Verbal Offers

yes

We've talked about this topic as well and I'm wondering how often the verbal agreement doesn't match what is actually on the table at signing time.

I can see a real recruiting advantage to getting a player off the market with a verbal and renegotiating at signing time when other schools have stopped recruiting due to the verbal.

Dirty but Im sure it happens.

It just seems to me that coaches would really lose some credibility doing something like that?

they would lose some credibility and from what I've heard from coaches they don't want that stigma tied to them. Once the word gets out that a program isn't honoring verbal offers recruits will not bother talking to them.

2012 pitcher at my son's high school had made a verbal commitment or even signed his NLI to a mid major DI school.

Summer after junior year when deal was made he was sitting 88-89 and hitting 91. Didn't do his work in the offseason and got out of shape. School shows up in spring and he topped at 83.

He was strongly encouraged not to show up this fall and is going to a JUCO instead.

Just an example that it isn't always the coach being a bad guy. The player has to do his part as well.

I could understand that...it is the responsibility of the player to stay out of trouble and to take care of business on the field and in the classroom!

From all of the stories I've read over the years and talking with friends...

#1 reason an offer is pulled? Academics or misconduct.

#1 reason a player is discouraged from showing up? Coaching change (head coach).

Rarely, and I mean really rarely, are they pulled otherwise. I've heard of an injury causing a pulled scholly. And the example above involving significant loss of velocity...I've heard of something like that a couple of times.

I've also heard of parents who bragged that junior got a full ride not end up at a school...because in reality they had no scholarship at all.

My 2013 had an early verbal the beginning of his sophomore year. It was very clear on both sides that this offer/agreement was to be taken serious. For us it has worked out great. The communication between my son and the coaches has been very good. We are looking forward to signing a letter of intent in November.

Many of my sons teammates committed early. I have not heard of one being taken away.

Thank You for all input. Very exciting time for our son.

Rebel, just make sure you meet the HC face to face before son signs anything. Dealing with recruiting coach only leaves the door open later on for he said, she said when things don't pan out. If they don't have the guts/time to do so, go elsewhere.

Well, with an early offer there is nothing to sign.

But it is common that the offer is confirmed by an exchange of e-mails.

Verbals can be pulled but honestly it happens very, very rarely. I've only heard of it happening once over the past several years in a case other than where the player was guilty of misconduct or something comparable. The program can be at a bit of a disadvantage there as it is not in a position to reveal why an offer was pulled.

You more often see a player change his mind and change his commitment. But some of those are actually situations where he muffed his situation at college A and latched on with college B, not always situations where the kid just changes his mind.

So how DOES a kid 'change his mind?' Can they tell a coach in senior year, sorry, I am no longer interested?

It would seem to me with verbals as early as sophomore year, those minds might change quite a bit! Is a player really bound by this? What if in the process of growing up as a person / student / player, he starts to realize in senior year that the place he loved when he was 15 isn't the right place for him at 18 - 21?

This is really a rhetorical question, nothing specific for my son at all, just for all the students out there so anxious to get early offers.

I sometimes wonder about early anything.....even ED for a 'non athlete' can be a tough call because students change so much in senior year.