In Clemson's recruiting lingo, 'commitment' not to be taken lightly
De-commitment of NC offensive lineman R.J. Prince underscores Dabo Swinney's policy on verbal pledges
Posted February 12, 2012 at 10 a.m
When a prospect declares his interest in making an early commitment to Clemson, often one of the first things Dabo Swinney does is to try talking him out of it.
Call him old-fashioned if you want, but Swinney doesn't want to hear about commitment, in the recruiting sense, unless it's backed by
well, for the lack of a better word, commitment.
To Swinney and his staff, once a player commits, it should be a done-deal. No more visits, official or otherwise. No talk of 'soft' commitments. No de-commitments or re-commitments.
If a player has doubts, any whatsoever, Swinney would rather that the coveted teenager, whatever his star status, keep his pledge to himself.
The Tiger coaching staff has proven again and again that if a recruit is worth their interest on the front end, they're willing to go the distance - all the way to a hat-picking ceremony on Signing Day afternoon, if necessary.
But sometimes recruits insist on committing and then playing the game by their own rules; and during Swinney's short tenure at Clemson, that has most often resulted in the end of the recruiting relationship.
It happened in 2010 with running back Marlin Lane of Daytona Beach, FL and defensive back Geraldo Orta of Valdosta, GA, both of whom were committed to Clemson at one time, chose to continue to visit other schools; and they ultimately closed the door behind them.
Enter young R.J. Prince - one of North Carolina's more highly-rated offensively linemen for the class of 2013.
Prince made an unofficial visit to Clemson for a game last fall, and shortly thereafter announced himself as the Tigers' first commitment for next year's recruiting class.
Afterwards, the in-state schools turned up the recruiting heat, and Prince chose to listen.
Wednesday, he visited Chapel Hill for a 'Junior Day' held in conjunction with UNC's big home basketball game against Duke. Clemson's coaches took exception to his move; and on Friday Prince announced his de-commitment from Clemson and hinted that the Tar Heels may now be at the top of his list.
Whether Clemson will continue to pursue Prince is anybody's guess.
Offensive linemen won't be a high priority in next year's class, as the focus shifts back to skill players on the offensive side of the ball. The Tigers just signed four in their 2012 class, and all are enrolled for this semester. Swinney said on Signing Day that he'll likely be looking for "a couple" of linemen in 2013.
Clemson currently has offers out to roughly half a dozen players.
Sooner or later, someone will be ready to commit. But before he does, he'll most certainly have to listen to Swinney's lecture about what 'commitment' really means.
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