There are two types of college football fans when it comes to recruiting. Those that are absolutely enthralled by it and those that can’t be bothered by it. Whether you follow recruiting or not, the fact is that college football recruiting is not only becoming big business, it’s becoming part of the fabric of social media.
If you are a college football fan and you are a frequent user of social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, then you have seen fans (and even sometimes coaches… cough… Jim Mora… cough) posting about recruits. A lot of times it’s contacting them directly. Many fans do so in a well-meaning and positive way, but if a kid makes a decision to go to a school, many are left feeling hurt and disappointed and some even lash out at the 17- or 18-year-old prospect.
This year more than any other, we are seeing more and more recruits “decommiting” from a school that they have previously given their verbal commitment to. Why do you think this is?
This quote is from a 2008 ESPN article:
Ray McCartney, who came from a family of five salesmen, learned from his late father that “no means maybe, and maybe is an absolute yes.”
That was 2008, from a recruiting coordinator at Wake Forest, not a powerhouse in recruiting. Can you imagine the type of pressure facing a recruit who is receiving constant communication from the SEC powers, from Ohio State, from USC, from Notre Dame, from Florida State, from Texas? Can you imagine the pressure of being 17 years old and having multiple schools spending thousands of dollars in recruiting costs (here is where you make the booster joke), having multiple college coaches in your house and at your school, selling you on why you should play for them and asking for your commitment? Can you imagine having the lunatic fringe (well-meaning or not) of a team’s fan base bombarding you on social media?
I’m sure it is an amazing high to be a 17-year-old kid who is wanted by so many schools and is getting propped up by so many fans on social media, but at some point it becomes a chore and a hassle instead of a high.
That’s why some kids choose to end the recruiting process and make verbal decisions early… decisions that might not be the best for the player in the long run, but at the current time feel right. It becomes important in the player’s eyes to ease the stress and pressure of recruiting.
Some players will make this decision before their final year or during their final year, but when push comes to shove and they are ready to sign the dotted line, the pressure from outside ramps up again and they begin to rethink their decision.
Sometimes it’s due to family pressure (see also: Landon Collins and Josh Harvey-Clemons), sometimes it’s due to a coaching change. Sometimes it’s due to promises made or broken, sometimes it’s due to a friend’s decision, or maybe it’s just due to an 18-year-old kid deciding that maybe he made the wrong decision. There are a lot of reasons that a late teenager might change his mind, especially if the decision made earlier came about in part because of the job that being a recruit has become.
Do a twitter search for “decommit” and you will see that there is a rise in recruits decommiting this season. There is no easy answer on how to fix this, but I do feel that an early (not too early) window for signing would benefit teams and recruits. If teams already have players signed up, they wouldn’t push as hard at the end because they aren’t in fear of losing recruits. The recruits that don’t want the pressure of having their college recruiting process build into a huge tidal wave can end it early. A December signing period would benefit many, and those recruits that don’t want to take part in it wouldn’t be forced to.
As signing day approaches rapidly and 17-to-18-year-old kids are put on a pedestal and despised at the same time, remember that this is the biggest decision these kids have ever made in their entire lives. What school they ultimately pick, whether it’s yours or not, is their decision… not yours.
Whether you like it or not, the current state of college football recruiting and the pressure from social media explain the rise in decommitments. Until changes are made, the decommitment is here to stay, and it’s only going to get worse until somebody steps in and fixes it. Of course, you could also do your part by not harassing a 17-year-old with your social media account.
