Recruiting Symposium Claims Colleges Offer 300-400 Verbal Commitments to Football Players

Earlier this month, college football support and recruiting staff across the country met in Nashville for the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium. This symposium was an opportunity for support staff to discuss the current landscape of recruiting in college football and explore alternative or innovative ways to improve the overall experience for both school and student.

One of the more intriguing panels at the symposium was a survey-based panel where over 100 staffers would vote on particular issues in the recruiting process. While they covered many topics, the one that caught my attention most was related to verbal offers. Nearly 75% of the room agreed that the verbal offer system should be changed, but the reality is that there are no current efforts or plans to update the verbal offer system in college athletics. 

If we know anything about NCAA rules, it’s that coaches will find a way to exploit them at one time or another. One of the recruiters in the panel was quoted, pulling the curtain back on how coaches use the verbal offer by telling a reporter “You see some schools offering 300, 400 kids. That’s how they do their business, but I just think it’s not good for the game. There’s no meaning in evaluations. They’re just offered to offer.”.

Some coaches feel that they have to offer a verbal in order to get a student-athlete to visit their campus, but this method has clearly created a slippery slope that makes hundreds of students re-prioritize their college decision process based on false promises and insurance offers.

This is a prime example of why it is so important to proactively research and pursue schools that appeal to students BEYOND sports. Identifying and prioritizing interests off the field helps focus a student-athlete’s recruiting effort into lanes that have a much higher chance of paying off in the long run both on and off the field.