Beamer Explains Taking Ajiboye From USC

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

Beamer Explains Taking Ajiboye From USC
By Phil Kornblut
Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer criticized USC head coach Steve Spurrier last February after tight end Jonathan Hanna signed with the Gamecocks after having been committed to Virginia Tech. Wednesday, Beamer signed defensive lineman Olufemi Ajiboye who had been committed to USC. Beamer told reporter Randy King of The Roanoke Times. Ajiboye committed to USC on his visit to Columbia, then committed to Tech the next weekend after visiting there. Beamer said the reason he could ethically take Ajiboye was because he made another official visit after committing to USC. In Hannah's, case, he said, he didn't take another visit after visiting Virginia Tech and commiting to the Hokies. "I've always said, and I say this in our coaches' meetings that if a guy commits to another school that we shouldn't go back and try to recruit that guy unless that guy wants us to continue to recruit him," Beamer told the paper. "And if they say that, I think you've got to continue to recruit him. That's my whole deal on the thing. "[Ajiboye] committed to South Carolina and then he was scheduled to visit here the next weekend. He wanted to keep the visit and he got here and liked it. His high school coach came with him, so it was just one of those deals where he wanted us to continue to recruit him." On the contrary, Beamer said he considered Hannah's recruitment a closed deal last year. "In my understanding at the time, [Hannah] wasn't asking them to keep recruiting him," Beamer said. "Now the more that I know, he probably was asking them. And if he did, that was fine ... South Carolina was in the right and I don't have a problem. I didn't know that at the time last year. As long as everybody knows it's OK that you made a reservation at one place, but 'I'm going to continue to look around' ... if everybody understands it, that's the way it is." Beamer has often said he thought it was wrong for schools "to try to get a kid to break his word" after committing to another school.
"I wish there was some way we could get this thing where we don't have all this changing about to be quite honest," said Beamer, who would heavily endorse an early signing period for recruits. "I just don't think it's good overall for college football. But that's the way the game is."
http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060202/PSPORTS02/60202008/-1/PSPORTS

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

It's funny how, when the shoe is on the other foot, you can justify something. And before anyone says "sour grapes", I have no problem with his recruiting Ajiboye after he verbally commited to us, just like I had no problem with our continuing to recruit Hannah last year. Until a player signs that LOI, he's fair game. It happens all the time in college recruiting, and all the coaches do it. And if Beamer says it ain't so, he's lying.

In my opinion, this article is purely a pathetic attempt by Beamer to justify his whining and crying about Spurrier snatching Hannah out from under him last year, and then his doing the same thing with Ajiboye this year. And, by the way, I didn't hear Spurrier whining about it this year.

One other note.....I do agree with his comment about endorsing an early signing period for recruits. That way, if a player wants to sign early, he can, and the school will know that they have him locked up (and can count on him as signed, sealed, and delivered).

[rabidcock]

That is an excellent idea!

[LedCock]

One other note.....I do agree with his comment about endorsing an early signing period for recruits. That way, if a player wants to sign early, he can, and the school will know that they have him locked up (and can count on him as signed, sealed, and delivered).

I think that idea will work only if it's 1 or 2 months before the signing day we have now. If a school is recruiting a junior in HS and that kid wants to wait a little longer before he signs officially then the coach might take it as the kid not being interested enough and recruit someone else for the position. It can backfire on both parties. If a recruit is confident enough in his committment to a school, all he has to do is tell other schools to lay off. Kids that change their decision at the last second aren't committed to playing ball ANYWHERE imo.

[Bulldog Bry]

I used to really like ole Frank, but my opinion of him has dropped like a hammer these past few years. He knows the rules, he knows that kids will change their minds. So it's BS for him to think that you can just stop recruiting someone because they said they WILL sign. Every other coach seems to understand the importance of staying in contact with recruits until signing day. Apparently, he doesn't. He has MAJOR discipline problems at VT to worry about.

Man, I HATE taking up for SOS.