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Three-Star Fake Recruit Catfishes Fans

Unique Brissett II, a Class of 2018 three-star JUCO running back/wide receiver out of Globe Institute of Technology in New York, listed Penn State in his top eight schools.

This might excite you. You might be dreaming of an eventual commitment to Penn State where he emerges from an airplane in an unreasonably long video after James Franklin announced he’s made this new signing at 12:55 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

Then the fear might set in that his commitment will waver. Is he going to name his dog Brutus? Will Jim Harbaugh sleep with him? What else can be reported from grown men who’ve given 17-year-old kids an unlimited platform to make the recruiting process a circus.

Well let’s add a new one to the list of grievances against recruits: getting catfished.

Brissett is not real, but thanks to the ease of grabbing the attention of these grown men, and many others, via Twitter dot com, an account with the handle @briss_II made several announcements on offers, visits, and list trimmings to blow up the recruiting world with this fake news.

How It Happened

At some point in the past week, Brissett decided that he wanted to be a recruit. He announced several visits, including one to Penn State.

No one batted an eye until this past weekend, when 247Sports ran with a story that Brissett would visit Michigan State. By this point, he had a 247 page (no longer available) and a recruiting profile on NCSA Sports that listed the prospect with a height difference of three inches and weight difference of 58 pounds.

We’d love to know what inside scoop on this fake ‘cruit 247 VIP subscribers are paying $150 yearly for.

Not long after that, the story started to unravel. Another 247Sports reporter, Andrew Irvins, said he contacted two allegedly interested schools, Miami and Kentucky, and neither had ever heard of Brissett. He also uncovered that Brissett’s recruitment video is really highlights of another player.

The school he was apparently playing for also shut down in September.

Brissett then posted a photo from his visit to Michigan State on Monday, and well, you can probably figure this one out on your own.

https://twitter.com/lsrodulski/status/866770579977887745

By Tuesday afternoon, Brissett let us know what everyone probably could’ve found out with a quick Google search.

https://twitter.com/Briss_II/status/867052316490334210

***

Moral of the story: Recruiting is bad and not good, and we’re dumb for caring.

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About the Author

Steve Connelly

Unfortunately, former editor Steve Connelly has graduated. Where is he now? He might be doing something related to that PR degree he got in 2019. Maybe he finally opened that sports bar named after one of his photos, the Blurry Zamboni. Or he might just be eating chicken tenders and couch surfing. Anything’s possible. If you really want to know, follow him on Twitter @slc2o.

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