2015 4* LB Roquan Smith (Georgia signee)

[metafour 4,969]

There is recent chatter about us "sniffing around" regarding Smith. Furthermore, I have no source for this, but I've seen some Michigan poster claim that there is a 247 writer who is stating that there is "strong chance" that Smith ends up signing with "another southern team that as of now isn't even being discussed". TIFWIW.

[AuburnArch13 185]

There is recent chatter about us "sniffing around" regarding Smith. Furthermore, I have no source for this, but I've seen some Michigan poster claim that there is a 247 writer who is stating that there is "strong chance" that Smith ends up signing with "another southern team that as of now isn't even being discussed". TIFWIW.

Lovely, even more drama to follow..

In any event, would love to have him. He seemed to be the LB our coaches were after the hardest at the beginning of the process.

[Randman5000 4,235]

There is recent chatter about us "sniffing around" regarding Smith. Furthermore, I have no source for this, but I've seen some Michigan poster claim that there is a 247 writer who is stating that there is "strong chance" that Smith ends up signing with "another southern team that as of now isn't even being discussed". TIFWIW.

Thanks. Lots of people were delighted when he showed interest early on.

If so. I could see coach Lance helping on that end and possibly swaying the kid back to us

[doc4aday 1,887]

Did Smith ever commit to team? I would love to grab up this young man if we have another slot available.

[AuburnArch13 185]

Did Smith ever commit to team? I would love to grab up this young man if we have another slot available.

He is committed to UCLA but has not yet signed with anyone. Last information was he would sign around the middle of this week by the earliest. UCLA and Georgia are believed to be the favorites, though there are other players as well.

[doc4aday 1,887]

Did Smith ever commit to team? I would love to grab up this young man if we have another slot available.

He is committed to UCLA but has not yet signed with anyone. Last information was he would sign around the middle of this week by the earliest. UCLA and Georgia are believed to be the favorites, though there are other players as well.

By others, do you mean Auburn?

[AuburnArch13 185]

Did Smith ever commit to team? I would love to grab up this young man if we have another slot available.

He is committed to UCLA but has not yet signed with anyone. Last information was he would sign around the middle of this week by the earliest. UCLA and Georgia are believed to be the favorites, though there are other players as well.

By others, do you mean Auburn?

Michigan and Texas A&M were his other two "finalists" if I recall correctly. Some has also speculated that Auburn and/or Florida State could potentially work their way into the running.

[AU64 10,122]

UCLA's DC has left for the NFL....seems like a good chance for someone to pick off Smith.

[doc4aday 1,887]

May the games begin

[Shift 350]

Wait, so is there a chance we are still pursuing him ?

[AU64 10,122]

Wait, so is there a chance we are still pursuing him ?

Sounds like we are not in the hunt.... http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/02/high_school_coaches_blast_dece.html#incart_river

[Randman5000 4,235]

Wait, so is there a chance we are still pursuing him ?

Sounds like we are not in the hunt.... http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/02/high_school_coaches_blast_dece.html#incart_river

Ah crap, I thought for sure we could make it close.

[AuburnArch13 185]

For those who haven't followed the Roquan Smith signing day story, he committed to UCLA on national signing day, but held off on faxing his NLI after finding out that UCLA's defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was leaving the university to coach LB's for the Atlanta Falcons. UCLA, Georgia, MIchigan, and Texas A&M are considered front runners for his services.

Perhaps the most impactful part of this story however is that Smith has now decided that in order to protect himself from being potentially in this situation again, that he will not sign an NLI at all. Instead, he will only sign the "grant-in-aid" scholarship forms from the University that he commits to. By doing this, Smith will have a guaranteed 1-year renewable scholarship at the university (or potentially universities) whose scholarship forms he signs. He will NOT however be locked into that decision until he sets foot on campus and would be free to change his mind for any reason at all between now and then. Basically he holds all the cards now.

Given the recent hoopla nationally about players signing to a school only to have a coach immediately leave (e.g. Mike Weber at OSU, the various DL at Texas, and nearly CeCe Jefferson), this could very well start a trend among further recruits as a way of protecting their own interests. We could see a situation where big named recruits are forgoing signing an NLI which could mean seeing post-NSD "flips" extending through the summer and potentially all the way until fall enrollment.

The question now becomes who all stands to benefit if this does indeed become a trend? Surely we will not see a scenario anytime soon where no one is signing NLI's. After all, the university is under no obligation to present the student with grant in aid forms until he has signed an NLI. So your run of the mill 3-star recruit will still very likely be signing on national signing day or risk losing his spot. But your higher-rated 4 and 5 star recruits may carry enough weight to get coaches to present them with the GIA paperwork despite having no intention of signing an NLI. (Reportedly all of Smith's finalists are fine with him not signing an NLI). What is also interesting is that by not signing the NLI, the student athlete is still able to be "recruited" meaning that other schools could continue to call etc. up until enrollment.

For more info on the Roquan Smith situation and the NLI/GIA distinction:

http://recruiting.bl..._recruiting_sfp

[AuburnArch13 185]

Says recruitment should be wrapped up soon but will not sign NLI. He will sign scholarship papers at his school of choice and enroll in the summer.

http://recruiting.blog.ajc.com/2015/02/09/new-roquan-smith-wont-sign-loi-with-new-school-per-coach/?ecmp=ajc_social_twitter_2014_recruiting_sfp

[gman87 398]

I guess if the school chooses, they can give the spot to someone that will sign a NLI and tell the highly recruited player to kick rocks. If it comes down to 1 spot and you don't have any remaining pressing needs it wouldn't matter but could you imagine any head coach leaving 3, 4, 5 spots open HOPING he would land those players? Doubt it.

[AU64 10,122]

I've seen some player advocates suggest that kids not sign the NLI because it is a one-sided document...binds the kid to the school but schools can pull a scholarship for various reasons thereafter. I guess the more stars a kid has in the rankings, the more leverage he might have to just sign the aid documents for a while and see that his favorite coach does not bail out on him after NLI day.

Seems that the schools and coaches are now holding off with job changes until after the kids are committed. That's a bad deal IMO and something needs to change...not sure what however....but a coach that spends a year romancing a kid about playing for him at Texas or UCLA or wherever....and then leaves as soon as the kid signs his NLI....that's sorry.

[caleb1633 1,418]

This has happened before. I can't remember who it was, but I doubt this will be a trend.

[Tiger 8,833]

I suppose having a "handler" in this type of instance that could walk the kids through these types of scenarios could be a positive. IDK if this kid had one or just has good parental guidance but it definitely wouldn't hurt to educate the kids on the fact that they have this option in front of them.

Pseudo-agents.

[AuburnArch13 185]

For those who haven't followed the Roquan Smith signing day story, he committed to UCLA on national signing day, but held off on faxing his NLI after finding out that UCLA's defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was leaving the university to coach LB's for the Atlanta Falcons. UCLA, Georgia, MIchigan, and Texas A&M are considered front runners for his services.

Perhaps the most impactful part of this story however is that Smith has now decided that in order to protect himself from being potentially in this situation again, that he will not sign an NLI at all. Instead, he will only sign the "grant-in-aid" scholarship forms from the University that he commits to. By doing this, Smith will have a guaranteed 1-year renewable scholarship at the university (or potentially universities) whose scholarship forms he signs. He will NOT however be locked into that decision until he sets foot on campus and would be free to change his mind for any reason at all between now and then. Basically he holds all the cards now.

Given the recent hoopla nationally about players signing to a school only to have a coach immediately leave (e.g. Mike Weber at OSU, the various DL at Texas, and nearly CeCe Jefferson), this could very well start a trend among further recruits as a way of protecting their own interests. We could see a situation where big named recruits are forgoing signing an NLI which could mean seeing post-NSD "flips" extending through the summer and potentially all the way until fall enrollment.

The question now becomes who all stands to benefit if this does indeed become a trend? Surely we will not see a scenario anytime soon where no one is signing NLI's. After all, the university is under no obligation to present the student with grant in aid forms until he has signed an NLI. So your run of the mill 3-star recruit will still very likely be signing on national signing day or risk losing his spot. But your higher-rated 4 and 5 star recruits may carry enough weight to get coaches to present them with the GIA paperwork despite having no intention of signing an NLI. (Reportedly all of Smith's finalists are fine with him not signing an NLI). What is also interesting is that by not signing the NLI, the student athlete is still able to be "recruited" meaning that other schools could continue to call etc. up until enrollment.

For more info on the Roquan Smith situation and the NLI/GIA distinction:

http://recruiting.bl..._recruiting_sfp

Not sure why this was moved to the Roquan Smith thread. It was less about him than it was about the potentially changing NSD dynamic.

[mustache eagle 2,416]

Auburnarch13, I almost started a recruiting thread that was going to essentially run along side your above post.

It seems this recruiting season was a touch different. Not a lot but just enough to wonder if there will be a fundamental shift in the number of top top recruits holding off of signing their NLI until some time after signing day opens the signing period.

I think this would be a very interesting topic on its own. Seems there were more than usual post signing day coaching changes. If 20-30 of the top 100 or so, all of a sudden hold off for a little while (or till may or even August to enroll) ... Does this force colleges to reevaluate what they do.

I would imagine most finalists for Ivey, Cece, cowart, Godwin and others would hold open a spot or 2. It would be a gamble by the kids ... Unless they are flexible on where they want to go.

[AuburnArch13 185]

Auburnarch13, I almost started a recruiting thread that was going to essentially run along side your above post.

It seems this recruiting season was a touch different. Not a lot but just enough to wonder if there will be a fundamental shift in the number of top top recruits holding off of signing their NLI until some time after signing day opens the signing period.

I think this would be a very interesting topic on its own. Seems there were more than usual post signing day coaching changes. If 20-30 of the top 100 or so, all of a sudden hold off for a little while (or till may or even August to enroll) ... Does this force colleges to reevaluate what they do.

I would imagine most finalists for Ivey, Cece, cowart, Godwin and others would hold open a spot or 2. It would be a gamble by the kids ... Unless they are flexible on where they want to go.

It's actually not an unheard of practice among top tier basketball recruits. As the article mentions, Brendan Knight never signed his NLI to Kentcuky out of a fear that Calipary might leave for the NBA. Granted, he was committed to Kentucky that whole time so it's not like his recruitment was completely wide open. It was just an insurance policy.

I can definitely see this concept translating over to football. Like I mentioned earlier, all of Smith's finalist said they would respect his decision to not send in his NLI. So the idea that schools would tell a talented kid to "kick rocks" out of principle seems unlikely, particularly if that kid is a top talent. A corollary situation would be recruits such as Braxton Miller from a few years back who planned to wait until after signing day to announce his decision. Schools have definitely proved that while they may not want to wait, they are definitely willing to.

It is no secret that the timing of all of these position coach changes is intentional. It's common practice for position coaches to postpone moves until after NSD so that it will have a minimal effect on recruiting classes. Many have expressed their beliefs that this practice is disingenuous. If even the upper echelon of recruits weren't handcuffed to a school post-NSD, I think you would see this practice change. In some instances, I think you would see schools trying harder to retain position coaches who were invaluable recruiters. In other cases, I think you would see the assistant coach shuffle happen earlier so that the new staff would have as much time as possible to bond with recruits pre-NSD. In either case, I think this could be a good thing.

[McLoofus 35,182]

For those who haven't followed the Roquan Smith signing day story, he committed to UCLA on national signing day, but held off on faxing his NLI after finding out that UCLA's defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was leaving the university to coach LB's for the Atlanta Falcons. UCLA, Georgia, MIchigan, and Texas A&M are considered front runners for his services.

Perhaps the most impactful part of this story however is that Smith has now decided that in order to protect himself from being potentially in this situation again, that he will not sign an NLI at all. Instead, he will only sign the "grant-in-aid" scholarship forms from the University that he commits to. By doing this, Smith will have a guaranteed 1-year renewable scholarship at the university (or potentially universities) whose scholarship forms he signs. He will NOT however be locked into that decision until he sets foot on campus and would be free to change his mind for any reason at all between now and then. Basically he holds all the cards now.

Given the recent hoopla nationally about players signing to a school only to have a coach immediately leave (e.g. Mike Weber at OSU, the various DL at Texas, and nearly CeCe Jefferson), this could very well start a trend among further recruits as a way of protecting their own interests. We could see a situation where big named recruits are forgoing signing an NLI which could mean seeing post-NSD "flips" extending through the summer and potentially all the way until fall enrollment.

The question now becomes who all stands to benefit if this does indeed become a trend? Surely we will not see a scenario anytime soon where no one is signing NLI's. After all, the university is under no obligation to present the student with grant in aid forms until he has signed an NLI. So your run of the mill 3-star recruit will still very likely be signing on national signing day or risk losing his spot. But your higher-rated 4 and 5 star recruits may carry enough weight to get coaches to present them with the GIA paperwork despite having no intention of signing an NLI. (Reportedly all of Smith's finalists are fine with him not signing an NLI). What is also interesting is that by not signing the NLI, the student athlete is still able to be "recruited" meaning that other schools could continue to call etc. up until enrollment.

For more info on the Roquan Smith situation and the NLI/GIA distinction:

http://recruiting.bl..._recruiting_sfp

Not sure why this was moved to the Roquan Smith thread. It was less about him than it was about the potentially changing NSD dynamic.

I agree. Much broader conversation than just one recruit.

[cooltigger21 0]

Recruiting is going to be even more crazy than it already is. The whole college sports landscape is undergoing a big transformation. Where it all ends up is anybody's guess.

[doc4aday 1,887]

You know folks, I would not want this recruit to come within 50 miles of Auburn. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. These kids think they are royalty that should have the red carpet rolled out every time they visit a school. The whole recruiting process is past due for a major overhaul.

I think we should have 3 days over the course of a year for recruits to SIGN a letter of intent. These should occur on these dates. The first Wednesday in April, first Wednesday in February, and the first Wednesday in July.

[Mikey 16,777]

Schools may well be happy to wait for R. Smith right now. They've basically wrapped up their classes and are holding a couple of slots over for early enrolees next year so they have an open slot remaining. How well Smith's strategy would be accepted the first week in February is an entirely different thing. Then it might be that a bird in the hand is better than letting the last slot go begging when the holdout chooses another school.