(01-31-2018 05:32 PM)eagle04 Wrote:  Players should commit to schools/programs, not to the coaches.

Allowing players to leave, if a coach does, is going to be chaos.

Just think about how many coaches left this year. You could have programs decimated if a coach left.

There's a fine line. For example, if you're an offensive skill position, and you commit to a school for the coach, one reason might be that you like the style of offense they run, and that it not only suits your skillset better, but that what you bring will likewise be better for that offense, a nice symbiotic relationship. If that coach leaves, in some cases, the whole reason a recruit went there leaves with him, and it puts a lot of question marks in his mind as to the direction the program will now take.

We're not the blue bloods. There are recruits who have always dreamed of attending Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, who'll stay committed to that school regardless of whether the coach who recruited them leaves, because they've always envisioned themselves wearing that uniform and playing in that stadium. There just aren't many recruits who dream of attending UTSA, UTEP, FAU, WKU, etc.

The recruits who aspire to play at the next level will also want the coaches they feel will help them develop their talents the best, and again, if that guy they put their faith in leaves, they'll have doubts. That could especially be true if the new coach coming in didn't even bother to try and recruit them at his previous school.

Last but not least, we can't lose sight of the human element. The best recruiters develop relationships with the guys and their families, sometimes 2 or more years before they graduate from high school, staying in contact with them through that time. So all considered, it's just kinda shortsighted to say all recruits should do this or that. The guys who play on Saturdays come from all over the USA, with all manner of backgrounds, experiences, and motivations. They have as many different reasons for committing to a school as they do for buying a certain car, so we can't expect everyone to make personal decisions in cookie cutter fashion.