Ryan's experiences were usually over the phone, but sometimes on a visit. (I am probably going to provide too much information, but I think it could be valuable.) His is a little convoluted, because he committed, and then decommitted from the AF Academy. His offer there came on his visit there October of Jr. Year. The Academy was electric during our visit, and honestly, I don't know if there is a better man to coach your son than Coach Kaz. He was awesome throughout every step. He committed prior to us leaving the Academy, and he was set on becoming a Falcon. The one hang-up was his ACT Score. He had only taken it once, and he got a 24. In order to get admitted, he would need a 25. (His offer was contingent on him having at least a 25.)
If I am being completely honest, my boy has always been a good student, but his focus was always on baseball. Obviously a 25 is not shabby, but it isn't really rocket science level either. I don't believe he put enough preparation in, and he only scored a 25. Therefore, he could get in, but it would put him at the lowest point of all accepted. At that time, we started to question the fit. We had never questioned the fit before, because we thought with a little effort, he could score a 27 or 28, and he probably could have. Going to the Academy is so tough, and then playing baseball, just turned out to not be a good idea for Ryno.
Since he had committed, he had removed himself from consideration at other schools. This was a big problem. When he decommited at the end of May (Jr. Year), it became important for him to showcase. However, he decided to play football Sr. Year, after not playing his Jr. Year, so he had to juggle football and baseball in the summer before Sr. Yr. Unfortunately, Ryan tore his meniscus at football camp, and that ended his summer. After having the meniscus repaired, it was right into football. Since he was battling for the QB spot, there was no way he could attend the showcases in the fall. This was problematic, because he had not had the opportunity to get back on the radar.
At that point, he had the JC that he is currently at ask him to commit to them, if he wasn't going D-1. It was a full offer, so that was nice to have that in his pocket. November came, and he didn't have any big offers, but he did have some DII & DIII schools asking him to come play QB, and come play baseball.
January rolled around, and he went to the UT camp in Austin, and although they didn't have a spot, they told some of the JC's down there about him. Several wanted him to come, but he did not want to go back on his word to his JC back home.
In the spring of Sr. Yr., one of our fellow HS Baseball Web members made some really good contacts for Ryan. One was a mid-major, and an outstanding institution of higher learning. I wanted him to take this spot, but after his visit, he didn't feel like it was the place for him.
Once summer came around, he had a few DII offers, and a bunch of D1's were interested, but it was time to move on. At that point, he said that he wanted to just focus on his JC, and he believed strongly that he was making the right decision.
Fast forward to Fall of Soph. Yr. at the JC, and Ryan was getting a lot of attention from D-I's in the West. However, he went on an official visit to Nevada with a couple teammates, and it appeared they were slow playing the boys. (They new they didn't have anything concrete, and they were waiting to see what happened. One of the boys was from there, and they were trying to get him to walk on.) The very next week, Purdue asked son, and the boy that was offered a walk on to come out for an OV. At the end of the visit, the boys were told that they had several boys they liked, but whoever took the offer first got it. They both chose to accept, and they couldn't be happier. Ryan had others asking him to visit, but the offer from Purdue was great, he loves the new staff, they have a great stadium. When he called me to ask what he should do, since there were others that had asked him to visit, I told him to take the deal. Why? Many reasons:
1. Good Offer
2. Great Education
3. Alumni Network
4. Etc. Etc.
My main reason was that these other schools out West had known Ryan for a long time, so they had plenty of opportunity. I told him that based on the offer, Purdue was the place for him, and he agreed.
So I know this was long, but there are just so many variables that can change how the journey will go. He had a decommit, an injury, etc., but ultimately, he ended up where he belongs. #BoilerUp