A little perspective on decommits....

[VaNtyLion]

Quick look at other major programs and number of Decommits since the 2015 class.

Michigan - 27
Bama - 24
USC - 20
FSU - 15
PSU - 15
OSU - 13

Any number of factors can contribute to a recruit's decision to open up their recruitment.... but in the end it's a free country and these kids can and should do whatever they want with their lives. People need to stop taking this stuff so darn personal or as a slight against PSU. Parsons committed as a 15 year old sophomore and I doubt a day has gone by since without some type of influence pulling him in other directions. I doubt when he committed that he had a whole heck of a lot to really compare PSU with.

Parsons says PSU remains one of his top choices. Let the kid take his officials and if it still feels right he'll be back. If it doesn't feel right then it was never really meant to be. Franklin and staff have proven to be quite trustworthy in how they're managing recruiting and success on the field. Life will go on one way or the other. There really isn't one position on the field that make a whole class sink or swim based on the depth PSU has built up and is building.

 

[Ranger Dan]

I think there is an obvious correlation between decommits and the number of 4 and 5 star recruits. Either a 3 star recruit decommits when the team starts to get verbals from higher profile kids and he's afraid that he will be marginalized or it's a 5 star recruit who needs to get his quota of "love" from the coaches and fans. I'm afraid that it's the price of being competitive in today's college football world.

 

[SR108]

I think there is an obvious correlation between decommits and the number of 4 and 5 star recruits. Either a 3 star recruit decommits when the team starts to get verbals from higher profile kids and he's afraid that he will be marginalized or it's a 5 star recruit who needs to get his quota of "love" from the coaches and fans. I'm afraid that it's the price of being competitive in today's college football world.

Some of these kids commit too soon. Recruiting is a process. There is a reason why a recruit gets five official visits.

 

[VaNtyLion]

I think there is an obvious correlation between decommits and the number of 4 and 5 star recruits. Either a 3 star recruit decommits when the team starts to get verbals from higher profile kids and he's afraid that he will be marginalized or it's a 5 star recruit who needs to get his quota of "love" from the coaches and fans. I'm afraid that it's the price of being competitive in today's college football world.

Unless anyone has been in their shoes, hard to ascribe motives to a 4 or 5 star that decommits apart from their own words. Do some enjoy the attention? Sure. But in the end if you put a car enthusiast in a parking lot of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Rolls Royce and a Jaguar and tell him to pick which one he's most comfortable owning for the next 4 years, he's going to want to test drive each car if he hadn't done so. As such, a recruit should want to test drive his school choices and enjoy the process if they so choose.

Reading Parson's own words on this last night, he's basically making official what anyone following his recruitment has seen as unofficial regardless. He likes PSU but we've probably been 1a and 1b with OSU for a while and I think that will probably be the way it is and was going to be until signing day even if he didn't officially recommit.


"I felt like my visit to Penn State this weekend went amazing," he said. "Everything was good for me but at the end of the day it came down to family. I talked to coach Franklin in person there and over the phone today and thought this would be the best decision for right now. They're still my top school right now but I fell like I need to focus on other things right now.

"My plan right now is getting ready for the SAT, focusing on school, getting bigger, and getting ready for the Rivals Camp," said Parsons. "I think I'll take a family visit up to Penn State. Coach Franklin said he wants me to bring my whole family up there to talk to him. I'm pretty sure I'll be at the Lasch Bash too. I think I'll also go to Friday Night Lights at Ohio State. My Dad and I will probably make a trip to Alabama and Florida State. I think I'll commit on Signing Day or before the first signing period."

https://n.rivals.com/news/5-star-micah-parsons-decommits-from-penn-state

 

[Nitt1300]

commitment

 

[artsandletters]

Quick look at other major programs and number of Decommits since the 2015 class.

Michigan - 27
Bama - 24
USC - 20
FSU - 15
PSU - 15
OSU - 13

Any number of factors can contribute to a recruit's decision to open up their recruitment.... but in the end it's a free country and these kids can and should do whatever they want with their lives. People need to stop taking this stuff so darn personal or as a slight against PSU. Parsons committed as a 15 year old sophomore and I doubt a day has gone by since without some type of influence pulling him in other directions. I doubt when he committed that he had a whole heck of a lot to really compare PSU with.

Parsons says PSU remains one of his top choices. Let the kid take his officials and if it still feels right he'll be back. If it doesn't feel right then it was never really meant to be. Franklin and staff have proven to be quite trustworthy in how they're managing recruiting and success on the field. Life will go on one way or the other. There really isn't one position on the field that make a whole class sink or swim based on the depth PSU has built up and is building.

Some to many of those decommits are due to offers being withdrawn.

 

[sluggo72]

Unless anyone has been in their shoes, hard to ascribe motives to a 4 or 5 star that decommits apart from their own words. Do some enjoy the attention? Sure. But in the end if you put a car enthusiast in a parking lot of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Rolls Royce and a Jaguar and tell him to pick which one he's most comfortable owning for the next 4 years, he's going to want to test drive each car if he hadn't done so. As such, a recruit should want to test drive his school choices and enjoy the process if they so choose.

Reading Parson's own words on this last night, he's basically making official what anyone following his recruitment has seen as unofficial regardless. He likes PSU but we've probably been 1a and 1b with OSU for a while and I think that will probably be the way it is and was going to be until signing day even if he didn't officially recommit.


"I felt like my visit to Penn State this weekend went amazing," he said. "Everything was good for me but at the end of the day it came down to family. I talked to coach Franklin in person there and over the phone today and thought this would be the best decision for right now. They're still my top school right now but I fell like I need to focus on other things right now.

"My plan right now is getting ready for the SAT, focusing on school, getting bigger, and getting ready for the Rivals Camp," said Parsons. "I think I'll take a family visit up to Penn State. Coach Franklin said he wants me to bring my whole family up there to talk to him. I'm pretty sure I'll be at the Lasch Bash too. I think I'll also go to Friday Night Lights at Ohio State. My Dad and I will probably make a trip to Alabama and Florida State. I think I'll commit on Signing Day or before the first signing period."

https://n.rivals.com/news/5-star-micah-parsons-decommits-from-penn-state

Is there a possibility that Franklin told him he needs to get his grades/tests in order before he does anything else? I don't know where he stands academically.

 

[hotmetal]

Cleveland Plain Dealer is excited to report that Parsons has decommitted. Ohio State already has verbal from no. 1 defensive tackle and now Parsons is on the board.

 

[VaNtyLion]

Is there a possibility that Franklin told him he needs to get his grades/tests in order before he does anything else? I don't know where he stands academically.

Highly doubtful. PSU (or any school for that matter) isn't going to tell a kid of Parsons' ability to step out of a verbal at this point of the game due to academic issues when he has so much time to get that in order. Besides that, I've never heard of any hint that this would be a problem for him either.

Following his journey for the past year, opening up his recruitment was not exactly a surprise...at all. While I doubt Franklin wants this if for no other reason than sheer optics, Parsons was always going to come down to signing day. He could have "officially" decommitted in the fall when taking his visits and it would have been a bigger distraction, or just do it now and confirm what everyone has known for a while - he's going to go through the process thoroughly. Either way, he's been unofficially decommitted for at least 8 months if you consider actions speaking louder than words. I don't fault the kid for going through the process.

 

[Glen]

The positive of this action is there now is no need for any on here to bash him for his decision to commit. I may even be able to go back to reading threads about him that are now populated by negatives. On second thought, posters will continue the negative spin based on OSU.

 

[tboyer]

Yeah that quote from Parsons puts a whole different light on it. It sounds like a big part of this is just academics. The first thing he mentions is getting ready for the SAT so it might be qualification/admissions will be an issue. Maybe Franklin is saying, we're here with open arms but you will have to get some grades/scores to get past PSU admissions. Maybe it's another Adam McLean kind of situation. If junior year grades are not what they need to be, then the SAT number needs to be higher. Or he takes some summer courses to help that HS GPA. All of this of course being speculation.

If that is the case then there's no reason for PSU fans to have any hard feelings -- it really does make sense for Parsons to line up some schools so he has options depending on how his academic matrix works out. There are a number of schools out there, southern schools and Ohio State, where admissions is not an issue -- if you're NCAA qualified they'll take you. And it's probably not like PSU's minimum requirements for athletes are a whole lot higher than the NCAA eligibility requirement, but they are higher.

 

[sluggo72]

Yeah that quote from Parsons puts a whole different light on it. It sounds like a big part of this is just academics. The first thing he mentions is getting ready for the SAT so it might be qualification/admissions will be an issue. Maybe Franklin is saying, we're here with open arms but you will have to get some grades/scores to get past PSU admissions. Maybe it's another Adam McLean kind of situation. If junior year grades are not what they need to be, then the SAT number needs to be higher. Or he takes some summer courses to help that HS GPA. All of this of course being speculation.

If that is the case then there's no reason for PSU fans to have any hard feelings -- it really does make sense for Parsons to line up some schools so he has options depending on how his academic matrix works out. There are a number of schools out there, southern schools and Ohio State, where admissions is not an issue -- if you're NCAA qualified they'll take you. And it's probably not like PSU's minimum requirements for athletes are a whole lot higher than the NCAA eligibility requirement, but they are higher.

if he is NCAA qualified, PSU will take him.

 

[artsandletters]

Yeah that quote from Parsons puts a whole different light on it. It sounds like a big part of this is just academics. The first thing he mentions is getting ready for the SAT so it might be qualification/admissions will be an issue. Maybe Franklin is saying, we're here with open arms but you will have to get some grades/scores to get past PSU admissions. Maybe it's another Adam McLean kind of situation. If junior year grades are not what they need to be, then the SAT number needs to be higher. Or he takes some summer courses to help that HS GPA. All of this of course being speculation.

If that is the case then there's no reason for PSU fans to have any hard feelings -- it really does make sense for Parsons to line up some schools so he has options depending on how his academic matrix works out. There are a number of schools out there, southern schools and Ohio State, where admissions is not an issue -- if you're NCAA qualified they'll take you. And it's probably not like PSU's minimum requirements for athletes are a whole lot higher than the NCAA eligibility requirement, but they are higher.

In addition, you have to go to class. That could be a challenge for someone who hasn't made a practice of that and is treated preferentially. Anyone know what the academic requirements are at Central Dauphin compared to, say, Harrisburg High?

 

[artsandletters]

if he is NCAA qualified, PSU will take him.

He still has to go to class and get acceptable grades.

 

[ericstratton-rushchairman]

I was married twice by the time I was 42 so I really can't judge

 

[sluggo72]

He still has to go to class and get acceptable grades.

I always wondered about the first, because really who cares, if you get the second. That said, it seems the first helps with the second for most kids.

 

[dawgduice]

Remember, they are KIDS. Plus their egos are way out of control. Look at us "sweating" where a child chooses to "play".
If he is NOT PSU well we are fine with those that ARE

 

[artsandletters]

I always wondered about the first, because really who cares, if you get the second. That said, it seems the first helps with the second for most kids.

Going to class is the rule, right?

Yeah, I cut classes all the time until the light bulb went on.

Go to class. Listen. Take notes. That night, rewrite the notes. That way you've exposed yourself to the information three times in one day without much effort. Periodic reviews and you can take exams with confidence.

 

[sluggo72]

Going to class is the rule, right?

Yeah, I cut classes all the time until the light bulb went on.

Go to class. Listen. Take notes. That night, rewrite the notes. That way you've exposed yourself to the information three times in one day without much effort. Periodic reviews and you can take exams with confidence.

I've also gotten good grades while cutting but that introduces stress.

I am sure it is a rule for the FB team, I was talking about everybody else. I had very few, if any prof's take attendance, but as you note, if you didn't attend class, you probably weren't going to make it thru school

 

[grinagrin]

Quick look at other major programs and number of Decommits since the 2015 class.

Michigan - 27
Bama - 24
USC - 20
FSU - 15
PSU - 15
OSU - 13

Any number of factors can contribute to a recruit's decision to open up their recruitment.... but in the end it's a free country and these kids can and should do whatever they want with their lives. People need to stop taking this stuff so darn personal or as a slight against PSU. Parsons committed as a 15 year old sophomore and I doubt a day has gone by since without some type of influence pulling him in other directions. I doubt when he committed that he had a whole heck of a lot to really compare PSU with.

Parsons says PSU remains one of his top choices. Let the kid take his officials and if it still feels right he'll be back. If it doesn't feel right then it was never really meant to be. Franklin and staff have proven to be quite trustworthy in how they're managing recruiting and success on the field. Life will go on one way or the other. There really isn't one position on the field that make a whole class sink or swim based on the depth PSU has built up and is building.

Good post. Let's remember our once in a generation tailback was a decommit from Rutgers.