps versus Mongo operating out of Texas may end up being a real advantage for Rivals.
While I haven't checked out as much of his stuff, I have to say that Steve Marik also seems like he could be decent. If nothing else, he's allowing the Rivals site to compete with On3 in terms of sheer quantity of output. Frankly, on a lot of this stuff, it's basically just conveying information that's out there in a digestible format, e.g., those notes on the Sports Nightly interviews. Having bodies to throw at those is important; Carpenter can't do it all.
For the first time, I'm reconsidering canceling on Rivals. Probably going to keep On3 regardless, because I think their national network is going to keep growing and paying dividends, but not sure Callahan's site is going to make me feel like I should consolidate down to only one pay site (besides this place, of course).
However, the moves he's made recently have really been impressive. Greg Smith strikes me as a recruiting correspondent who actually brings some unique value. He clearly has the motivation and ability to get in with local prospects. His recent pieces on Coleman, Gottula, and Hall have each been worth checking out--nothing like that right now on On3. Indeed, having a local guy that knows the area and is able to actually visit high schools and camps versus Mongo operating out of Texas may end up being a real advantage for Rivals.
While I haven't checked out as much of his stuff, I have to say that Steve Marik also seems like he could be decent. If nothing else, he's allowing the Rivals site to compete with On3 in terms of sheer quantity of output. Frankly, on a lot of this stuff, it's basically just conveying information that's out there in a digestible format, e.g., those notes on the Sports Nightly interviews. Having bodies to throw at those is important; Carpenter can't do it all.
For the first time, I'm reconsidering canceling on Rivals. Probably going to keep On3 regardless, because I think their national network is going to keep growing and paying dividends, but not sure Callahan's site is going to make me feel like I should consolidate down to only one pay site (besides this place, of course).