So Sad: I’m really sorry to say that this will be the last time I work with this team; I can’t take it anymore. Kirby Smart Declares While Signing a New Agreement With…
ATHENS – There is a single similarity among the silent verbal commit, soft commit, and hard commit: in the end, they all represent nothing.
Jayden We didn’t really get to know you, Maiava.
Maiava, the UNLV freshman of the year for the Mountain West Conference, committed to Georgia on Monday but switched to USC on Tuesday.
It’s evidence of just how fickle the recruiting game has become amid these historically loose college football player acquisition times.
The “commitment” has always been part of the negotiation, though there was a time it seemed to mean more.
On some occasions at some places, players were paid— or their family/agent was paid — to make a public commitment.
Two of the primary reasons were to hold the player in place, and to generate recruiting momentum and attract others to the class.
Assistant coaches would leak commitment news to websites, who would then provide said team/player with a more favorable ranking or “bump.”
This is old news, but worth reviewing as such dealings remain self-serving, albeit, more complicated.
The “commitment” also set the bar for other schools recruiting that player to match or exceed the offer behind the scenes.
It’s almost (just like?) an underground version of unrestricted, uncapped free agency.
Other schools’ recruiters wouldn’t back off, so much as they would maintain private relations with the player/family in case something went sideways with the deal.
