Many recruits and parents believe that once an offer has been made, it sits on the table forever. That can cause an athlete to take a passive role in his recruitment while resting on an eighth, ninth, or tenth-grade verbal offer, or even an opportunity received going into his senior season.
The truth is that recruiting can shift in an instant. Coaches leave. Recruiting boards change. Other players commit. Academic situations change. Position rooms fill. And verbal offers and commitments are not binding in the same way a final written agreement is. For a very small percentage of truly elite prospects, a school may be willing to wait. For everybody else, assuming an opportunity will remain exactly where you left it can be dangerous.
Schools also recruit more players than they ultimately have room to take. If a school needs a certain number of players at a position, it normally isn’t recruiting only that exact number of prospects. They might have offered 3 times that amount of players. So while a recruit might table an offer hoping to use it as leverage, someone else can commit. The position room can fill. The staff can move on.
That doesn’t mean you have to commit the second somebody offers you. It means you need information.
Ask:
Is this offer committable right now?
How many guys are you taking at my position?
How long do I realistically have to make a decision?
You can even ask where you stand on their board. You might not get the clearest answer, but how a coach responds can give you good idea of where you stand. This won’t necessarily boost your recruitment, but it will make sure you are making decisions with real information instead of assumptions.
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COMING NEXT
If you’re already overwhelmed by Myths #10 and #9, make sure you check out the next installment in the series, where we tackle Myth #8: You Need a Recruiting Agency to Get Recruited.