Interesting piece in The Athletic (which I shamelessly believe has become a terrific news source and believe if you’re on the fence about subscribing, definitely do so) on Malik Vann and the early signing period.. could easily ruffle feathers essentially saying it’s bad for the kids because they won’t get to see their full array of options.
https://theathletic.com/175864/2017/12/0...fe-harder/
Malik Vann's commitment to Cincinnati, Ohio State's interest and why the early signing period could make everyone's life harder
FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Malik Vann walked into a conference room at Fairfield High School on Tuesday morning wearing a black Cincinnati Dri-Fit shirt that was barely containing bulging muscles that weren't nearly as big or defined a year ago.
Vann, a four-star defensive end, didn't have true interest from Ohio State a year ago before his muscles blew up the same way he did during his senior season. And before Ohio State got involved, Vann heard Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell's pitch to be a “Hometown Hero,” saw all of his other options and pledged to become a Bearcat to help build something in his city.
As Ohio State typically does in cases like this one, where an in-state star develops into a monster as a senior, Urban Meyer has been in the Fairfield hallways in the last month and his interest in Vann has increased dramatically. While at Fairfield, Meyer even gave Fickell, a former Buckeyes assistant, a courtesy call to inform him that Ohio State might be on the verge of trying to flip the top Cincinnati commit. Fickell, who spent enough time at Ohio State flipping prospects from smaller schools, respectfully understood.
It was clear to everyone — Vann and his coaches — during Ohio State's visit to Fairfield that an offer could be coming.
Nothing about what's happening is atypical. Ohio State swings for big prospects out-of-state, then if it misses, it resorts to recruiting in-state players. But this year that process changes for everyone with the new early signing period Dec. 20. It changes the way prospects operate, it changes the way schools operate and it really makes life for everyone involved harder.
“You can see how in certain cases, the early signing period could create some stress for both sides,” Fairfield coach Jason Krause said. “That's why I am here to make sure my kids consider everything because the world of recruiting just got far more complex.”
As if it wasn't complex enough already.
The 6-foot-3, 271-pound Vann is going to sign on Dec. 20 with Cincinnati, enroll early and start his journey trying to bring Cincinnati football back to prominence. He has absolutely no stress in this situation because as much as he would love a late offer from Ohio State, he's already visited Columbus multiple times, earned offers from Alabama, Oklahoma and others, and has determined that Cincinnati is without question the best fit for him.
“I have no doubts,” Vann said.
But let's create an alternate universe where Vann wasn't enrolling early and had the desire to wait for an Ohio State offer — like so many in-state prospects do — and told Cincinnati he wasn't going to sign early on Dec. 20. Maybe Cincinnati would understand, or maybe Fickell would be forced to find a replacement for the prospect because the program couldn't be held hostage while Vann saw his recruitment out. Fickell has seen this movie too many times to be naive to the fact that Ohio State usually gets what it wants in Ohio.
Do you see how this could be an issue? In this alternate universe, Vann could upset Cincinnati by not opting to sign early, could wait for an offer from Ohio State that never comes, then ultimately be left without any options come the regular National Signing Day in February. When you really think about the early signing period, who is it really helping?
Is it helping Vann and prospects like him? Vann gains absolutely nothing by signing his name to a binding agreement Dec. 20. If he wanted to enroll early as he plans to do, he could have done that with the old rules. If he wanted to wait and use the final six weeks to see what offers came in, he could risk upsetting the current program to which he's committed and risk not getting the offer he wants. It's a very uncomfortable situation.
Is it helping Ohio State? The Buckeyes have a national recruiting net and go after the best of the best, regardless of where they're from. And when it becomes apparent that they may not land big-time commitments from out-of-state prospects, Meyer usually resorts back to very talented prospects like Vann to fill spots. Maybe that seems like Vann would be a backup plan, but what's really the result? Vann getting to go to one of the most successful and elite college football programs in the country? Not a bad deal.
So now Ohio State might be on the market for another defensive end in this class because four-star Tyreke Smith of Cleveland Heights is leaning toward Penn State and four-star Jayson Oweh is still considering Penn State, Michigan and others. The Buckeyes won't get the chance to try to flip Vann because he'll already be signed and Vann won't get to hear Ohio State's best sales pitch and make a decision — with more information — regarding what he wants to do with his life.
Whom is this helping? Do you really want to know? It's helping mid-major programs that usually are susceptible to losing commitments late in the process to bigger programs. There was a coach from Ball State at Fairfield on Tuesday and he loves the new rule because his program can sign — and effectively trap — prospects on Dec. 20, thus stopping that kid from flipping to Purdue or another school that kid would view as an upgrade. That kid will wind up at Ball State and maybe he'll be happy, but that decision will have been made before he truly had all of his options.
College football programs are like the food chain: Division II, mid-major, Power Five and major elite programs. At the end of the recruiting process, the programs in the higher position on the food chain munch off the smaller schools. That's the way it works and programs don't need protection from that. And the NCAA's new rule is only protecting one thing, and the biggest issue is that it's not the kid.
Maybe you think the early signing period is good for the kid because it locks up a spot and allows them to sign earlier. But it's really not. What's happening is that schools and kids are being forced to make decisions faster — and coincidentally in the month that's most common for coaching changes — and that leads to recruiting misses and mistakes on both sides. Meyer won't have the luxury of waiting to offer in-state prospects anymore because flipping prospects late will no longer be an option. That's dangerous.
Maybe you think the flipping in recruiting is obnoxious. You may think, “Why can't kids make a commitment and stick to it?” But what you need to understand is that flipping is good. That means a prospect had a really good option in the school to which he originally committed, but something better came along for that kid and he jumped at it. How is it bad when a kid wants to flip? He's a teenager, isn't making the millions these coaches are making and has the prerogative to make what decision is best for him.
“I never really thought of that until now,” Vann said. “Luke Fickell is the perfect leader and I'd follow him into any situation. I am really happy with my Cincinnati commitment, so the stresses of an early signing period don't really apply to me.”
That's really good news for Vann. He's one of the best defensive ends in the country and he's completely at peace with his decision. And Fickell has done a tremendous job recruiting Cincinnati and keeping a prospect like Vann away from places like Alabama, Oklahoma and maybe, eventually, Ohio State.
But Vann is signing a document on Dec. 20 that will legally end his recruitment. And when he does, willingly or not, he's waiving his right to really know all of his options to the full extent. And nobody wins in that world.
Photo credit: Ari Wasserman/The Athletic
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