WSR Gridiron Report

Here's my guess how this went down, from reading a lot more about this than I should have. They were in agreement on a school from last Wednesday until last night. This makes you think it was ND. Dad is all smiles. Davonte actually had bought into Luke's pitch and was convinced that ND was the right choice. He wakes up this morning and realizes that his heart is not into leaving his buddies, his girl, and his home. Uh oh, now what? Go along with it because of the crazy event you set up, or tell your pops you can't go to ND because your heart is saying UA? He tells dad that he has changed his mind, and that makes dad say "what?", and a lengthy discussion goes on until it becomes clear that he better not decide today.. Do I know? Of course not. I just think that as someone who doesn't know the kid at all, I think we should stay away from going overboard in our attacks of him. Despite how today went, he still seems like a good kid to me. I hope we get him.

wonder if you would be so outspoken if the situation were reversed ?? dad wanting him to go to Arizona but kid wants Notre Lame

Look, something has been 'off' or just not quite right all along. That was the point of my first post on the subject - this family has unfortunately been adversely affected by the process and they have involuntarily rendered themselves incapable of making a good decision (or apparently on at all!).

A successful person (or one destined for success), would have used the last two years (while being intensely recruited) to figure out exactly where they wanted to go and they would have known what their decision was long before this morning at 9AM or whatever.

They also said publicly that the decision had been made a week and more ago - so they should have announced it then. He's got his whole life to go back to elementary school and be a role model, signing some paper isn't going to mean much to most of those kids anyway. Go back and talk to them about how he worked hard in school, ate a healthy diet and stayed away from drugs and that he did what his coaches told him to and he EARNED a scholarship.

instead.....

My advice to the Neal's: stop talking to anyone (press, alumni, boosters, coaches), assimilate what you have listened to (you were listening over the past two years, right?) and make a decision. Then tell the people involved and and let the new school handle the media - they have entire staffs who know how to do that.

I'd also volunteer to cut the playground grass for the next 5 years at that school.

My feelings would not change unless of course the kid wanted to be a little forker, in which case the parent has the obligation to save the child.