Yeah, call me a troll. But,

[rsimmons21]

I was reading an article the other day and it read that it is becoming a trend for some elite recruits not signing letters of intent, even though commit and play for a school. If so, what's the purpose of loi's anyway? And this might be Germans, but it's news to me.

 

[RebelBruiser]

From my understanding, the LOI isn't necessary if you know the school isn't going to drop you. It binds the player to the school, so that if he breaks it and decides to go elsewhere, he has to sit a year. Essentially, it's the same as enrolling in the school, from the player's perspective.

Obviously, the plus side for the player is, if you sign the LOI, you lock in your scholarship spot for that year. However, if you're an elite recruit, you have no need to lock in your scholarship, because the school isn't going to drop you. Therefore, why sign a contract binding you to a school, if you don't have to do so to reserve your spot?

I think the trend is the result, in particular, of the practice where coaching staffs have worked out deals to wait and not let their assistants leave until after Signing Day, and often the player signs with a school only to find out that the guy who convinced him to sign is not going to be there in the fall. If you have the leverage to hold the school accountable, why not?

Yancy was saying (I know, I know) that Malik is considering not signing an LOI. Take that FWIW, but he really doesn't need to. Just sign scholarship papers, which obligate the school to you, and enroll when it's time.

 

[rsimmons21]

Thank you. That sums it up! Appreciate it...

 

[121Josey]

Scholarship papers don't bind you to a school. It binds the school to you. Can't believe Yancy didn't tell you that - or is he not allowed to speak Matt Womack's name?**

There's no reason not to sign a NLI. If you don't want to play for that school, just don't enroll. Then enroll in another school and decide where you want to play the next year.

ETA: I misread the statement. The ********** basically said the same thing.

 

[NewTweederEndzoneDance]

If you don't sign a NLI, you could enroll at another school and play that year though. At least that's how I understand it. In which case, there is a reason not to sign a NLI.

 

[121Josey]

If you don't sign a NLI, you could enroll at another school and play that year though. At least that's how I understand it. In which case, there is a reason not to sign a NLI.

If you don't sign a NLI, you may be forced to play for another school. No reason not to sign a NLI.

5. National Signing Day is the first day of the NLI signing period, not the last
Not every athlete who agrees to sign an NLI receives it on February 1. It may come a few days later. The signing period lasts until April 1 for football, and until August 1 for field hockey, soccer, track, cross country, and men’s water polo. So don’t worry if you don’t get a letter immediately. But remember – if you haven’t talked about getting one, you won’t. This only applies to athletes who have already discussed NLI signing with a coach.

 

[RebelBruiser]

The reason you don't sign it is so that the school you want to play for can't let all its assistants run off prior to your enrollment, leaving you with a staff you aren't familiar with. If they do, you can choose your second place school, enroll, and play immediately if you haven't signed a LOI.

The whole point was that if you're an elite recruit, the school isn't going to pass on you...and they can't if you sign scholarship papers anyway.

Basically, by signing scholarship papers, you've created a one-way contract that favors you. You've reserved your spot, but you've left yourself the option to change your mind if things aren't exactly as you expected them to be when you originally signed the scholarship papers.

Since you originally brought up Matt Womack, I do find it funny that LSU is getting in trouble for improper contact since Womack backed out on them and signed with Bama. Talk about a double whammy of a flip. Not only did the school take your player, but they got you in trouble with the NCAA by taking your player.

Bottom line though, some players have been getting more savvy, and they're just avoiding the LOI, or delaying the LOI, since it keeps the school in a position to need to keep them happy.

 

[121Josey]

Yeah, LSU got the raw end on that one. The NCAA has set up no way to enforce or validate the process of scholarship papers. In hindsight, it will be looked on as another blunder by the NCAA. It will either morph completely away from the NLI to a "super offer" or will assimilate / replace the NLI.

Nobody says that a player has to sign on NSD. I don't see a situation where the coaching carousel starts in the middle of spring practice. If I were the student, I'd check out a few spring practices of my possible suitors and then ask for a NLI while I was there.

If you're SEC, you still run the risk of a 25 player signing limit. Maybe some schools will hold out. But I doubt many of the jilted schools want to select from the "barely qualified" talent pool.

 

[thekimmer]

One would have to be an A1 stud to pull this off.....

Otherwise a school would be nuts not to insist that an LOI is signed before offering scholly papers. I can also see schools like UK in BB or Bama in FB that sign so many bluechippers to tell even a stud player to pound sand if they won't sign an LOI.