NCAA Early Commitments: Is the System Flawed?

Sometimes anticipation is better than the real thing. At the very least, the buzz about recruiting doesn’t end with National Signing Day.

Tennessee is in the news. It seems like the sole “commit” for their 2011 class, Eric MacLain of Fayetteville, N.C., has de-committed. His family has cited a lack of communication between the current Vols staff (now with about a month of tenure in Knoxville) and their son.

MacLain was originally recruited when Phil Fulmer was running the show. October, 2008 wasn’t that long ago...except that Tennessee is two coaches removed from where they were at that point. Same kid, different team. Things change fast.

Clemson fans just got to see some interesting developments with one of their recruits.  Remember Keenan Allen? Originally an early Alabama commitment, Allen decided (fairly late in the game) to shop his skill set and his five-star rating to a school that could accommodate his brother’s needs as well. 

Clemson looked like the early winner until Penn State and Cal swooped in to make their last-minute pitches. For some reason, Allen concluded that the Pac-10 was the place to be for them. It seems odd on the surface, but who knows what the real deciding factor was there.

So what does the word “commit” mean anyway? National Signing Day had its share of rock-solid verbal commitments heading to different schools. Each year does. It’s part of the soap opera that is major college football. Perhaps it shouldn’t be.

Maybe it’s the entire concept of an early commit that is flawed. Websites like Scout.com and Rivals.com are some of the best entertainment on the Internet. 

They engage fan’s interest each year, months removed from actual football being played, as we check daily to see how our alma mater or favorite teams are shaping up. 

The drama builds as players change their minds and switch hats, almost at the drop of a dime. It’s almost like watching the stock ticker, only it speaks a language that we can all understand.

The truth of the matter is that a commitment is nothing of the sort. It is a high school kid saying yes to the best offer that he has heard up to that point. It’s not unlike a girlfriend you have in the 10th grade. As much as you like her at that point, things are probably going to change. 

Many high school romances don’t last a sports season, or even through study hall. Yet we expect these same kids to know where they want to spend the next four years of their life two or so years before they even move there?

Of course Lane Kiffin took this issue to another level when he offered a scholarship to a promising 13-year-old quarterback. Kiffin showed his infinite class once again by offering a kid who isn’t old enough to have a part-time job or take drivers education. 

Of course, the star-struck junior high student said yes. Hopefully, Lane will have the sense not to give him a guilt trip when he decides to look elsewhere, or comes to the realization that he doesn’t want to play college football.

Once upon a time, (Charlotte) Independence had a stellar quarterback named C.J. Leak.  Leak initially went to Wake Forest, where the coaching staff gave a scholarship offer to his younger brother Chris, who was a rising ninth-grader at the time. 

Leak got injured at Wake behind a porous offensive line and transferred to Tennessee. He was then embarrassed by Coach Fulmer, who started him in a game when his little brother came to visit, and pulled him after three plays, not allowing him to throw a pass.

Chris Leak was disgusted and signed with rival Florida, where he was the starting quarterback on the 2006 national championship team.

The point is that things change. They change especially fast for high school students who are busy developing into young men. 

It’s a cute idea to offer early scholarships to players and have them make a commitment to your program, but you can’t hold them to that.

On the other hand, every single Clemson commit for the class of 2010 signed to play for the Tigers. What exactly does this mean? It’s hard to say, but one could theorize that Coach Dabo Swinney and his staff are doing a good job of selling recruits on the program before making offers. 

Either that, or they are being careful of who they offer scholarships to. Chances are they aren’t scouting the local elementary schools to see who is the biggest and fastest on the playground.

Here’s a solution: no program should be allowed to offer a scholarship until the beginning of a student-athlete’s senior year. 

The only commitment that is recognized by the media comes on National Signing Day, which is the only one that counts anyway. 

Until then, let the speculation swirl. Isn’t that the fun part anyway?