Signing vs. Committing: What are the big differences?

What is the difference in athletic recruiting? For those that are new to the recruiting process, one thing that gets commonly mistaken is the difference between an athlete verbally committing to a University versus an athlete signing his Letter of Intent with the same school. There is a big difference and although it may mean small, it really does mean a lot.

Lets start by explaining what exactly a verbal commitment is worth to a school. Before his senior season of football, Johnny receives an offer from the big small Division I school in-state, called Eastern. Because the big Division I powerhouse, called State, has not offered him an athletic scholarship, Johnny decides to end the recruiting process by committing to Eastern College. All Johnny has given to the coaches at Eastern is his word that he will sign his Letter of Intent with the school in February. If he is a quarterback, Eastern is confident with him and decides to quit recruiting players at his position.

During the fall, Johnny has a fantastic season and State College really starts showing more attention. While they know he is committed to Eastern, they need two quarterbacks in their recruiting and like keeping in state kids at home. Plus he has grown up a State fan since he was younger and attended camps there every summer. Because all Johnny has done is make a verbal commitment to accept the scholarship at Eastern, it really doesn’t mean a whole lot. While you want to keep your word as a good person, you need to know that recruiting is a game and the coaches could also pull your scholarship at any time before you sign. That verbal commitment really is worth nothing on both ends of the spectrum.

If Johnny decides to decommit from Eastern (Which basically means he has decided not to go there at that time), he will face no penalty if he picks up that athletic scholarship to State College and verbally commits there. Johnny will now to get to play for his dream school but it does leave Eastern short one quarterback. Again, he did leave his old school out to dry but as a recruit, you really need to look out for what is best for you. The coaches will do the exact same thing with you. And I know this is a negative view, but be wary.

What can stop all of this is on the first Wednesday of February when football players are allowed to sign their Letters of Intent (Different sports having different Signing Day, which I plan to talk about soon with the fall signing period coming up next week). Johnny signs his Letter of Intent with State College and he is officially bound to go to that school. He can decide to leave and attend a prep school, a Division III program, a Division II program, or a Junior College program, but he cannot decommit and decide that Eastern College really was the place for him. You cannot leave a Division I program for another Division program that year if you have signed your Letter of Intent.

While this article has talked mostly about football, what makes signing a Letter of Intent so difficult for basketball players is that coaches can leave. If the player signs his Letter of Intent in the fall and the coach gets fired or takes another job, you are still bound to that Letter of Intent. While I don’t agree with this, it is the reality of life. Some schools will let a player out of that Letter of Intent if there is a coaching chance while others won’t. It really just depends on the player and the school.

So if you are talking about a player committing or signing, you can now show your recruiting expertise by telling all of your friends the difference!

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