Early Football Commitment--appointment pre-decided?

Luigi59

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I always wonder if it's either:

  • the confusion of the writer who doesn't understand that a rising senior (high school class of 2014) cannot really "commit to USNA on June 27, or
  • this D-1 Football recruit has already been told he will get an appointment long before nominations have been submitted (he may have a Presidential already) or appointment packages have been reviewed.

Meade lineman commits to Naval Academy

Hawk, the starting right tackle for the Mustangs as they went 10-3 and won the Class 4A East Region championship last year, verbally committed to Navy on Thursday, June 27.

The process happened quickly for Hawk, whose older brothers Paul and Zach also played football and baseball at Meade before focusing on the latter at Coppin State.

“I went to one of their spring practices and just fell in love with the campus,” Hawk said. “They had a one-day camp on June 22 and I received the offer then.”

So are early decision LOA appointments are being awarded for football talent without an application submission?

:cool:
 
I'm aware of several NASS attendees -- NOT football players -- who were notified during NASS that they had received LOAs. Apparently, they had completed most, if not all, of their packages and presumably were considered outstanding candidates -- this is third-hand so am not sure of the details. This is far earlier than I've ever seen it happen in prior years but it appears to be across the board, not a special dispensation for football players.

Candidates with LOAs must still obtain a nomination. Obviously, if they are eligible for a Presidential, which is non-competitive, an LOA + cleared medical = appointment.
 
Yep. When I was at NASS a couple years ago about half of my squad had LOA's, most of them were informed of that while they were at the academy. Some were recruited athletes, some weren't.
 
I think anyone can "commit" at any time, but the commitment does not turned into an appointment unless the candidate is fully qualified with a nomination.

If Hawk is academically disqualified, he is going to the Prep School.

If Hawk is medically disqualified, his non binding offer will be withdrawn.

I am assuming similar things happen to Div I athletes. I am sure their scholarships are contingent upon them graduating from high school and other things.
 
@USNA 1985

Were the NASS attendees from this year told they had LOA's? My son had not even competed his Junior Year ... in school until June 20th. Were these recruited athletes ?

Can you please elaborate?
 
So are early decision LOA appointments are being awarded for football talent without an application submission?

:cool:

I don't think so. Also, not much different as I have seen in the past LOAs for candidates (non athletes) with incomplete applications.

One of my friends DS was recruited for Lacrosse. He got nothing written from the lacrosse coach, but was told they will get him in.
 
@USNA 1985

Were the NASS attendees from this year told they had LOA's? My son had not even competed his Junior Year ... in school until June 20th. Were these recruited athletes ?

Can you please elaborate?

I don't know if they were recruited athletes. LOAs can be offered before a packet is complete. I'm not sure that being at NASS made any difference to award the LOA; rather, they took advantage of the candidate being at NASS to present it.

That said, I know of a candidate last year who didn't get an LOA until January. And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, most successful candidates don't get them. And some who do get LOAs never get noms and are turned down.

My comment was only intended to say that it is not only football recruits whom USNA is eager to have attend.
 
It is not uncommon in the lacrosse world to read that HS juniors, and yes even sophomores, have ‘committed’ to a school, to include service academies. It always makes me chuckle, as a verbal commitment from a 15 or 16-year old really doesn’t mean much. And I always wonder too, as do posters above, how the coaches can make a verbal commitment to the athlete at that stage in the game as well. How can the coaches even be in touch with these youngsters given the NCAA recruitment rules? Or perhaps it is parents getting carried away after the kid attends a summer sports camp and happily alerting the media that their progeny has ‘committed’ somewhere, knowing that it really doesn’t mean anything anyway.

Not to hijack a thread with football in the title, but something else has me quite curious. The Denver Outlaws (that’s Major League Lacrosse, for those of you who don’t know) list two players on their roster who graduated from USMA within the past few years. Anyone know how playing MLL is compatible with active duty service as a LT? They are both stationed at Carson but I cannot imagine how it works for them to attend practices and fly to away games on weekends. This is only for a summer season, but even so, do they get special dispensation from the army as this is good for USMA recruiting? Not saying they are trying to get out of their commitments (“pulling a Steelman” as I like to call it, ha ha) but I am just really curious how this works. They obviously have the army’s blessing to do this, but I’d like to know how much training they miss in order for this to work. And they are profiting personally in this situation….not anywhere near NFL salaries, but they are getting paid for playing their sport.
 
^^^

You might post your question on the USMA forum.

It could be that they are using their 30 days leave to do this. Also, in years past, some services have given special dispensation to special athletes, allowing them, for example, to do 2 years AD and then complete their commitment in the Reserves. That position tends to change over time and can also vary among the services.
 
Not to hijack a thread with football in the title, but something else has me quite curious. The Denver Outlaws (that’s Major League Lacrosse, for those of you who don’t know) list two players on their roster who graduated from USMA within the past few years. Anyone know how playing MLL is compatible with active duty service as a LT? They are both stationed at Carson but I cannot imagine how it works for them to attend practices and fly to away games on weekends. This is only for a summer season, but even so, do they get special dispensation from the army as this is good for USMA recruiting? Not saying they are trying to get out of their commitments (“pulling a Steelman” as I like to call it, ha ha) but I am just really curious how this works. They obviously have the army’s blessing to do this, but I’d like to know how much training they miss in order for this to work. And they are profiting personally in this situation….not anywhere near NFL salaries, but they are getting paid for playing their sport.

I believe MLL teams practice once before their games and attendance is not mandatory. As for being Army LTs playing in MLL, they can make it work if their commanders are understanding. I don't know how it is now, but for a period during mid 90s at Fort Hood we didn't train on weekends. Commanders can grant passes for traveling certain distances during non duty days. I am sure most commanders won't excuse LTs from major training events or deployment to play lacrosse. Active duty members can have part time jobs with the chain of command's approval.
 
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MLL = part-time, off-duty job --- as long as it doesn't conflict with duty, it's fine

I had enlisted soldiers in my unit who had part-time jobs, this is no different.
 
SA Coach Contact

Parentalunit2 asks how can SA coaches contact a 15-16 year old athlete. NCAA rules allow SA coaches to contact prospective student athletes beginning July 1 after their sophomore year in HS. The NCAA allows SA coaches to contact, by phone, prospective student athletes one year earlier than non-SA schools.
 
Parentalunit2 asks how can SA coaches contact a 15-16 year old athlete. NCAA rules allow SA coaches to contact prospective student athletes beginning July 1 after their sophomore year in HS. The NCAA allows SA coaches to contact, by phone, prospective student athletes one year earlier than non-SA schools.

If I may add, verbal commitments are non binding. The reason why coaches supposedly stick to verbal commitments are once you break them without cause they will lose their creditability.
 
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