Earlier football commitments
College football coaching staffs are offering and accepting commitments from high school football prospects earlier and earlier in the recruiting process. “I worry about the early commitments,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “But we are guilty as well. I worry about it with respect to their high school careers. The story is, once he committed to Florida, he decommitted from the high school. That is, the parents and the way they look at it sometimes is, ‘Oh he got a scholarship. Why continue to have a great high school career?’
“Also, we are judged on the character and the behavior of our players — and taking a commitment from a guy you have met one time, that is hard to do. But we do it.”
Alabama’s football program has rearranged its spring practice schedule to allow for more recruiting prep time. While many other SEC coaches are worried about the negative impact of taking early commitments, they continue to do so — nine-plus months before national signing day. Mississippi head football coach Ed Orgeron already has 12 commitments from the Class of 2007 — second nationally to Texas’ whopping 19. But Orgeron, like Meyer, was opposed to the proposed August signing period idea that was discussed at the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) meetings. The vote narrowly failed by the AFCA membership.