Breaking up isn’t as hard as it’s said to be.
Lorenzo Phillips, an outside linebacker from Patterson (La.) High, decommitted from Florida last week. Now he’s considering Houston, where two of his teammates are committed; Texas A&M, where he decommitted from in March; as well as LSU, Alabama, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Louisiana Tech and Tennessee. He told Rivals.com that distance from home was the factor that prompted reopening his recruitment.
Some other UF oral commits don’t buy that.
Mike Davis, a running back commit from Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson High wasn’t surprised.
“I think it had to do with the three lost (games),” he said.
In a recruiting realm where oral commitments are often announced and withdrawn with spontaneity or seriousness, many schools land sought-after athletes only to see them shift allegiances to the next big offer thrown their way.
Some blame coaches, parents and mentors for letting teenagers freely make decisions and not holding them accountable. Some blame the intense fan following of recruiting news, and the Internet. Others blame college coaching staffs, whose interest in certain recruits can decline when the prep star next door makes headlines.
Yet another cause is the potential effect of a losing streak on recruits’ decisions.
Florida is in the midst of a three-game slide, losing at home to Alabama and on the road against LSU and Auburn.
But other than Phillips, Florida’s 2012 recruiting class seems unwavering.
“Yes, it has been rough,” said Davis, who orally committed Feb. 19. “It affects (my commitment), but not as much. I just look at it as ‘Why are we losing games? We should win.’… I love the new offense, (but) Florida needs bigger backs… I want to come in and help the Gators win. I look at it as a rebuilding year for any team.”
Wide receiver commit Latroy Pittman of Citra North Marion High committed on Aug. 18, 2010. He was a bit surprised by the Phillips news, but said the losing streak “really doesn’t affect me much. Every team has its run and their rough seasons.”
“Just take it for what it is: new coaching staff, kind of a young team looking for its identity. Just playing more assignment football, doing more of the little things right (are keys),” he said.
Melbourne Holy Trinity’s Marcus Maye, a safety commit, was also surprised by Phillips’ move, but says that as far as his commitment, he is “still in, 100 percent.”
Maye, who injured his foot earlier this month, said one thing is on his mind when watching the struggling Gators: “Make them better.”
Oral commitments are non-binding until a national letter of intent is signed on or after National Signing Day on Feb. 1, 2012.
