Not so good pub in the Beaumont Enterprise...

[duggie85]

I agree...take the call, but that usually won't end well either. Yeah coach, we found somebody better or decided to go a different route..sorry....anybody think that's really gonna end any better?

You're right about the outcome, but pulling an offer is a big deal, to the player/family and the high school. You take the call as the face of the program and face the music.

[scotto_25]

Kids do this ALL THE TIME to Universities. It's an ugly game. I think they could tweak this whole recruiting thing a little to keep kids from "dancing for cash". These kids stay uncommitted to get showered with trips and college gear. They then only commit when someone can do something someone else can't. There's very little loyalty these days...

[duggie85]

While the kids do it all the time, the difference is that they only go through the process once. Universities go through it every year. So reputation is a big deal.

By no means am I suggesting UL now has a black eye nationally over this once incident, but if schools would do this practice consistently, it will hurt over time.

[RaginFan2]

Although this only gives one side of the story, I don't like the way it sounds. The fact that we got him to de-commit from another school (glad it was Tech though!) to commit to us, & then we dropped him apparently (don't know if we offered him a gray-shirt or whatever), sounds bad. Now, the fact that our number of scholarships was reduced shortly before signing date may have played into this seems plausible. My biggest concern is that comment from the HS coach that he tried to contact UL to get an explanation & didn't get one. And he now makes his program off-limits to UL coaches. That's bad PR for our program. Looks like we likely will lose a 2017 commit too.

[RaisingCajun08]

Kids need to understand they are entering into a business. For as long as they play sports, its a business.

Definition is written for professional athletes but same principles apply here: In professional sports, free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with any club or franchise, i.e. not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present, but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules.

[Geaux]

No No No....We have now blocked ourselves out of the largest high school in Beaumont and Katy. Coaching in Texas is a small network

[CrazyCajun]

Does anyone think this kid would have felt bad if Houston, Texas tech or tcu called and offered him last minute? Woukd his coach have had an "explanation"? Would our staff boycott his high school? Nope...it would have been...sorry coach, Alfred had a better opportunity last minute that he just couldn't pass up. If HUD runs a subpar Oline out next year and we get slaughtered...would everyone be ok that we passed on juco lineman for a high school kid? This is big business, especially for the coaches.

[Big Poppa]

That is the biggest non-story ever. Do you know how many times you could write that story every recruiting season..... As for their coach I hope he has a kid UL wants that ends up at Lamar because he didn't let the Cajuns in. That'll show him.

Anyone know which signee took his spot?

[CrazyCajun]

That is the biggest non-story ever. Do you know how many times you could write that story every recruiting season..... As for their coach I hope he has a kid UL wants that ends up at Lamar because he didn't let the Cajuns in. That'll show him.

Anyone know which signee took his spot?

I guess either the late OL from waxahachie or the juco that ended up at buffalo. I don't think they are done for this year though.

[California Cajun]

I feel bad for the kid, because he's a teenager and Hud's an adult and millionaire. I wouldn't feel as bad if the kid pulled out on Hud.

Does this happen seldom enough that this kid could have been accommodated with an academic scholarship?

Perhaps offers should be binding.

I hope it doesn't bite us in the end by burning the bridge in the Beaumont area.