These Ties Don't Bind
Early Commitments Not Always Idea
By Tony DeFazio

When Bishop McCort High School junior Mike Cruz committed to the University of Pittsburgh in early April, his high school coach, Ken Salem, was happy for him. Salem thought Pitt was a good fit for his young tight end, and Cruz thought he had found his "dream school."

Salem, however, was also clearly concerned.

"I'm happy for Mike but I'm not happy about the timing," Salem told PSR at the time. "I thought he would have been better off taking a few of the visits we had lined up and I wanted him to wait until at least mid-summer to decide."

Less than three weeks later, Salem's concerns were validated as Cruz de-committed from the Panthers, saying he rushed his decision.

TOO SOON

Cruz's story is certainly not unique. High school juniors across the country are verbally committing to colleges earlier and earlier in the recruiting process. Per NCAA rules, these verbal commitments are not binding until February of their senior year.

The commitment lists of most college football programs are littered with the names of teenagers who have made decisions about where they plan to play college football beginning in the fall of 2008 - more than 14 months away.

As of press time, every BCS conference school except one - Washington State - had at least one verbal commitment, and most had several. UCLA had 21, Texas 20. Even MAC schools Miami (OH) and Temple each had two.

Why are so many high school juniors so quick to pull the trigger?

"The positives for a high school kid making a commitment early are that they get to focus on academics and sports," says Salem, who is also the principal at Bishop McCort. "They get to put the pressure of making that decision behind them."

Colleges often push prospects to commit early because it makes their recruiting strategy easier.

"It clears the picture up in terms of how many kids you have at a certain position and where you need to keep recruiting," said Pitt assistant coach Charlie Partridge.

The downside, of course, is when a player de-commits. When it happens late in the recruiting process, it can be especially damning for college programs.

It happened to Walt Harris and Pitt in 2004 when Penn Hills quarterback Anthony Morelli de-committed and wound up signing with Penn State. The tables were turned a year later when Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt convinced Seton-LaSalle quarterback Bill Stull to renege on his commitment to Kentucky and sign with the Panthers, leaving Wildcats coach Rich Brooks in the lurch.

West Allegheny head coach Bob Palko feels that many high school players are rushed to make a decision and wind up choosing a school before they are ready.

"Some just can't handle the constant barrage of phone calls and letters and text messages," he said. It's not normal, let's face it. Nowadays it's so overwhelming."

Even college coaches agree that the recruiting process is difficult.

"I can't imagine being recruited the way these kids are today," said Partridge. "It's hard on them. As much as every kid wants to be recruited, the process is hard. We contact them a lot, we all put our best foot forward, we all tell them the advantages our school has. They are getting contacting so much and I think there is a point where the kid just wants to process to be over."

Some kids simply are too immature to treat the process as seriously as it needs to be treated.

Four years ago, Florida high school lineman Mike Mangold verbally committed to Pitt in the spring. A few months later, an offer from Virginia Tech came along and Mangold changed his commitment to the Hokies. After a great senior season, more schools came knocking on his door. At one point, Mangold said publicly that he was leaning toward committing to South Florida. When signing day came, however, it was Florida that received his letter of intent.

Mangold's story is extreme-he is no longer at Florida either, by the way-but it is an example of what can happen when a kid rushes his decision.

"Sometimes kids like the recruiting process, so a lot of times they like all this attention," explains Salem. "Then after a commitment is made and people start to back off, the attention starts to wane and they don't know how to experience that."

Another aspect of the early-commitment trend are the players who develop as seniors-now considered late in the recruiting process-and wind up getting overlooked by the bigger colleges.

"Remember the days when you'd see a kid as a 15- or 16-year old and think, 'Man, once he grows into that body he's going to really blow up and be a great prospect?'" asks Palko. "Well, those kids are still around. The kids that grow into their frames, lose their baby fat and just become mature. But we have no patience for it today."

Partridge agrees, and says the colleges suffer because of it.

"It's two-fold," he says. "For the player that develops late in his senior year, it's a lot harder on him. As recruiting unfolds earlier and earlier, it's those kids that suffer. But that means that we're suffering also because the early commitments don't always allow you to get to that kid. So I think it hurts on both sides."

POSSIBLE SOLUTION

College basketball has an early signing period that is binding, and the system seems much smoother and less hectic that in football. Would an early-signing period help in football?

"Oh sure," said Partridge. "It would allow you to put your financial focus on travel, as well as your time focus on the guys that have not signed yet. For a full class of 25, let's say in December you have 15 verbally committed and 10 more you're trying to fill. So now you're only traveling for 10 spots as opposed to 25."

While Partridge made it clear that he can't speak for everyone, he feels that most college coaches would welcome a binding signing period after kids have had the chance to take a few official visits.

"At that point, most kids are in a position to make a sound decision."

Salem sees the need for more than just an early signing period. He would like to see an early visitation period implemented as well.

"A lot of times kids that come from lower income families don't have the means in the preseason, before the official visitation period starts, to make trips and to see what's out there," Salem explains. "So I'd like to see an early signing period and an early visitation period. Give the kids an opportunity to visit schools for one month…and if they decide then let them sign and if not, then they can go through the regular process as it stands."

The NCAA has talked about an early signing period in football, but it has never come to pass, even though every high school and college coach PSR talked to was in favor or it.

"Certain schools think that if they can stay in there and keep digging and keep fighting, it will help them," says Partridge with a shrug of his shoulders.

While Partridge and others are in favor of an early signing period, it's not how the game is currently played. Consequently, coaches will do what they have to, and most don't quit recruiting a kid when he makes a verbal commitment elsewhere.

Penn State's 2006 class had a whopping five players who had originally committed elsewhere. But the Lions continued recruiting them, and their 11-1 season and dramatic Orange Bowl victory eventually convinced them to back out of their early commitments.

Partridge isn't thrilled about that aspect of recruiting, but admits it's simply a part of the process now. And with no binding contracts until February, don't expect to see this trend disappear anytime soon.

"We'll make a call to congratulate the kid on his decision," said Partridge, of what he does when a Pitt target commits elsewhere. "And we will ask if he's 100 percent sure, and see how he responds. Then we'll take it from there."

Palko thinks it's gotten out of control.

"Are we really creating all this stuff on our own?" he asks, nodding as if he already knows the answer. "We want kids to specialize and grow up so fast. It's crazy."