Harty: It isn’t over until it’s over in recruiting
IOWA CITY, Iowa – To the Iowa fans who are suffering from the news that prize recruit Chevin Calloway isn’t totally committed to the Hawkeyes, take a deep breath and think of pleasant thoughts.
Hug somebody.
Take your dog for a walk, assuming you have one.
Watch a couple episodes of Andy Griffith, but make sure it’s the early years featuring Don Knotts as Barney Fife because the show lost its soul after he was gone.
Do something to take your mind off the news because the national signing day in February isn’t coming anytime soon.
It is still nearly five months away, so there is plenty of time for recruits to change their mind about which school they want to attend.
Calloway, a talented defensive back from Dallas, Texas, has gone from being committed to Iowa since July 11 to now considering five schools, including Iowa and Arkansas, whose head coach is former Iowa defensive lineman and assistant coach Bret Bielema. Calloway also said he wants to visit Nebraska, Mississippi and Texas before making a final decision.
The thing with a verbal commitment is that while everything around it has changed, the commitment itself hasn’t changed.
It still is a non-binding agreement in which either side can bail on the other at any time.
And it’s not just the recruits who switch their allegiances. Coaches also do it with the goal of trying to put together the best class as possible by signing day.
Unlike basketball, there is no early signing period in football, so there is more time and opportunity for recruits to change their mind.
One of the benefits to having an early signing period is that recruits probably wouldn’t be as quick to commit if they knew their decision soon would become official.
It’ll be interesting to see how this affects Calloway’s commitment to Iowa because Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz doesn’t want recruits who are committed to the Hawkeyes to visit other schools.
Ferentz could pull Calloway’s offer, but then Iowa would have no chance of landing one of the top defensive backs in the 2017 class.
Where do you draw the line with a recruit such as Calloway?
Recruiting should be handled on a case-by-case basis because the circumstances are different with each prospect.
Iowa doesn’t land recruits as heralded as Calloway very often. He has options that most other recruits don’t have.
It is easier for a recruit to stay loyal when he doesn’t have schools like Arkansas, Texas and Nebraska still courting him.
To see that a player of Calloway’s ilk isn’t totally committed is deflating for fans because so much hype surrounded his commitment, which he made live on Periscope.
The coverage of recruiting is what has changed the most over the past two decades. Kids have been de-committing and exploring their options since the beginning of recruiting.
It’s just that now a verbal commitment is covered like the moon landing, as is a story like Calloway’s in which he isn’t totally committed to Iowa anymore.
Calloway is trying to make one, if not the biggest decisions in his young life to this point. His decision will impact the rest of his life.
So it makes sense that he might need more time, and more to compare Iowa to before making a final decision.
Some Iowa fans probably are wondering about the timing of the Calloway news because it comes in the wake of last Saturday’s 23-21 loss to FCS power North Dakota State.
That is more likely just a coincidence. But it’s important to remember that recruiting is fluid, even more so in the case of college football because there is no early signing period.