Are You Ready To Commit?

[Guest HowieP1]

Are You Ready To Commit?

By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON arichardson@tampatrib.com

Published: Oct 5, 2004

TAMPA - Jarred Fayson was ready for a long-term commitment.

Fayson had completed his sophomore football season at Hillsborough High. He was so good, the University of South Florida was one of many schools to offer him a scholarship. Fayson jumped at the opportunity and verbally committed.

Never mind his junior season had not begun, he was only 15 and had never visited another college campus. He believed the promises from recruiters and figured an opportunity to stay close to his mom, who recently beat cancer, was his best option.

``If I could take it back [his verbal commitment], I would just wait to see what would have happened,'' Fayson said.

What did happen was USF received three other verbal commitments from quarterbacks (two high school seniors, one transfer) shortly after Fayson committed. Fayson did not know recruiters are experienced salesmen who operate from a well-rehearsed script and he was just one of many athletes on USF's wish list.

Trying to persuade athletes to make a college commitment before their senior season is becoming a popular option for recruiters.

``I'm sure there is [a trend]. I think it's a little bit less in this state and a little less in the southeastern United States as a whole,'' FSU football recruiting coordinator John Lilly said.

``Some states and areas have picked it up a little more. The Northeast and Texas now are pretty notorious for it.''

Verbal commitments occur when a college or university informs an athlete it will offer him a scholarship. There are no rules regulating at what age a scholarship can be offered, and since it is only a verbal agreement, the school or athlete can back out any time before a scholarship is signed.

Florida State quarterback Chris Rix verbally committed during his junior season; Florida quarterback Chris Leak verbally committed to Wake Forest as a freshman; former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson announced his decision as a junior; Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson verbally committed a week before the end of his sophomore season and Florida guard Teddy Dupay made his commitment known as a sophomore at Cape Coral Mariner.

Last week, Fayson announced he was going to keep his options open.

Eliminating Stress

The biggest perceived benefit for athletes making early decisions is not having to worry about the recruiting process.

Munir Prince attended Armwood as a freshman in 2002, and was on the junior varsity before being moved to varsity the same season. He moved to St. Louis after the season when his parents received a better job offer.

Prince rushed for 1,351 yards last season, and was an outstanding track athlete at DeSmet Jesuit High in St. Louis. Iowa offered him a scholarship and after quick contemplation, Prince accepted on Sept. 1. He is one of four nationally ranked juniors to make a college decision before this season began.

``It takes a lot of recruiting stress off me. It also gives Iowa more time to go out and recruit other players,'' Prince said. ``Iowa has the second-best sports medicine program in the nation, which is the career I'm interested in. There are a lot of positives for me attending the school.''

Another perk for making an early decision is the comfort of knowing you have a scholarship.

``It benefits the kids. If the coach takes an early commitment and you don't get better, you know you will be good enough to at least be on the team,'' said James Johnson, Penn State's assistant men's basketball coach. ``There have not been many cases of a coach taking away a scholarship if a kid doesn't show improvement in high school.''

The University of Florida does not make it a habit to offer young players scholarships, but of the 80 players currently on scholarship, between 20 and 30 percent were offered in the spring of their junior year.

Even if the player suffers an injury, Florida's policy is to never withdraw the scholarship offer, making it highly beneficial for a player to commit early.

``If we offer a kid as a junior, he's a guy that we've watched for some time, either because he had a teammate who was older or because somehow the name and the tape got to us early,'' Florida recruiting coordinator Mike Locksley said.

``The way we grade a kid and the way we offer a kid is the recruiting coach, the position coach, the head coach and myself review a tape or two. We have a grading system.

``If a kid scores an offerable grade, we do our research and check any academics. If we know the kid's background, then we would be prepared to offer a kid as a junior.''

Colleges are seeking young athletes, because they are always looking for a recruiting edge.

No Time To Wait

Basketball coaches are under the most pressure, because players can sign between Nov. 10-17 this year. The late period runs between April 13 to May 18 next year.

It makes waiting until a player's senior season to recruit them nearly impossible, because the good players already would have narrowed their choices.

``You want to get them as early as you can to start working with the next class. That's normal now. Guys are working on the 2006 class right now. We're done with the Class of 2005,'' Johnson said.

``You want to start working on younger kids ASAP. We have four scholarships now, which is holding us back from working on the next class. You're never going to get ahead that way.

``In order to get a kid committed early, you have to be ahead of your class and working with the younger kids.''

The way colleges are accomplishing that is through unofficial visits.

Instead of waiting for their senior year to visit a prospective school on one of five official visits, athletes are being encouraged to visit campuses on their own as sophomores and juniors. Once on campus, they receive official-visit treatment.

``It used to be you brought a kid up his senior year to visit a campus, but now they visit as a sophomore on their own. There are also a number of summer tournaments on college campuses and they get to visit a school,'' former USF and current Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg said.

``The process has changed. I'm not sure it's for the better, but it has changed.''

The dangers of not encouraging a sophomore to visit a college campus means schools likely will lose recruits.

If a coach loses too many recruits, his job is usually next.

``We can't compete with a kid who has visited Florida's campus three times. If you come in late, they are going to tell you I feel comfortable with Florida and I haven't been to your school once. He's done,'' Johnson said. ``You can bring him up on a visit, but we're still behind and he will go to Florida.''

Covering Themselves

While there are benefits to both sides, national football recruiting expert Tom Lemming said he believes the surge toward early commitments is a negative for schools and athletes.

Lemming, who runs usaprep.com and originated recruiting services, said athletes are selling themselves short by committing early, while colleges are trying to take advantage of naive kids.

``Both sides are covering themselves. For the kid, if he turns out to be not that great, he's covered himself, because he has a school to go to. The school is covering themselves, because they have gotten him to commit before he becomes a national name and they're working it,'' Lemming said.

``For the super players, it really hurts them to commit early. The head coach could be fired in December or go to the NFL. Assistant coaches leave like crazy. Then he would be stuck without options.''

Lemming is in charge of selecting all the players for the U.S. Army All- American Bowl, an all-star game of the top high school football players in the country. Of the 80 players from which he is selecting, none has made a college commitment.

``When you commit early, it shows you only have one or two offers and the coaches were successful in bullying a kid to commit by saying they will run out of scholarships, which they never do,'' Lemming said. ``If you only have one or two options, then go ahead and commit.

``The great players take their visits in December or January and eventually make a decision. Weaker players go first and the great players go last. The majority of times it always work out that way.''

More Attention

And while the pressure seemingly may be lifted by committing early, the reverse often occurs.

Fayson actually received more college offers after announcing he would play for USF and still is highly recruited. In addition, he is playing under a bigger microscope this season, because he is carrying the label of being USF's first junior commitment.

``All the fans of their schools come out and critique a guy who committed early. They want to know how good their future player is,'' said basketball recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, editor and publisher of the All- Star Report. ``It solves one problem, but creates another.

``Then opponents get fired up. You have kids who think I'm better than he is and try to make a name for themselves against the star athletes. Verbally committing early doesn't necessarily reduce the pressures.''

Lemming and Gibbons recommend that all potential recruits research schools and take as many official and unofficial visits as possible. They believe athletes who rush into a decision many times end up in bad situations.

Just ask a 15-year-old.

``It's like marrying the first girl you meet. It may be a great thing, but how do you know if that's the only person you ever dated?'' Tampa Prep boys basketball coach Joe Fenlon said. ``You have to make your visits. You have to go in unannounced. You have to walk the campus and see what you find on your own.

``When kids get in trouble, it's not usually with teammates, but with people on campus. You have to learn about it without a coach around and find out what it has to offer. Once you get there, you're on your own.''

Staff writers Doug Carlson and Andy Staples contributed to this report.

http://www.tampatrib.com/MGB0WT5EXZD.html

[WoolyBully]

[mattegunz]

Great pic Wooly hahaah.

[bulls96go]

hands off the kids!

where the h$&L are the parents?