What I have heard is that the Alabama staff told him about a week or so ago that he needed to act more like a committ or to figure out what it is that he wants. Sort of gave him the “you shop we shop” mentality. I like the move by the staff because I want kids to committ because they have finalized what they want to persue. The kid is a great player, but if his heart isn’t 100% then he should figure things out before he jumps on board. I hope him the best with whatever he decides (except for when he plays Alabama).
While i want to agree with you tider, i think we gotta remember were talking about 16 and 17 year olds here. This kid cant even buy a pack of cigs…some of these recruits cant even drive yet. and you want them to be 100% certain about anything?
Now Clemson had a slightly similar incedent earlier this year, but the difference was that the recruit had alread committed to clemson, then started shopping around again, and clemson revoked his offer.
I agree with the you shop-we shop/you commit-we commit mentality, but i dont think its exactly fair to put an ulitmatum on a kid whos trying to make the most important descission of his life. Bama should have let him make the choice on his own time and then held him accountable after he had announced it.
While i want to agree with you tider, i think we gotta remember were talking about 16 and 17 year olds here. This kid cant even buy a pack of cigs…some of these recruits cant even drive yet. and you want them to be 100% certain about anything?
Now Clemson had a slightly similar incedent earlier this year, but the difference was that the recruit had alread committed to clemson, then started shopping around again, and clemson revoked his offer.
I agree with the you shop-we shop/you commit-we commit mentality, but i dont think its exactly fair to put an ulitmatum on a kid whos trying to make the most important descission of his life. Bama should have let him make the choice on his own time and then held him accountable after he had announced it.
I think my point is that I WISH kids would only commit if they are 100% sure that is where they are going (maybe I am one of the few where a hand shake and my word is the same as a signed contract). Side point - the kid may not be old enough to buy a pack of cigs but I believe he has a child. These kids these days are already making decisions. I think it was 100% fair for Alabama to tell the kid “look we understand that you want to make sure you are going to the right place but to also remember who you are committed to. If you want to take a serious look at other colleges, besides just taking your official visits to have fun, then you need to decommit from the University”. With the scholarship limit, I would much rather be proactive in getting players on board who want to be 100% sure than to have guys who are wishy washy and then flip on national signing day where there is a scramble to just find the “best available”. Alabama is really close to Matthew Thomas out of Florida, but who knows, we might miss out on a player like him if we had to wait until last minute. A week ago Foster was “100% committed to Alabama” and then in one week he is “100% that he is going to enroll at Auburn”.
I agree with you 100% on having personal honor, and your word being as good as a signiture.
and i agree in theory with your point about scholarship limits…BUT every single year theres some story about all these top prospects who committed to some school…usually in the SEC, and usually LSU or Bama…and when he shows up they tell him they dont have a scholarship for him anymore. Coming from annother source id be quicker to agree with you, but seeing as it comes out of the SEC my first thought is sour grapes….not that it makes the point any less valid, just savoring the irony.
I agree with you 100% on having personal honor, and your word being as good as a signiture.
and i agree in theory with your point about scholarship limits…BUT every single year theres some story about all these top prospects who committed to some school…usually in the SEC, and usually LSU or Bama…and when he shows up they tell him they dont have a scholarship for him anymore. Coming from annother source id be quicker to agree with you, but seeing as it comes out of the SEC my first thought is sour grapes….not that it makes the point any less valid, just savoring the irony.
Good point. I guess it would need to work both ways. Its just that numbers are tight and when you have to hold out until the last minute for a player who is wishy washy then you get those stories where a guy with lesser talent gets dropped from consideration. I wish there were an early signing period, maybe that would help some. Who knows. I understand where you are coming from, though.
ya, its all hand in hand. Im not really sure how to fix it except require schools to honor their scholarships in order of how they were accepted chornologically, instead of when they were offered/willy nilly…and then have to notify the public when all of their scholarship offers have been accepted
and instead of having a “national signing day” do away with “verbal committment” and when a player COMMITTS he does just that and at that point he is off limits to every other school as much as other schools are off limits to him, it would the kids a valuable lesson in integrity. maybe offer a small window to graduating HS seniors after the end of the school year since sometimes things do change. It would give a player a chance to back out incase his school had a terrible year, or scandal, or coaching change, etc. AS WELL AS give the school a chance to back out if the student didnt graduate, or had bad grades, or other issues. But it would take care of a lot of the circus that is currently going on with recruiting because if your a player and decommitt theres no garuntee theres a scholarship somewhere else (remember no contact with other coaches after committing) and as a school theres no garuntee you can find a player that you may want to take instead.
Third time a prospect has switched Iron Bowl allegiances in three years. Adds to the rivalry, if you ask me.
Foster, Calloway, Yeldon, Cyrus Kouandjio
You are absolutely correct. I have made the necessary edit to the article. Many thanks for pointing out my error.
No problem. Fortunately Alabama has been on the good end of the flips. Cyrus and Yeldon are going to be studs this season. Calloway might get some solid playing time at the H back position. He is very athletic and made some really good plays in the spring game. While I wish we could have gotten Foster to stay, I think it is probably the best position that we had to miss out on. Our LBs are very very deep. I really hope we keep OJ because that guy is a beast. I have a feeling that if he can get a little faster he might be able to try WR.
Hopefully he can keep himself out of trouble over there on the plains. In all seriousness, like I said I hope the best for him except when he plays Alabama.
