NCAA Football

This Is What It’s Like When A Recruit Decommits On Signing Day, And A Coach Freaks Out

Earlier, we delved into how into the entire spectacle of college football (and any sport, for that matter) recruiting is pretty creepy from a fan perspective. Well, now imagine how into it the coaches get. They’re not just fans – their jobs are essentially riding on these teenagers’ decisions. All that signing day drama and uncertainty we talked about? It must be multiplied tenfold for these guys.

And that means that when the drama doesn’t go their way, things can get ugly. Earlier today, the Palm Beach Post’s Matt Porter got a fascinating look at this when he listened in on a conversation between Virginia Tech defensive line coach Charley Wiles and Jawand Blue, a linebacker from Boca Raton, Fla. Blue was committed to Virginia Tech…until today, when he switched to Miami at the last minute. Wiles was less than enthused by the switch:

I’m listening in right now as [Wiles] is telling Jawand Blue, “You lied to me.”

Blue is telling [Wiles], “I wanted to stay home.” [Wiles]: “This doesn’t make any sense. I’ve never felt more betrayed or lied to.”

[Wiles], to Blue: “You want to go to a program that wins bowl games, a clean program, that dominates in the ACC?”

[Wiles]: “It would be a blessing for you to go away for school. I promise. You’ve got homeboys here…We need you. We’re counting on you.”

Porter initially believed, incorrectly, that it was Hokies head coach Frank Beamer talking with Blue, rather than Wiles, so he deleted the tweets in question, but you can see them here. It was real…and it does not make Wiles look too great. We checked to see how well his response matched the five stages of grief: there’s definitely anger. Some denial, too (“This doesn’t make any sense”)…noticeable lack of acceptance, though. Maybe that’ll come in time.

What there was, in abundance: desperation. Enough desperation that he’s saying “homeboys” in an attempt to seem “cool.” (This, we’d imagine, happens constantly in recruiting. Yet another thing that makes it weird.)

And while the desperation is understandable in such a high-stakes, high-pressure atmosphere, it’s also hard to feel bad for Wiles. These things happen. Beamer knows it. You can’t get ‘em all. According to his profile here, Wiles did successfully close the deal on a couple other guys. Don’t go nuts on someone for jumping ship…especially when that someone is a kid. Who’s trying to stay close to home. Who never played for you in the first place. Be upset, but at least play it cool while you talk to the kid. At this rate, though, we wouldn’t be shocked if Wiles sent Blue a letter in Comic Sans.

Shutterstock photo, by Denis Pepin, via