KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — “So, am I speaking with the three-star recruit that doesn’t exist right now?”



“Uh, yes sir.”



For one day last week, Blake Carringer was the talk of college football. But that was only after people realized he was not a hulking, 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle from Grace Christian Academy in the northwest part of this city, about 11 miles from Neyland Stadium.



Visitors to his recruiting page, until earlier this month, could see that Carringer held offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida and … Amherst College? He was a top-35 prospect in the state of Tennessee and one of the 1,000 best players in America.



But every one of his stars and recruiting ranking was based solely on a handful of tweets Carringer didn’t even post, from an account with fewer than 30 followers that used two fake photos and a short, faked clip of “game film.” Add it all up, and it...