Well, maintain contact, hope Clemson underperforms, hope we show something on offense, hope Lagway blows up even more over the next year, and maybe we can turn his head a little. Quite the thin reed, but there you go.
Yeah, it is a one-sided relationship. Dabo requires the recruit to stop visiting while Dabo continues to recruit depth at the same position and line up back up plans. If it works for Dabo, he will keep doing it.
I like the approach. And I would have no problem with when a kid wants to take other visits if he is replaced if a different kid wants in. It can work both ways.
I think it is the right approach. If I was interviewing for multiple jobs and ACCEPTED an offer, I would not continue to interview at other places after that. Sucks for us, but good for Dabo. He has VERY few decommits. We can be sore about it, but he isn't wrong (neither is Nick or Kirby, who often make folks shut it down).
I would think it should be very straightforward and above board — if you ‘commit’ to UF and shut down your recruiting activity, you have a guaranteed place on the roster. If you choose to keep taking visits and interviews then we will keep recruiting your position. Is that what Saban does, or does he actually demand that the kid shuts it all down after verbally committing?
This isn't like typical corporate world though. I would compare it to taking a job with SpaceX. You give up your other opportunities while you know that half of the workforce is going to get cut in the next two years based on performance, so you go there hoping to get the experience you need or to just enjoy being able to build stuff that blasts off into space. That's fine if that is how you want to approach things while you are young. But since careers and football have uncertainties specific to the individual (health, financial stability, family issues) it seems best to keep your options open while getting as much financial security as possible. Short cutting the recruiting experience doesn't really do that. I compare Moore to McCoy, whose dad has a college coaching background and knows the drill. McCoy is keeping his cards close to his vest and keeping his options open even though being wowed by his OV experience. He will most likely take all his visits and be very informed where he stands with each school when he makes his decision.
Clemson may have won this one in the "summer" recruiting season but can they win the "fall" recruiting season with TJ? We will see how strong Dabo's hold over the kid is. It does sting though, this is a tough one.
This system only works for the consistently elite programs where coaches have a waiting list of blue chips begging for an offer (Bama, UGA, Ohio State, Clemson). We were able to do that when we were an elite program. I hope Billy will get us back to that level. I think most kids would laugh if FSU or UF did that right now.
If we actually stopped recruiting a position when a "commitment" continues to play the field, we deserve what we get if we don't even look at suitable alternatives. Being above-board and scrupulous is one thing. Being stupid is something else again.
