There has been an interesting debate over the past few years when it comes to high school applicants who continue to visit other schools after having already made their verbal commitments. Clearly, this is a talking point that has some real pros and cons, depending on which side of the fence you stand on.
On the one hand, some people believe that a potential client, although he is verbally committed somewhere, should be able to go out and visit as many schools as possible to make sure he is confident in the choice he has made. As a coach, I think it makes sense to make sure that your player is 100% confident in his decision to transfer to your school.
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Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after second spring training in Oregon.
On the other hand, it seems perfectly fair that a coach wouldn’t want a player who is dedicated to his team looking to other schools. Many will argue that if you are still interested in studying other schools, then perhaps you made the decision too early.
In the past, we have seen coaches take a tough stance on this issue. For example, Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables has a “no visitation” rule that he implemented, emphasizing to players that he encourages them to look around and make all the visits they want, but once they do, there will be no more any lack of loyalty in the future.
As for the Oregon Ducks, several recent visits have been announced this spring due to ongoing commits, and a couple of the top players in the Oregon 2024 class are heading elsewhere to take a look around. 4-star OT Fox Crader joined the Ducks in November last year but has 8 unofficial visits scheduled across the country this spring, including schools like Georgia, Alabama, LSU and USC. 4-star WR Jordan Anderson of Oregon also said he plans to make some unofficial visits this spring, hoping to see schools like Colorado, Tennessee and USC.
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Spring Ball Conclusions: Dan Lanning Highlights Consistency in Ducks Second Workout
With all that in mind, I asked Oregon head coach Dan Lanning Saturday what his philosophy is about making visits. Here’s what he had to say:
“I think every situation is different,” Lanning said. “Of course we like it when dedicated players are loyal to us and don’t travel to other places, but they need to know where they are going when all is said and done and they need to feel good about it. Our job is to keep recruiting them to be here. You know, like I said, I probably wasn’t my wife’s first choice, but over time, I won her over. We should do the same when it comes to hiring and just keep doing the same.”
In a perfect world, you would have players who looked around, decided they wanted to play for your team, and agreed without a second thought. However, we do not live in an ideal world. There are personnel changes happening all over the country every year — last year, the state of Oregon poached a few players to increase recruiting levels — and it just became part of the game.
The reality now is that recruitment is not limited to commitment. With other schools still struggling to poach players after their verbal commitments, the coaching staff must remain diligent and make sure they keep everyone posted until they sign their letters of intent. Even so, recruitment should still continue, with the transfer portal offering an exit for players if they become dissatisfied at any point.
This all sounds tedious, doesn’t it?
Ultimately, Lanning’s philosophy is worthy of respect. He knows the players will want to try and make sure they made the right decision about moving to Oregon, but if he can, he wants to try to limit the amount of attendance at other schools. Who wouldn’t want to do the same? At the end of the day, fans just need to make sure the Ducks can keep some of their best players despite attending other schools. So far, we have very little reason to believe that this will become a major problem in the future.
More football!
Dan Lanning Explains Oregon Philosophy While Visiting Other Schools
Social media buzz: top recruits and transfer portal players react to weekend visits to Oregon
Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after second spring training in Oregon.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
