You’ll never guess what has the man’s knickers in a wad.
On the growing frequency of commitment flips in college football recruiting:
“That’s the one thing that I don’t miss, right there. I wish they’d do a study on what happens to the flip-floppers. I’m talking about the ones that flip from one school to the other; not once, not twice, maybe three times, and see what kind of career (they had.) The ones to me that know where they’re going and they’re truly committed, to me they have the best careers in college.”
I wonder if he feels the same way about the kids who sign on the back end of a 37-person recruiting class.
Get The Picture 
The Right Reverend is right on. Commitment is yet another word not understood by the Prima Donnas coming out of HS. CFB is a big business and there needs to be something done to not have schools left in the lurch at the last moment. I have no issue with the athlete taking his time to be sure he is matched with the program he wants, and that fits him best….just don’t “commit”, unless you are truly committed. I understand a “release” if the HC changes after that but do not feel that should include changes for assistant coaches. The Earling Signing date porposal for a percentage of the class (say the first 66%) for mid-December is also a good way to give everyone a chance to reassess and concentrate on needs and “best fits”.
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Mac, a commitment doesn’t mean anything binding, so why should it be so important to you?
I’ll get more worked up about this when I see coaches standing by all their verbal commitments.
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For real. I will worry about 17 year old “Prima Donnas” keeping commitments as soon as coaches quit bolting for higher paying jobs, cease cutting players to make the 85 scholarship limit, and start getting more vocal about the need to pay players for the massive revenues they bring in.
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Two things Senator, 1) I put a lot on a person’s word so commitment means a lot to me. That applies to the players and coaches, that is why I said let them out on HC changes. I also feel the contracts between schools and coaches should be enforced; you sign a five year deal, you work there for five years. 2) How do you execute a business plan without knowing if you can rely on the key ingredients until the last moment? The players who flip in that last week leave gaping holes in the replenishment program, and deny other players their chance. How do you effectively run a business with that uncertainty (unless you grossly oversign)?
No one forces the players to commit, they could simply leave it at 3-5 schools as their favorites. Once you commit, you should keep your word. Just another sad directional change in a society that is abandoning what made us strong. That may make me out of step with how you feel about the value of “commitment” but I will stick to my old fashioned values….they have served me well.
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Few understand the details of the people-helping business. “Troy coach Larry Blakeney, the Stephen Hawking of oversigning physics,” is the other one.
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Considering what the athlete gives up once s/he signs… I’d say they’re just treating the system the way it treats them.
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Beat me to the punch. I’ve got no problem with these kids playing the game as long as they can. Once they sign that LOI they lose all leverage until they are a professional athlete.
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Early commitments are because the recuriting cycle is so accelerated. Offers go out before the current class has even signed a LOI … So kids commit to lock up a spot and then keep looking in case they find something better.
It would be going to the grocery store and having to pick your check-out line before you even select your groceries.
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did you oversign weird analogies this winter and are trying to cut the dead weight?
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That plan never works at Publix
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The Nuttster does bring up an interesting point. I have always wondered what percentage of the prima donna’s panned out. Without doing any research or really being able to it seems like the list of busts is a mile long and much larger than the ones that had a stellar career.
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Good Ole Andy Warhol these kids just want their 15 minutes of fame. For a lot of them this will be their last chance. They are about to become the little fish in a real big pond of grown men. I still think they could get more attention by not giving a verbal. The talking heads just keep the pot stirring.
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