"One of the most insightful books ever written about college football."
- The New York Times
"Easily among the best sports books of the new millennium."
- Paul Finebaum, columnist and radio host
In this unprecedented look at college football’s secret season, Bruce Feldman rips the cover off the game’s frenzied pursuit of raw talent, taking you deep inside the SEC war room of recruiting legend Ed Orgeron,the combustible Cajun who helped build national championship teams at the University of Miami and at USC. In a stunning, blow-by-blow account of the year leading up to National Signing Day 2007, the award-winning journalist shadows Orgeron and his Ole Miss assistants as they set about hunting high school students, pleading, plotting, and inventing ways to lure them to their sleepy Oxford campus. Packed with candid confessions and outrageous off-the-field action, Meat Market makes what happens on the field seem almost tame by comparison.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Author: Bruce Feldman
Publisher: ESPN
Customer Reviews
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Interesting Book, Even If It Is Dated
I graduated from the University of Arkansas. Reading this book and knowing that Houston Nutt replaced Ed Orgeron gave me a different perspective.
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<br />I liked how the book had Orgeron's life history, which influenced how he and Ole Miss recruited. The anecdotes about the evaluation and discussion of recruits was as if I were listening to Orgeron. Having heard Orgeron speak at press conferences and at halftime interviews, I could hear his voice as I read his quotes. The anecdote about his relationship with Matt Lubick was interesting because it showed a human side of a coach who sees an assistant coach who feels uncomfortable living in an area different than anywhere he has ever resided.
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<br />It is good book to see the inside of college football recruiting.
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Amazing look into the forgotten part of College Football
Recruiting is where a team is made. You can only take a team so far if you don't have top flight athletes, especially in the SEC. Meat Market is a great look into the recruiting process, and how far teams have to go in order to get the top tier players. Coach O is an amazing character, and fits perfectly into this story.
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<br />Also, this books works because it shows a team that is trying to get back to the top. If it would have been about USC or Florida, it wouldn't have gotten the point across, as they get some recruits on name alone. This book does a great job of show the ins and outs of recruiting, and how much work actually goes into it, even during the season.
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<br />A great ready for anyone who is a college football fan, fan of the SEC, or wants to know more about the game.
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