Cashing In Their (Blue) Chips Early : Letter of Intent Day Has Lost Its Suspense, as Most Top Prospects Make Up Their Minds Ahead of Schedule

This is supposed to be decision day. The day high school football players across the nation can sign an agreement known as the national letter of intent that binds the student to a four-year college.

The initial signing date has traditionally been the second Wednesday in February, but the timetable for securing players has changed dramatically on the collegiate calendar in the past five years or so.

Decision day has become anticlimactic. Most blue-chip athletes are now making verbal commitments to four-year colleges as much as two weeks in advance.

“The first day of signing is Feb. 11, but we all know that most of the decision-making is now being made in the last week of January and the first week of February,” said Dick James, recruiting coordinator for Stanford.

The signing practice was introduced in 1964. Twenty-five colleges wanted to cut recruiting costs while sparing students the bother of fending off recruiters, who had been allowed to pursue athletes until the day they enrolled at another school.

Today, 32 conferences and 86 independent colleges use the national letter of intent under the supervision of the Collegiate Commissioners Assn. Notable exceptions are the service academies and the Ivy League.

The letter binds a prospective athlete to a college for at least one year. The penalty for switching schools after signing is two years of lost eligibility, unless the school signs a release. In that case, one year of eligibility is sacrificed.

“The schools are saving a considerable amount of money on trips by encouraging the athletes to make an early decision,” James said. “Schools are doing a better job of identifying the players and then going out and recruiting them.

“As a result, the intensity and pressure on a recruit (to commit early) has increased. The entire process becomes fatiguing to a player and his family. A player feels a sense of relief when he makes an early commitment.

Generally, a player commits to a school by telling the coach he has decided to become a part of his program. The verbal commitment is not binding for the student or the college.

David Berst, director of enforcement for the NCAA, said his organization has become well aware that most high school athletes like to commit early. The NCAA limits high school athletes to five recruiting visits and college coaches to three in-home visits.

Last month, the NCAA introduced legislation, which takes effect in August, limiting recruiting trips to four and restricting any contact with a recruit to members of a school’s athletic department. In other words, no more calls from Bill Cosby or O.J. Simpson.

But there’s nothing governing an obligation by the school or a recruit once a verbal commitment has been made.

“It is our point of view that there isn’t a commitment until the actual signing date, therefore there can’t be an infraction,” Berst said. “A change on behalf of the athlete invites skepticism that perhaps some incentives was involved to induce him to change his mind.

“It doesn’t happen very often, but when a change does occur, we usually get a call. The majority of players follow through on a commitment, but they’re still fair game.”

James said there are several signs that a player is truly commited to a school. The player will cancel remaining trips and will notify local reporters of his decision. NCAA rules forbid a college from announcing that a player has made a commitment.

“We’ve been hurt by some out-of-state players who have made verbal commitments to Stanford, then changed their minds,” James said. “Some recruits start getting pressured to stay in the state.

“They’ll start getting calls from the governor or the mayor. Folks start questioning a kid’s state loyality. It can get to a point where a youngster feels he is betraying his state.”

Scott Spalding, an All-American tackle from El Toro High School, was the most highly recruited player in Orange County. Spalding commited to UCLA last Thursday after making trips to Nebraska, Stanford, USC and UCLA.

Spalding said the coaches at each of the four colleges encouraged him to make an early commitment. He set a deadline for making his decision six days before the signing date.

“All the coaches encouraged me to commit early so they could get a better picture of what they needed, who they were going to get and what they needed to work harder on,” Spalding said.

“They like to know who’s coming about a week before the signing date so they have a chance to prepare and make any necessary adjustments.

“If they sign a big-time player, it looks good to the other players they’re recruiting. I told everyone I would make an announcement after my final visit. I took three or four days to think about it, and decided on UCLA.

“I called the coaches at the other schools to thank them for their interest, and then I called UCLA to say I was coming. I know I’m not obligated to sign, but I stand by my word.

“I enjoyed all the attention that the schools gave to me, but it was a relief for me when I made the announcement. I feel a lot better now.”

Spalding was one of about 25 Orange County players who had made verbal commitments at least four days before the signing date.

Generally, players say recruiters from other schools stop contacting them once they announce a decision.

Doug Blanchard, an offensive guard at Edison, selected San Diego State after making trips to Arizona State and the University of Texas El Paso. He canceled trips to Hawaii and Nebraska.

He said recruiters also encouraged him to make an early commitment, often telling him there were only a limited number of scholarships available.

“They’d tell you, ‘You better make up your mind because there’s only four scholarships left,’ ” Blanchard said. “I know that’s not true, because my brother (Brett) plays at San Diego and he knows how many scholarships are available. Most schools save two or three for walk-on players.”

Blanchard made his decision to go to San Diego State while on a recruiting trip to Arizona State.

“Somehow, a coach at San Diego State found out where I was staying in Arizona and called me at my hotel room,” he said. “That’s how crazy recruiting can get. I knew I wanted to go to San Diego and was really getting bored with the trips. So I told San Diego State I was coming from my hotel room.”

Blanchard said the recruiting trips had been affecting his track workouts. He finished second in the shotput in the Sunset League last year.

“I’m not performing very well right now because of all the trips,” he said. “We have some big goals for this season, and it feels good to get back to concentrating on track again.”

Dick Lascola, whose Scouting Evaluation Assn. provides 85 colleges with information on potential recruits, said the verbal commitment process has saved colleges thousands of dollars.

“I think a lot of universities have gotten tired of kids going on joy rides,” he said. “A lot of these kids know from day one where they want to go.

“Why waste somebody’s time and money with a meaningless trip? If a kid knows where he wants to go, why not get it over with?”

VERBAL COMMITMENTS: WHERE ORANGE COUNTY’S TOP PLAYERS ARE GOING

Name High School Height Weight Position Jeff Bailey Fullerton 6-5 255 OT Jon Barron El Toro 6-3 225 OT Doug Blanchard Edison 6-4 240 OG Ryan Blossey Los Alamitos 6-2 185 DB Mark Craig Newport Harbor 6-6 205 WR Paul DeBonno Mater Dei 6-4 260 C Jim Difilippo Troy 6-4 260 OG Erik Wright-Hay Troy 6-4 235 C Marc Hartman Edison 6-3 200 LB Mike Henderson Edison 6-2 185 WR Mike Hirou Servite 5-11 180 DB Mark Hyatt Los Amigos 6-3 220 TE Jeff Kemper Irvine 6-4 235 OT Troy O’Leary Cypress 6-0 185 WR Brent Parker Capistrano Valley 6-1 185 WR Mike Pawlawski Troy 6-2 190 QB James Rae Esperanza 6-5 250 OT Mike Rogers Los Alamitos 6-2 240 DT Chris Rose Los Alamitos 6-0 235 OG Scott Ross El Toro 6-3 215 LB Scott Spalding El Toro 6-5 250 OT Warren Taylor Fountain Valley 6-3 240 OG Jason Wilborn Canyon 6-4 240 LB Tom Williamson Los Alamitos 6-3 185 QB Steve Wood Los Alamitos 6-3 220 C

Name College Choice Jeff Bailey UCLA Jon Barron UTEP Doug Blanchard San Diego St. Ryan Blossey Pacific Mark Craig CS Long Beach Paul DeBonno Arizona St. Jim Difilippo Cal Erik Wright-Hay UTEP Marc Hartman No. Arizona Mike Henderson New Mexico Mike Hirou Colorado Mark Hyatt San Diego St. Jeff Kemper Pacific Troy O’Leary Oregon St Brent Parker Oklahoma St. Mike Pawlawski Cal James Rae UCLA Mike Rogers Nevada-Reno Chris Rose Nevada-Reno Scott Ross USC Scott Spalding UCLA Warren Taylor UTEP Jason Wilborn Cal Tom Williamson Nevada-Reno Steve Wood CS Fullerton