Some recruiting tidbits from the Washington Post

[Leo Ridens]

Castro-Fields did not decide until he announced:

"Tariq Castro-Fields fumbled between two hats hidden beneath a table in the Riverdale Baptist gymnasium as the crowd giggled at what could have been a moment to draw out suspense.
It wasn’t. After weeks agonizing over his college commitment, Castro-Fields was not acting — he was still deciding. [I decided] literally five seconds before I put the hat on,” he said. “It was that close — 50-50. His mind seesawed between Penn State and Maryland, and he pulled out a dark blue hat and announced he was headed to State College." So much for insider information and crystal ball prognostications.

There was some discussion on the board about whether they still used fax machines to send LOIs:

"Those high-stakes decisions haunt signees until they put pen to paper and fax their letters of intent, though most players The Washington Post spoke to Wednesday had never worked a fax machine. They relied on coaches or parents to press the buttons." In this age of the internet, faxes? Go figure.

LINK: https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...87d6e6a3e7c_story.html?utm_term=.f15988acdca2

 

[PSU Soupy]

TCF really could not make a bad decision with those two options, who am I kidding he came so close to making the biggest mistake of his life, he must have an angel looking out for him.

Shut down corners at PSU.

 

[NittPicker]

"Those high-stakes decisions haunt signees until they put pen to paper and fax their letters of intent, though most players The Washington Post spoke to Wednesday had never worked a fax machine. They relied on coaches or parents to press the buttons." In this age of the internet, faxes? Go figure.

The fax process cracks me up. Modern technology is a wonderful thing. Why not give kids the option of scanning the form and sending it as an email attachment? The time and date stamp will still be there if the NCAA wants proof of when it was sent. The kid could sign the form a week before and save it on a computer. He could mess with everyone's head and set up the email with attachment to be sent at 0300 on signing day. I chuckle thinking about people huddling around a fax machine waiting for it to spit out an LOI.

 

[Lion8286]

They don't have to use a fax machine. There are other options available. Regular mail, e-mail, in-person.

 

[lionville]

The fax process cracks me up. Modern technology is a wonderful thing. Why not give kids the option of scanning the form and sending it as an email attachment? The time and date stamp will still be there if the NCAA wants proof of when it was sent. The kid could sign the form a week before and save it on a computer. He could mess with everyone's head and set up the email with attachment to be sent at 0300 on signing day. I chuckle thinking about people huddling around a fax machine waiting for it to spit out an LOI.

He may not have had the LOI to sign a week beforehand. My son didn't get his until the day before LOI day.

 

[psualt]

The fax process cracks me up. Modern technology is a wonderful thing. Why not give kids the option of scanning the form and sending it as an email attachment? The time and date stamp will still be there if the NCAA wants proof of when it was sent. The kid could sign the form a week before and save it on a computer. He could mess with everyone's head and set up the email with attachment to be sent at 0300 on signing day. I chuckle thinking about people huddling around a fax machine waiting for it to spit out an LOI.

You can scan the forms. I scanned my son's form in and had not marked the AM/PM next to the time of my signature. The school informed me only to require me to check the box and resend. A few hours later they clearly saw how I completed the form and made us complete an entire new form out of concern that it wasnt NCAA compliant.

 

[PSU Soupy]

I kept prank calling UofM's fax machine so that I could watch on ESPN U4, it was priceless watching Harbaugh yell for an IT Tech to get the fax line to work. I kept the line busy most of the morning attempting to keep one of their 32 recruits for submitting their LOI.

 

[psu1969a]

The fax process cracks me up. Modern technology is a wonderful thing. Why not give kids the option of scanning the form and sending it as an email attachment? The time and date stamp will still be there if the NCAA wants proof of when it was sent. The kid could sign the form a week before and save it on a computer. He could mess with everyone's head and set up the email with attachment to be sent at 0300 on signing day. I chuckle thinking about people huddling around a fax machine waiting for it to spit out an LOI.

What is going to happen when the signee is unable to write his name since many schools are not teaching long hand in the elementary schools. Hell! Schools are hardly teaching printing. How far we have digressed.

 

[hagberg]

What is going to happen when the signee is unable to write his name since many schools are not teaching long hand in the elementary schools. Hell! Schools are hardly teaching printing. How far we have digressed.

It's a shame, too, because most young kids really dig learning to write in cursive. It's almost like learning a foreign language. I taught 4th grade for several years, and it was interesting to see a child's progression in fine motor skills.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

They don't have to use a fax machine. There are other options available. Regular mail, e-mail, in-person.

Don't think in person is allowed, is it?

 

[Lion8286]

Don't think in person is allowed, is it?

Yep. An OSU commit did it this year.

https://www.landof10.com/ohio-state/ohio-state-national-signing-day-amir-riep

 

[Leo Ridens]

What is going to happen when the signee is unable to write his name since many schools are not teaching long hand in the elementary schools. Hell! Schools are hardly teaching printing. How far we have digressed.

"X"

 

[ChiTownLion]

Weren't some people saying TCF was actually debating between PSU and Alabama? Either way, thrilled he's a Nittany Lion.

 

[PSU65]

The interview article seemed to imply he knew beforehand--wasn't a last minute thing.