For the second straight recruiting cycle, Northwestern lost four players to decommitments. Two of those came within a week of national signing day. Coach Pat Fitzgerald is getting tired of the annual bind he and his staff are put in.
“There needs to be a definite discussion about where we’re at right now. It’s an antiquated system,” Fitzgerald said Wednesday after announcing his 20-member Class of 2015. “It has been a glorified babysitting system done by most schools. I’m glad I don’t live (as a recruit) in today’s age.”
Fitzgerald lamented the media hype and scramble for final offers that come with the days leading up to signing day. He singled out the grayshirting system, in which committed players defer enrollment, scholarship money and practice time until spring, as a reason chaos ensues.
Northwestern is known for cutting ties with commits who visit other schools, but Wednesday Fitzgerald relented on that.
“For an overwhelming majority of families, a verbal commitment is a decision. Does it change from time to time? Yes, especially when you get through the bowl season,” he said. “Ultimately, I’m ecstatic when kids find the right fits for them. If we’re not that fit, that’s OK.”
Some of the vacillation and decommitments have to do with social media, Fitzgerald added. When Fitzgerald signed with the Wildcats in the 1990s, he remembered a welcome barbecue in which players awkwardly met for the first time and clung close to their families.
Now, players can forge relationships with their new teammates months before coming to camp. This, coupled with recruiting services such as Scout.com and Rivals.com, allows commits to gaze down the road well before the journey begins.
“We only had a few kids fax in their letters (of intent) this year,” he said. “I assume by next year they’ll all be via email. Or Snapchat.”