Commitment?

Commitment is an act of entering into an agreement based on TRUST. Breaking the commitment is breaking of trust, same as lying or stealing or cheating. All of those are breaking of trust.

Verbal commitments are legal contracts in all 50 States. While it is much more difficult to win a case involving a verbal contract than a written contract does not make a verbal contract less binding. Driving faster than the posted speed limit is breaking the law whether one gets a ticket or not.

When it comes to recruiting and verbal commitments, there are 2 perspectives, 2 variations, and they do nee to be considered separately.

First, the recruit just changes his mind. No undue influence. He goes to the coach with who he made the verbal contract and they talk it out and mutually agree to sever the agreement. This is how it should be done. De mano e mano; not through a newspaper or Facebook or an email. Face to face with honor and parting with a handshake, on good terms. The ethical recruit waits until after being released from his commitment before calling any other coaches or schools.

The second scenario is what is being discussed and debated lately. It starts when a recruiting coach who calls a recruit after that recruit has made his promise to another school and given his handshake to the coach of that school. Principally due to the unethical contact, initiated by the recruiting coach, the player rejects his contract and enters into a new one. This is wrong. The recruiting coach making the call, initiating contact, is immoral and the act of calling is unethical.

The reasons for the verbal commitment are: (a) to give the recruit a cooling off period during which he can reflect on his choice without all the hoopla and celebrity attention given him during the recruiting phase and (b) to give the coach a measure of security during the recruiting phase. The objective is to avoid bad matches and bad choices.

The natural consequence of poaching (ala Darth Meyer) is that the National Letters of Intent will be required by the schools months earlier. This is not a good choice because breaking a LOI is much more difficult, the kids won't get their grace period. The optimum chioce is for recruiters to hold themselves to a high standard of ethical behavior, respect the choices made and honor the verbal commitments with a hands off policy. Along with this, the recruits need to honor their choices as well and not take additional visits and refuse calls from other schools when they are under a VC. If the recruit wants to be back in the ratrace, he only needs to go to the coach and talk it over as described above.

There are so many problems in college football that we do not need to make them worse by having recruiting become, literally, an auction with the best recruits going to the highest bidders. There are too many money handshakes as it is. Embacing the tactic of poaching will bring out the very worst of everything.

Sour grapes huh?   These are kids, they are not old enough to be held to anything.  

Thank goodness Barry alvarez piped down bileima on it. 

Urban called the kids and said do you have any interest in coming to tOSU.   If the kid say NO, Urban said ok good luck.  If the kid said YES, Urban said lets talk.

What confuses me is how the NCAA let OSU have 2 sets of couaching during the bowl season.  One to prepare for the bowl game and one for recruiting.  So while other coaches were preparing for their bowl game,  Urban's able to go out and recruit virtually unabated.  Just another example of the NCAA and their inconsistent decisions.   

Research a topic before you form your opinion on it please.    Urban being able to recruit while Luke coached the team, is very commonplace in NCAA.  tOSU asked NCAA for persmission on it and NCAA (as they pretty much always do on that topic when asked) gave tOSU permission to do that.  No special treatment was given to tOSU at all, actually normal protocal was followed.

Very disappointing for a so-called michigan man.

Research a topic before you form your opinion on it please. Urban being able to recruit while Luke coached the team, is very commonplace in NCAA. tOSU asked NCAA for persmission on it and NCAA (as they pretty much always do on that topic when asked) gave tOSU permission to do that. No special treatment was given to tOSU at all, actually normal protocal was followed.

Very disappointing for a so-called michigan man.

I have researched it and they don't ALWAYS allow it but usually do in transitional situations.   You'd think the last school the NCAA would want to be granting favors for would be Da OSU.  It certainly helped poach some recruits in this situation.    The NCAA should care about the student athlete,  but it's all about feeding the football money making machine.    In my opinion,  a committment is a committment.   Once a player committs he should not be able to change his mind.  Verbal committments should be binding then maybe these kids would really think about it BEFORE committing to a school.

Michigan has a standing policy that if a commited recruit visitis another school,  they no longer consider him as a committment.  If more schools would follow suit,  you'd see a lot less drama in recruiting.   10 years ago,  no one cared about NSD,  now they make this huge deal about it but more importantly,  who screwed over who.   

Sour grapes huh?   These are kids, they are not old enough to be held to anything.

You will say differently if your kids ever make it to 17 or 18 years old.

As to sour grapes, you would personally be leading the charge had someone poached top OSU VC'd recruits.

Better go open up that tatoo shop again. The bidding will start soon...

I have researched it and they don't ALWAYS allow it but usually do in transitional situations. 

Please share some of your data, specifically cases where NCAA granted exception to the 10 coach rule. I personally do not recall ever hearing of it before this year.

Bonus points for the rest of you comments.

I find it highly interesting that any attempt to have a mature discussion on a controversial topic is always vunerable to some SNERT claiming whining or crybaby or sour grapes.

Name calling is such a highly regarded debating tactic...

I agree with the UM fan who thinks a commitment made by the athelete should mean something.  Unfortunately it doesn't and the schools have to adapt accordingly.  ND was able to pick up a last second Star QB who changed his mind, they may or may not have had to pull someone elses scholarship to make room for him.  LSU, conversly had to scramble to add a 25th since they lost someone they were counting on being a part of their class.  If the student have to honor his word, I understand while schools are held to that same standard.  Until the verbal commitment actually means something, these scenarios will play out over and over.

I think tOSU lost as many commitmants this year as they picked up. It is ok if the recruits are leaving tOSU due to scandal, but when they are gaining recruits due to the new regime thats unfair?  Huh?  I'm not a Buckeye lover at all, but it seems this season more then one "Committed" Buckeye recruit signed somewhere else.

As to sour grapes, you would personally be leading the charge had someone poached top OSU VC'd recruits.

Give me a break.  That state up north poached our best o-line verbal commit when Tress stepped down.    That's probably why you don't hear Hoke whining like a little girl.  This happens every year in every conferences when there are coaching changes.  In the PAC this year one top recruit commited to 3 different schools before signing day.

Pittman would never have been a MSU commit if it were not for Tressel being fired and all of the uncertainty around the OSU program at that time, once Urban stabilized things the guys who saw OSU as a messy situation now had to reconsider if they did not want to go back to OSU. Meyer got in late in the game, next year, any of the high rated Ohio Kids will have heard from OSU way before November if they have not heard from Meyer himself allready. Getting a top rated Ohio recruit from OSU is not going to be easy with Meyer, he is a very magnetic person and he has a good product to sell. I don't think he will have to try and flip anyone going forward, when Kallis said that he was happy at um-Meyer backed off.

Give me a break.  That state up north poached our best o-line verbal commit when Tress stepped down.    That's probably why you don't hear Hoke whining like a little girl.  This happens every year in every conferences when there are coaching changes.  In the PAC this year one top recruit commited to 3 different schools before signing day.

Yea, once Meyer came to OSU michigan's recruiting froze in it's tracks, Hoke will not have nearly as good a year in Ohio next year I don't think.

any of the high rated Ohio Kids will have heard from OSU way before November if they have not heard from Meyer himself allready. Getting a top rated Ohio recruit from OSU is not going to be easy with Meyer,

You are correct, he already has verbal's from 2 5 star Ohio kids for next year.  So all you other B1G schools go ahead and try to poach away, good luck.

This Sparty fan is killing me! Lets ask him about Greg Jones?

Commitment is an act of entering into an agreement based on TRUST. Breaking the commitment is breaking of trust, same as lying or stealing or cheating. All of those are breaking of trust.

You mean like telling a kid he has scholarship spot on the team and not coming back and taking it away?

MSU,

No offense, but the committment isn't complete until that kid SIGNS on the dotted line and/or enrolls in school

If binding committments could be made on TRUST... our society would fall apart.  

And from what I have read, MSU has stolen their share of players as well.

I have no sympathy here.. and I can't blame the kids.

As I posted on another thread... this is a complaint that is almost identical to when the bouncer in strip club tells you to take your baseball cap off to "...have some respect for the ladies!"

Yeah right...  

What happen Spartan fan? Catch your girlfriend with the Fed ex man? This is life.And life is not fair.California has a 70% percent divorce rate! The country has a 50% percent divorce rate.I want to trade my parents for some white parents!( JOKE,sarcasim!) Maybe i would of not have to pay for college.And got a computer out of the deal!

I dont know how a verbal commentment should be binding? I love my mother,father,past girlfriends,wife,kids,friends! But with all the people involved in ones life,including a school.How can you make everyone happy?

Arik Armstead was a USC commit.But he went to Oregon.But i feel USC end up signing better player in his place.When it comes to verbal commitment in life.It not wriiten untill the person signs,and does so on his free will.Put things into context.Bubba Smith only went to Michigan State  only because he was not allowed to go to Texas!

So for what every reason a 17 year old kid changes his mind,so be it! I can count on one hand, how many kids who De Commited from USC.And became something in college,and the NFL.When you feel so strongly about verbal commits.It tends to drive people away.That why Chris paul left the Hornets.And LaBron left Clevland.I learn one thing in life! Never tell a women your going to do something,than do do it.She will label you a lier! What going to happen when you feel this way! No one will make that verbal commit,untill they are sure! And that will only favor the bigger name schools like a USC even more!

Let me just say, that I am glad that we got MSU, UM, and OSU angry with each other. As for old Urban, I think he is a bit of a snake, not a full on snake like Nick Saban, but a snake none the less.

MSU Spartan -  et al. Maybe they shouldn't call it commitment. Maybe it should be called leaning towards. If I live in the South, and Alabama offers me, and I plan to stay in the south after school (unless I am fortuanate to make the NFL), graduating from Alabama may be a big thing. But maybe graduating from Stanford or Notre Dame, or USC if I am going to live in Southern California is a better deal, particularly if you don't make the NFL or your career is very short like 3 years. So maybe you lean towards X, but Y comes along and you never thought Y would, or your second look at Y, and you are blown away? Schools treat players like commodities or at least some coaches do. There are not that many late changers that gave a so-called commitment. There are more late deciders who look like strong possibilities, but finalize somewhere else. This happened to USC this year. Of course if they had gotten those "studs" it would have meant a larger cut before fall practice to get to the 75 schollie level. So now the school will have 3 early (year 13) available like the 4 or 5 we brought in this year. I think to expect anything different is "pie-in-the-sky" thinking.

Give me a break.  That state up north poached our best o-line verbal commit when Tress stepped down.    That's probably why you don't hear Hoke whining like a little girl.  This happens every year in every conferences when there are coaching changes.  In the PAC this year one top recruit commited to 3 different schools before signing day.

This is all hilarious to those of us in Florida, Texas, and California that have to endure carpetbaggers from all 50 states, practically, crawling all over our states, attempting to flip Gator, Nole, and Cane commits, as well as Horn, AtM, and Trojan, commits.  Welcome to the real world.  Imagine the howling, if we tried to enforce a gentlemen's agreement that all SEC teams seed Florida recruits to the Gators, ACC schools had to back off Nole recruits- simply because we had a kid at our camp, and he early committed- and what about the fact that Miami also belongs to the ACC?  Do you divide the state north and south?  It's silly.  It would really be assinine in Texas and California.  Texas has always recruited kids a year ahead of tme.  Does that mean he can never re-consider, if he commits his junior year?    

Big Ten coaches =