Within The Rules, But Without Class

Deontay Greenberry is a six foot three inch senior at Washington Union High School in Fresno, California, who also happened to be the eighth highest ranked wide receiver in the country. He had full ride scholarship offers from over a dozen big name college football programs. Last May he gave a verbal commitment to Notre Dame, becoming the second player to do so. The NCAA mandates that high schoolers may not sign letters of intent ("LOIs") until sometime in February of their senior year. For 2012, that date was February 1, commonly referred to as National LOI Day. When a player signs a LOI, he becomes off limits to all other suitors. Because the NCAA restricts its universities in the number of football scholarships they can grant (25 in any one year, and a maximum of 85 overall in each school's program), and because there are approximately twenty-four different positions, including kickers, on each team, it's obvious that a team rarely is able to "load up" on one position. For example, a team would not usually have more than two or three centers on its team, nor would it have more than, say, four or five defensive ends. The coaches have to make sure that they have enough scholarships to fill each of those twenty-six positions with a first string, a second string, and several deeper reserves at key positions.

Once a player commits to a team, two things directly result immediately. First, the coaches of that team may discontinue recruiting additional players at that same position, taking into account the NCAA scholarship limitations cited above. Secondly, even if the coaches decide to recruit additional players at that same position, some high school players who had been considering that school may opt to pick a different university for the simple reason that they do not want to take the risk of not being able to beat out that first committed player for playing time. This is especially true in a situation like Notre Dame's commitment from a high school phenom like Greenberry. There are a lot of very good high school receivers who were no longer interested in ND once the Irish "landed" Greenberry.

The problem for ND coach Brian Kelley and his staff was that they had not, in fact, landed Greenberry. Even though, according to published reports, Greenberry had given assurances via the telephone not only to Irish recruiting coordinator Mike Denbrock but also to Greenberry's own cousin and high school teammate, Tee Shepard, as late as January 31 that his commitment was solid, Greenberry astonished the world of recruiting by changing his mind on the morning of National LOI Day. Shepard, a defensive back who enrolled as an "early entrant" at ND in January, was totally taken off guard, as was Greenberry's high school coach and Shepard's father (Greenberry's uncle). Greenberry faxed in his LOI to the University of Houston, and ND was left holding the bag, with their fans scratching their collective heads and muttering to themselves. It's important to note that high schoolers are not required to sign a LOI on National LOI Day; that date is merely the earliest they can sign. Some high school seniors, wrestling with their decision, wait a couple of weeks or even longer before faxing in their LOI to the school they finally select.

There is no question that a seventeen year old high school kid can be unpredictable. But why not show some respect to the coaches who offered you a scholarship and to whom you gave a verbal commitment? If you felt unsure or that your verbal commitment was wavering, why not man up and give your recruiter at least a heads-up instead of pulling the rug out at the last possible moment? Where does a young athlete learn that kind of disrespect? Perhaps he took his cue from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Belichik, who has won three Super Bowls and is considered by the majority of football experts to be the gold standard of the thirty-two NFL head coaches, is not known as a wonderful and warm human being. Case in point: the cutting of wide receiver Tikwan Underwood from the Pats' roster on the night before last Sunday's Super Bowl. The Patriots and the Giants had two whole weeks to prepare for the game, having won their conference championships on January 22. The only New England player whose health made him doubtful for the big game was tight end Rob Gronkowski. When the team doctors cleared Gronkowski to play, Belichick decided he didn't need Underwood and gave him the proverbial pink slip Saturday night. Belichick replaced Underwood on the roster with a defensive lineman, Alex Silvestro, who did not even end up playing. Team officials sheepishly admitted to the press that Underwood had done nothing wrong. The kid was gung ho to play, and even had the Patriots logo shaved into his hair. No doubt he had family and friends in Indianapolis to watch him perform. Small consolation to Underwood that, despite being cut, he still received a paycheck for the game.

You would think a guy like Belichick, whose M O includes leaving nothing to chance, would have figured out way before Super Bowl Eve that he needed an extra defensive lineman. But then again, you would also think that a guy like Greenberry, who was committed to Notre Dame for nine months, would have figured out way before National LOI Day that he really didn't want to go to school there. So much for loyalty in the environment of big time football.