Uh Oh... Knox-Knox has de-comitted!
- Thread starter H-D Rider
- Start date
ProdigalHorn
10,000+ Posts
Better to find out now than in February. It would be great if more recruits would understand the difference between "in the lead right now" and "committed". If you're not ready to make the decision, then take more visits and pick the right school for you. But don't tell someone "i'm coming, absolutely" until you're ready to follow through with it.
I'll resist the urge to climb up on my soap box and complain about the complete lack of honor, honesty and integrity in society today with the understanding that society has changed for the worse and simply standing by a verbal commitment is no longer considered anything that anyone should care about.
I'll resist the urge to climb up on my soap box and complain about the complete lack of honor, honesty and integrity in society today with the understanding that society has changed for the worse and simply standing by a verbal commitment is no longer considered anything that anyone should care about.
Hook 'Em Danno
1,000+ Posts
Per Hookem, Knox de-committed after a telephone call in which Knox asked if he could visit other schools while being committed to Texas. Mack said no, so Knox de-committed. If the report is accurate, I'm glad to see Mack sticking to his guns on this policy.
Yes. Thank you, Mack
notanative
1,000+ Posts
ditto.
Stick to your guns, Mack.
Stick to your guns, Mack.
D
dillohorn
Guest
Good for Mack.
Dirty Martin
500+ Posts
Yes, good for Mack. He just lost the most talented recruit we would have gotten in this class. Exactly who is he planning to replace Knox with? Is he going to hold the scholarship for someone who will promise not to take trips? Having Knox go with someone else on signing day is better than having no chance at all to get him --- which is what we now have.
The problem with the don't take any other trips policy is that it eliminates a lot of top players. USC, Fl. State, Ohio St., SEC schools, etc., pick up recruits on signing day. Meanwhile we have taken ourselves out of the running for these guys.
Mack got burned by decommits last year so he overreacts this year and loses Knox. Maybe there wouldn't have been so many decommits if the product on the field and the recruiting in the first place had been a little better.
The problem with the don't take any other trips policy is that it eliminates a lot of top players. USC, Fl. State, Ohio St., SEC schools, etc., pick up recruits on signing day. Meanwhile we have taken ourselves out of the running for these guys.
Mack got burned by decommits last year so he overreacts this year and loses Knox. Maybe there wouldn't have been so many decommits if the product on the field and the recruiting in the first place had been a little better.
Horns11
10,000+ Posts
I'll say it. It's a dumb policy. You close more doors and burn more bridges just because you're upset about the semantics of the word "committed."
We've had great recruits go visit other schools after they verbally committed before. But telling them we don't want/need them anymore because of it is asinine and turns recruitment into a silly waiting game to see if/when someone pulls the trigger. Gresham is obviously next, and has basically stated twice now that if he wants to go look at other schools, he understands that he won't have a scholarship waiting at Texas any longer.
This **** was instituted because of Robinson, and now we're basically hoping for: A. kids who aren't good enough to be recruited by other schools to pull the lever early, and B. kids to decommit from other schools late in the process to switch to us. It's two-faced and a rotten double standard.
We've had great recruits go visit other schools after they verbally committed before. But telling them we don't want/need them anymore because of it is asinine and turns recruitment into a silly waiting game to see if/when someone pulls the trigger. Gresham is obviously next, and has basically stated twice now that if he wants to go look at other schools, he understands that he won't have a scholarship waiting at Texas any longer.
This **** was instituted because of Robinson, and now we're basically hoping for: A. kids who aren't good enough to be recruited by other schools to pull the lever early, and B. kids to decommit from other schools late in the process to switch to us. It's two-faced and a rotten double standard.
Third Coast
10,000+ Posts
I'm pretty sure Mack tells recruits what the situation is up front and not to commit if they are thinking about taking other visits. Sound like the kid wasn't that committed to begin with.
As I have said many times before, I don't like the early offers and commitments but unless the NCAA changes the rules and all schools wait until a later defined offer date, a school has to make the early offers if it wants a foot in the door for top recruits. I'd like for commitments to mean something but they they don't to some people. If you have a good product (UT, football program, history, great location, good avenue to the pros, valuable education, etc), sell it as best you can and see if the recruit agrees.
Maybe the thing to do is have an NCAA No Decommit Deadline for all verbals at all schools a month before National Signing Day. If one decommits after the deadline, they sit out a year. Then schools can concentrate on uncommitted athletes instead of handholding the waivering at the last minute. This eliminates late decommits that throw a schools' recruiting plan into disarray.
It might result in a rash of decommits before the new deadline but that is better than an hour before signing is allowed.
Of course, if early offers and verbals were disallowed or limited to a couple months before signing day, many problems would disappear.
Maybe the thing to do is have an NCAA No Decommit Deadline for all verbals at all schools a month before National Signing Day. If one decommits after the deadline, they sit out a year. Then schools can concentrate on uncommitted athletes instead of handholding the waivering at the last minute. This eliminates late decommits that throw a schools' recruiting plan into disarray.
It might result in a rash of decommits before the new deadline but that is better than an hour before signing is allowed.
Of course, if early offers and verbals were disallowed or limited to a couple months before signing day, many problems would disappear.
100% good!
Instead of getting your feelings hurt, don't commit if you don't mean it.
Instead of getting your feelings hurt, don't commit if you don't mean it.
I am very disappointed to see that Knox has decommitted. I certainly don't know enough about recruiting trends and patterns to give mack brown directives about recruiting.
But I was alive and reading the sports pages when one Darrell Royal recruited some pretty good players. One was Earl Campbell who had committed to Texas and then went to visit ou later on in the year. He loved Texas and he loved ou. He said had he not already committed to Texas he might have joined the sooners. But he told his mother that he was keeping his word, and going to Texas.
Now that story says something about Earl, and Coach Royal. Coach didn't have a rule about where you could visit. He let the young men have the freedom to go here or there. Earl stood by his word. And yes, he was only 18, same age as Knox. Would Knox keep his commitment after visiting other schools? Who knows, but I fear this has put a rift of sorts between him and Brown. I hope not, and I hope we are still at the top of his list.
But I was alive and reading the sports pages when one Darrell Royal recruited some pretty good players. One was Earl Campbell who had committed to Texas and then went to visit ou later on in the year. He loved Texas and he loved ou. He said had he not already committed to Texas he might have joined the sooners. But he told his mother that he was keeping his word, and going to Texas.
Now that story says something about Earl, and Coach Royal. Coach didn't have a rule about where you could visit. He let the young men have the freedom to go here or there. Earl stood by his word. And yes, he was only 18, same age as Knox. Would Knox keep his commitment after visiting other schools? Who knows, but I fear this has put a rift of sorts between him and Brown. I hope not, and I hope we are still at the top of his list.
gahornphan
500+ Posts
Mack's no-visit rule is stupid. Nick Saban can make a rule like that, so can Urban Meyer and Bob Stoopes if they wanted to. But 5-7, 8-5, 9-4 Mack Brown can't. To paraphrase Rick Flair, to get the best you have to compete with the best. If you don't want to compete for the best, then just go after the 2 and 3 stars who grew up Texas fans.
notanative
1,000+ Posts
Third Coast
10,000+ Posts
notanative
1,000+ Posts
gahornphan
500+ Posts
Assuming, of course, that there's no talent among the 2 and 3 star players.
You probably crapped your pants when we lost Ryan Perilloux
Yeah, and had the Mack Brown rule been in effect, he would have kicked Earl Campbell to the curb when he visited OU after committing to UT. If you think you can consistently build a championship caliber team with only 2 and 3 star players, you must also think playing the lottery is a viable career option. To get the best players you have to compete for them. That's what the big boys do.
You probably crapped your pants when we lost Ryan Perilloux
Yeah, and had the Mack Brown rule been in effect, he would have kicked Earl Campbell to the curb when he visited OU after committing to UT. If you think you can consistently build a championship caliber team with only 2 and 3 star players, you must also think playing the lottery is a viable career option. To get the best players you have to compete for them. That's what the big boys do.
majorwhiteapples
5,000+ Posts
Life is like, you committ to something you stick to it!! It is an early life lesson for the kid, if he ever comes into my office and applies for a job, we would have a discussion about committement.............to even see if he qualifies for the job
gahornphan
500+ Posts
Life is like, you committ to something you stick to it!! It is an early life lesson for the kid, if he ever comes into my office and applies for a job, we would have a discussion about committement.............to even see if he qualifies for the job
Yeah...you know it's great to know college coaches have the same committment to their players as they expect their players to have for their school. Thank God we don't have coaches who leave without warning before their contract ends.
Yeah...you know it's great to know college coaches have the same committment to their players as they expect their players to have for their school. Thank God we don't have coaches who leave without warning before their contract ends.
Dirty Martin
500+ Posts
Let me get this straight. If Knox had not committed to us we would recruit him right up until NSD. But he gets penalized and we lose our prize recruit because he did "commit", and then decides that maybe he should look around just to be certain?
As an earlier poster mentioned, we would have lost Earl Campbell under this policy. Apparently we don't have enough confidence in our own program to allow top recruits to compare right up to NSD.
As an earlier poster mentioned, we would have lost Earl Campbell under this policy. Apparently we don't have enough confidence in our own program to allow top recruits to compare right up to NSD.
Cary,
Perhaps you will recall or enjoy the story about Gustafson and the catcher from California. The kid committed to Gus, then called later to say he wasn't sure, but that he would pray about it and get back to Gus. Gus told him he would pray for him him too - he would pray that God forgave him for lying to him. As I recall, the kid started for two years at Disch Falk.
I also seem to recall DKR asking Earl if he "could be bought".
I am sorry that we lost Knox, and even more sorry that these kids play the system the way they do. Any kid that cares more about playing with baseball caps than wihe does about his future doesn't have a place in Memorial Stadium unless he's working the concession stand.
I do recall standing in the parking lot of a grocery store and being told by a bluechip DL that he was going to choose OU over Texas and A&M. Then he said, "Please don't tell anyone because I'm going to visit Oklahoma State next weekend and I hear they show you a really good time".
Some of these kids want the experience of visiting different places because of what they hear and often what they'll get during the visit. If we are so damn insecure that we can't stand up to a little competition for recruits then we need an adjustment of our mindset.
As for "stars", until some hungry players show up on Saturday afternoon, and we lose this "I'm ok, you're ok" ******** happiness, stars won't matter. Hunger and conditioning for starters, "stars" later.
Perhaps you will recall or enjoy the story about Gustafson and the catcher from California. The kid committed to Gus, then called later to say he wasn't sure, but that he would pray about it and get back to Gus. Gus told him he would pray for him him too - he would pray that God forgave him for lying to him. As I recall, the kid started for two years at Disch Falk.
I also seem to recall DKR asking Earl if he "could be bought".
I am sorry that we lost Knox, and even more sorry that these kids play the system the way they do. Any kid that cares more about playing with baseball caps than wihe does about his future doesn't have a place in Memorial Stadium unless he's working the concession stand.
I do recall standing in the parking lot of a grocery store and being told by a bluechip DL that he was going to choose OU over Texas and A&M. Then he said, "Please don't tell anyone because I'm going to visit Oklahoma State next weekend and I hear they show you a really good time".
Some of these kids want the experience of visiting different places because of what they hear and often what they'll get during the visit. If we are so damn insecure that we can't stand up to a little competition for recruits then we need an adjustment of our mindset.
As for "stars", until some hungry players show up on Saturday afternoon, and we lose this "I'm ok, you're ok" ******** happiness, stars won't matter. Hunger and conditioning for starters, "stars" later.
gahornphan
500+ Posts
I live in Fort Worth and know people who teach at All Saints School, where Knox is a student.
I don't know Knox's motivations for his most recent actions, but everything I hear is that he is a good, hardworking kid.
Just because he verbally commits early on in the process, to me, doesn't mean that he is somehow contractually bound to us. That contract is not signed until the first Wednesday in February.
The most talented kids will get gobs of attention, wooed by the hottest recruiters in the nation. I can't fault a kid for being swayed to the point of visiting other great programs. I would hope Mack would compete with those programs and win as much as he loses, and not punish kids for waiting until near the end to decide.
Mack does not stop recruiting kids who have verbally committed elsewhere and sometimes he sways them to de commit and come to Texas. I have no problem with that, and I don't hear anyone on this board railing about the kid being of poor character because he decides that Texas will be a better place to spend the next four years. Seems a bit hypocritical to hammer the character of the kid who decides to visit other places, then praise that of the kid who switches to us late in the process.
Some of the greatest players, every year, will not be able to make this life altering decision until February. That's not going to change, so why not embrace it. I think we can win as many battles as we lose. After all, we are TEXAS. To me, and lots of folks, that still means something.
I don't know Knox's motivations for his most recent actions, but everything I hear is that he is a good, hardworking kid.
Just because he verbally commits early on in the process, to me, doesn't mean that he is somehow contractually bound to us. That contract is not signed until the first Wednesday in February.
The most talented kids will get gobs of attention, wooed by the hottest recruiters in the nation. I can't fault a kid for being swayed to the point of visiting other great programs. I would hope Mack would compete with those programs and win as much as he loses, and not punish kids for waiting until near the end to decide.
Mack does not stop recruiting kids who have verbally committed elsewhere and sometimes he sways them to de commit and come to Texas. I have no problem with that, and I don't hear anyone on this board railing about the kid being of poor character because he decides that Texas will be a better place to spend the next four years. Seems a bit hypocritical to hammer the character of the kid who decides to visit other places, then praise that of the kid who switches to us late in the process.
Some of the greatest players, every year, will not be able to make this life altering decision until February. That's not going to change, so why not embrace it. I think we can win as many battles as we lose. After all, we are TEXAS. To me, and lots of folks, that still means something.
ProdigalHorn
10,000+ Posts
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