A Unique Perspective on the Recruiting Process

College football recruiting has become quite the spectacle over the past 5 or so years and not without its downfalls.  16-18 year old young men are treated like celebrities and recruited by grown men to become the saviors of multi-million dollar entities that are their respective universities.  This has led to scandal, dishonesty, and an overall lack of the very word that coaches covet, "commitment".  A commitment is defined as an agreement or pledge to do something in the future.  That commitment from a recruit has lost merit because until national signing day it is non-binding.  These days recruits are committing and de-committing so often that its hard to even get excited about a verbal commitment because the likelihood of it sticking is becoming less and less.  Michigan head coach Brady Hoke has a self-imposed policy of "once a player has committed to Michigan, Michigan has committed to that player."  That means that if a young man pledges to play for the Wolverines, the coaching staff will keep that spot locked for you.  However, if you decide to continue shopping around, you are no longer considered a Michigan commit and the coaches reserve the right to offer your spot to someone else.  Hate it or love it, that kind of loyalty is lost these days.  Its one thing for us as fans, reporters, or even onlookers to have an opinion on this, but what about the players and parents that are directly affected? I was able to talk with a parent of a Michigan commit and he had some powerful words about the entire process.

 "I just don't get it, I really don't. Maybe we are just different. Look, I swear there isn't a day that goes by that some school isn't throwing out a feeler to my son or even myself. You simply say you appreciate the interest but barring something drastic like a head coach firing, or a Penn State-like scandal, you are happy with your situation. They walk away and that is that. At the end of the day it upsets me but I'm trying to raise my son and I can't really get too wrapped up in the whole thing. A Michigan degree for a kid coming from where a lot of these young men come from would change their lives. There are kids all around the country with 30+ ACT's trying to get into Michigan and can't and they are willing to take you in and pay. Let me tell you, Hoke would help those kids and he wouldn't throw them to the wolves, and that WON'T happen at too many places. Kids too often fall for a "car salesman" and mess up their whole deal. My problem is I truly care about kids. They need to understand that I don't give a crap if you are a 10-star recruit, playing for Michigan is a privilege. A privilege that should not be treated lightly. Look, my son got offered by or could have been offered by any school out there. There isn't a university that has a better football experience, degree, and caring coach in the country."

Obviously he and I have some bias but I love what he has to say.  This is a father who has went through the recruiting process and seen it first hand.  It's a unique look into the feelings and emotions involved and I hope you find it as intriguing as I did.