Where do I begin other than saying thank you?
Thank you to each one of you for everything these last several years. Yes, even you EKReb or whichever handle it is you are using today.
From working as an intern under Kelly back when I first started with Rivals, to picking up more and more of a workload as the years progressed, covering Georgia Tech has been a memorable ride to say the least.
I’ve made the decision to step away from Rivals, effective immediately, focusing instead on my family and my role as a dad, a husband, a coach, a small group leader, and if I’m lucky enough, one day a role-model for my three girls.
As I look back at the last decade, it is still incredibly humbling to think that I was able to turn what was originally a passion, and turn it into a paying hobby and then from that into a job that paid real money.
I went from covering recruits picking up MAC offers for a sports blog site, to covering five-stars and encountering countless future NFL players in the process.
I risked my family, my marriage, and my role as a father when I jumped into doing this full-time in 2017.
I’ve taken numerous other risks throughout my career, betting on myself time and time again.
I’m no longer willing to take these risks, nor am I willing make the sacrifices that I once would do with no hesitation as I climbed to the top of the mountain that is the world of recruiting.
I’ve missed too many moments with my oldest, Emory, in the first 10+ years of her life. I don’t want to miss the next 10. I don’t want to miss the next one.
I want to be there for the moments moving forward that I once as a grinder thought weren’t important. She deserves the world, and I’m going to do my best to give that to her.
My other two deserve more of me too. They deserve the best version of me. After weeks of prayer and conversation with those closest to me, it has become clear that the best version of me means stepping back from Rivals.
They don’t deserve the 6:30pm planned commitment that doesn’t happen until 7:45, leading me to miss bedtime for two of the three and to not get the chance to say goodnight to dad.
They don’t deserve the times they were sick and needed their dad, while he was out traveling and taking pictures of high school boys and talking to their coaches about where they were going to school and how much money it would take to land their signature.
They deserve more, and I’m going to give it to them.
Please respect my decision.
Russell
Thank you to each one of you for everything these last several years. Yes, even you EKReb or whichever handle it is you are using today.
From working as an intern under Kelly back when I first started with Rivals, to picking up more and more of a workload as the years progressed, covering Georgia Tech has been a memorable ride to say the least.
I’ve made the decision to step away from Rivals, effective immediately, focusing instead on my family and my role as a dad, a husband, a coach, a small group leader, and if I’m lucky enough, one day a role-model for my three girls.
As I look back at the last decade, it is still incredibly humbling to think that I was able to turn what was originally a passion, and turn it into a paying hobby and then from that into a job that paid real money.
I went from covering recruits picking up MAC offers for a sports blog site, to covering five-stars and encountering countless future NFL players in the process.
I risked my family, my marriage, and my role as a father when I jumped into doing this full-time in 2017.
I’ve taken numerous other risks throughout my career, betting on myself time and time again.
I’m no longer willing to take these risks, nor am I willing make the sacrifices that I once would do with no hesitation as I climbed to the top of the mountain that is the world of recruiting.
I’ve missed too many moments with my oldest, Emory, in the first 10+ years of her life. I don’t want to miss the next 10. I don’t want to miss the next one.
I want to be there for the moments moving forward that I once as a grinder thought weren’t important. She deserves the world, and I’m going to do my best to give that to her.
My other two deserve more of me too. They deserve the best version of me. After weeks of prayer and conversation with those closest to me, it has become clear that the best version of me means stepping back from Rivals.
They don’t deserve the 6:30pm planned commitment that doesn’t happen until 7:45, leading me to miss bedtime for two of the three and to not get the chance to say goodnight to dad.
They don’t deserve the times they were sick and needed their dad, while he was out traveling and taking pictures of high school boys and talking to their coaches about where they were going to school and how much money it would take to land their signature.
They deserve more, and I’m going to give it to them.
Please respect my decision.
Russell
