Roquan Smith won't sign LOI

Quality read, thanks for posting that.

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Quality read, thanks for posting that.

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Strange, how much his HS coach sounds like an agent.

Honestly, sounds like a smart kid to me.

Good for him. He's a good enough player that teams will make room for him if he comes. Most players don't have this luxury.

I agree with his decision, tbh.

No chance it's Michigan. He is not going to flip from sunny LA to the frozen tundra in Ann Arbor.

Good for him. I agree with the coach leaving options, and these kids ought to be able to transfer without the coach being a ***** about it.

Pretty cool. Maybe they will start making Universities sign some mutual agreement to keep their scholly for 4 years as long as they meet some requirements (like showing up for a certain number of offseason workouts and spring/fall practices) or in case of injury?

If you were a coach, would you give a roster spot to someone who didn't sign an LOI. You would need 2 backups ready to step in at all times in case player changes his mind. Really hard to build a team this way, and I wouldn't see this thing getting lets except with a few really elite players.

Smart. After what happened with all the coaching ship jumpers I would think this will occur a bit more with the 5 stars next year.

I agree that the LOI should be modified to give recruits the opportunity to open their recruitment if the head coach, their side's coordinator, or their position coach leaves. You'd need lawyer talk in there to define how that applies to those recruited as "Athletes". Maybe they should declare their OC or position coah of choice in the LOI.

How many recruits will next want to go through Spring Practice before signing any commitment? Probably not many, but what happens if they get hurt (or pretend to), or after spring practice just up and decide to show up and play somewhere else in the fall?

The one thing I don't want is all the continued drama through the Spring and Summer. But that's me being a selfish fan.

Unless they are at the scholarship limit, it will have zero affect on the school.

This is very interesting actually. I could see it causing massive problems for some teams if there was a mass exodus if a favorite coach leaves. Imagine if all your QB's left because the OC took an NFL job. This might have the affect of more stringent contracts with coaches.

Hmmm

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This is very interesting actually. I could see it causing massive problems for some teams if there was a mass exodus if a favorite coach leaves. Imagine if all your QB's left because the OC took an NFL job. This might have the affect of more stringent contracts with coaches.

Hmmm

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Presumably any such change would only be in effect for new recruits. So unless you had 0 QBs on your roster before signing the new class, it wouldn't lead to that.

Hope this does not become a trend.

Can certainly see 5 stars taking this approach in future.

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Unless they are at the scholarship limit, it will have zero affect on the school.

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You are wrong friend. Say, for instance, a 5* quarterback on signing day decides to sign his financial aid agreement but no LOI with the good guys. He still has the right to look at, and BE RECRUITED by, other schools until the day he starts his first class. The financial aid agreement does not bind the player to the school...only the school to the player. How does this not affect the school? Imagine how much longer the D. Mack and K. Murray drama/recruitment would go, and then we could be left with nothing but our johnsons in our hand days before practices start.

I am all for the blue chips using their leverage while they can, but to say it doesn't affect the schools is just plain wrong.

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Unless they are at the scholarship limit, it will have zero affect on the school.

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You are wrong friend. Say, for instance, a 5* quarterback on signing day decides to sign his financial aid agreement but no LOI with the good guys. He still has the right to look at, and BE RECRUITED by, other schools until the day he starts his first class. The financial aid agreement does not bind the player to the school...only the school to the player. How does this not affect the school? Imagine how much longer the D. Mack and K. Murray drama/recruitment would go, and then we could be left with nothing but our johnsons in our hand days before practices start.

I am all for the blue chips using their leverage while they can, but to say it doesn't affect the schools is just plain wrong.

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Football players are still students. I would imagine they're still bound by the same deadlines. Usually students have to accept an offer of admission some time before the end of the spring semester.

Honestly, its one thing to ***** and moan. At least letting people know there is an issue, and discussion to be had about coaches leaving a week after NSD. Still, him and his coach has voiced their opinions and he should be planning to commit soon.

I'm referring to this specific instance...not the theoretical Pandora's box that everyone has seemingly opened. So no, this has no affect on the school other than recruiters having to sweet talk this kid up until the last second he could flip.

Prospective and current employees should use every bit of leverage they have with their employers, always trying to balance the effect it will have on their organization.

A good example of this is the money that the Astros have stolen from their minor leaguers by not calling them up sooner. Yes, they used the leverage they had, but if I were approaching free agency with that organization, I would let them know the damage they had done.

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Football players are still students. I would imagine they're still bound by the same deadlines. Usually students have to accept an offer of admission some time before the end of the spring semester.

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It's probably a little naive to think the exact same rules apply to admission for a football player as they do to a regular student, but let's say you are correct for the sake of argument. The end of the spring semester would still be too late to replace a player, especially a blue chip recruit, who we held a spot for and the decided to leave.

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I'm referring to this specific instance...not the theoretical Pandora's box that everyone has seemingly opened. So no, this has no affect on the school other than recruiters having to sweet talk this kid up until the last second he could flip.

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Got it

This is why kids should make the decision soley on what the school can provide to them in terms of education, facilities etc. Just because the coach has had alot of his players drafted doesnt mean said player will be drafted, hell he might not even do well enough to pass academically, does that mean the college gets to yank his scholly if he cant pass his classes?

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Football players are still students. I would imagine they're still bound by the same deadlines. Usually students have to accept an offer of admission some time before the end of the spring semester.

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It's probably a little naive to think the exact same rules apply to admission for a football player as they do to a regular student, but let's say you are correct for the sake of argument. The end of the spring semester would still be too late to replace a player, especially a blue chip recruit, who we held a spot for and the decided to leave.

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The exact same rules may not, but I would surprised if the same deadlines don't.

But even so, so what? First off, you'll win some and you'll lose some. Sometimes you'll be the one with no replacement for a player, and sometimes it will be your rival. Second, it just means coaches will have to behave more strategically.

I don't get the angle.

Ask Baker Mayfield. He was a walk-on QB for Tech. He went to transfer to OU and the NCAA applied to him the same transfer rules as someone who signed a LOI and had a scholarship.

IMO, Smith is exposing himself to significant risk. He won't qualify for scholarship, and must "trust" that the school/coach will provide it. That requires more trust, IMO. If he gets injured what then? Many coaches stop recruiting players that get injured their senior year. If he blows an ACL during the summer... the school has no requirement to help him... just like any other student.

I think this is a bad decision for him. All risk. No reward.

So he is a walk-on. Maybe a preferred walk-on. Does he get access to the same Athletic facilities/tutors/classes? Guaranteed coaches will leverage that.

Phat, I agree. My comments were based around the idea that it wouldn't affect the schools (which the poster of that cleared up). Clearly though it does, and will result in a change of strategy for schools recruiting blue chips. And, again, I am 100% in favor of using every bit of leverage these kids have while they have it. IF you have a particular skill that people covet, and they make huge sums of money off of that skill, then you should use it in your favor in any way possible.

Dallas, he won't be a walk-on. He will sign his financial aid agreement and be a full scholarship player. He just won't bind himself to that school until he starts school.

Also, the LOI is completely one-sided, and provides very little or no guarantees to the player.

Good for the kid and sounds like he is playing it smart.

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I'm referring to this specific instance...not the theoretical Pandora's box that everyone has seemingly opened. So no, this has no affect on the school other than recruiters having to sweet talk this kid up until the last second he could flip.

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And that in fact has a huge effect on the school. And there is no last second. The player can leave for another school whenever with no penalty. Complete instability for college football. Let the bidding war continue, right?

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I'm referring to this specific instance...not the theoretical Pandora's box that everyone has seemingly opened. So no, this has no affect on the school other than recruiters having to sweet talk this kid up until the last second he could flip.

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And that in fact has a huge effect on the school. And there is no last second. The player can leave for another school whenever with no penalty. Complete instability for college football. Let the bidding war continue, right?

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According to Andy Staples, once he has attended practice as a member of the team the NCAA transfer rules would apply. However, no penalty until then...including attending classes in the summer.

You get it though....it is definitely a paradigm shift. Question: Will the Power 5 with their new found autonomy look for a way to address this along with the early signing period? Perhaps a two-way LOI contract?

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Dallas, he won't be a walk-on. He will sign his financial aid agreement and be a full scholarship player. He just won't bind himself to that school until he starts school.

Also, the LOI is completely one-sided, and provides very little or no guarantees to the player.

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I thought the end of LOI period is through April?

Smart kid. He has every right to protect himself. Hopefully he doesn't sign with the dishonest.

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Dallas, he won't be a walk-on. He will sign his financial aid agreement and be a full scholarship player. He just won't bind himself to that school until he starts school.

Also, the LOI is completely one-sided, and provides very little or no guarantees to the player.

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I thought the end of LOI period is through April?

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It is, but he is not going to sign an LOI...ever. He will only sign a financial aid agreement which binds the school to pay for his scholarship, but doesn't bind him to that school. The LOI rules won't apply to him.