Antoine Lewis talks about commitment, says he'll still take visits

[BleedGopher]

per this update from SuperPrep.com:

Antoine Lewis recently secured his first scholarship offer. After looking at his options and talking it over with important people in his life, he decided to take it and made an early commitment. He shared his choice and rationale with us.

“I just committed to Minnesota,” Proviso East cornerback Antoine Lewis reported, “I talked to [defensive backs Coach Ron Lee] and he told me to call Coach Brewster.”

The 5’11, 185-lb junior had been offered by the Gophers on Friday, his first scholarship offer and he decided it was the place for him.

“The coaches are real genuine and they need cornerbacks, so it is a chance for me to play early. It feels excellent to have an excellent Big Ten team behind me and Coach Brewster has the program going in the right direction.”

With it being early in the process, Lewis sought out guidance from Proviso East head coach Aaron Peppers, who has played a big role in his recruitment.

“He is the person with the biggest influence on my decision, other than myself,” Lewis admitted, “We talked for an hour earlier and we thought it was the right time for me.”

While it was the right time, Lewis knows that Signing Day is a long time away.

“I’m not 100% done with recruiting. I’ll still take some visits and see what the rest of the world has to offer. I’m only seventeen.”

As a junior, Lewis was voted the team’s most improved player after catching 30 passes for 630 yards and nine touchdowns. He also returned five kickoffs for 185 yards and one touchdown, all good enough to earn him first team All-Conference honors.

Go Gophers!!

 

[Redbeard]

I suppose it's one way to avoid the Fritz Rock result . . .

 

[Go4]

You can't even make this up. Some 17 year old gets his first offer, commits and then tells a reporter that it was the right time for him to commit, but later says that he's only 17 (totally understandable) and that he will continue to take visits, and somehow sites like SuperPrep.com get people to pay for this? Wow, god bless America.

I totally get some 17 year wanting to take more visits as I would too. In other words folks he's NOT COMMITED which is fine. But let's not put this in the commitment list as it isn't worth the napkin I threw away this morning. Also, let's not throw a hissy fit if Brewster finds someone better between now and 11 months from now and this kid's scholarship offer is taken away. If he can still look around between now and Feb. 2010, so can we.

He's not commited to us and we're not commited to him.

 

[Handsome Pete]

I'm sorry but this has guy seems to have "de-commit" written all over him.

 

[Ski U Mah 55]

Maybe he will commit and maybe not, signing day is a long ways off.

Think about this though, you're 17-18 years old. You find a school that wants to pay your way for playing a game and you like the school so you commit. For the purpose of this situation let's just assume that the commitment will be upheld at signing day. Why wouldn't you still take visits? Be wined and dined (just an expression ) and travel all around the country for free. I would do it.

 

[parkinglotgopher]

While it was the right time, Lewis knows that Signing Day is a long time away.

“I’m not 100% done with recruiting. I’ll still take some visits and see what the rest of the world has to offer. I’m only seventeen.”

Don't get me wrong, would be happy to have this kid, and I'm usually the first to praise a kid for taking all his visits and making the right choice for him. But don't commit to a school and then give an interview the same day saying you're going to review other options. Just don't commit. You're defying the definition of the word.

It definitely sounds like he's using this early commitment to reserve a spot at the D1 level. If nothing better comes along, he's got a spot set for him at Minnesota. It also serves as a safety net if he were to get hurt badly and miss most/all of his senior year. Not going to count this one for a while. If he's still on board around Thanksgiving, then I'll start to take it seriously.

 

[Schnoodler]

Hey, the more good kids that commit early the easier it is to get ones later. even if he de-commits later his original commitment benefits us.

 

[dinkything]

It definitely sounds like he's using this early commitment to reserve a spot at the D1 level. If nothing better comes along, he's got a spot set for him at Minnesota. It also serves as a safety net if he were to get hurt badly and miss most/all of his senior year...

parkinglot...you are unusually insightful...and in this case, quite correct...

who can blame the kid, or his high school coach, for choosing this recruiting strategy??

the 'insurance' is now in place for mr. lewis, courtesy of the university of minnesota...

 

[grunkiejr]

But don't commit to a school and then give an interview the same day saying you're going to review other options. Just don't commit. You're defying the definition of the word.

It definitely sounds like he's using this early commitment to reserve a spot at the D1 level. If nothing better comes along, he's got a spot set for him at Minnesota. It also serves as a safety net if he were to get hurt badly and miss most/all of his senior year.

This just reinforces what we have been seeing more and more and that is that for many student athletes a verbal commitment is just an indication of where they are leaning. I'm glad to have him as a Minnesota lean but Feb. 3, 2010 is a long time from now.

The funny thing is this doesn't even necessarily reserve him a spot. A verbal offer is non-binding just as a verbal commitment is non-binding. Steve Spurrier pulled at least one offer away from a committed player last year and he wasn't injured. Spurrier just found a better player at the position that would commit to South Carolina. I don't think Brewster would stoop to this but if he went down with a serious injury it would be a possibility.

 

[dinkything]

imho, the gopher football program will have 'arrived at the next level' when this sort of recruiting activity ceases...

by offering a full ride to a recruit...who happens to have no other offers...and then accepting his conditional 'soft' verbal...hoping he doesn't waver over the ensuing 11 months...

this activity doesn't necessarily enhance brewster's reputation as a 'good' recruiter...

and it doesn't appear to stock the gopher roster with guys who necessarily wanna wear the maroon and gold...

 

[EBT RaT]

Long time lurker, First time poster.

I, for one, don't see the problem with kids making visits while committed to a program. It is a very big life-changing decision, especially for out of state kids. Let kids feel it out a little bit to make sure they have found a situation that they are comfortable with.

And comparing Texas's recruiting abilities to anyone frankly is a waste of time. They compare to, maybe, a handful of teams....if that. And that is out of what, 140 or so Div 1 college programs.

 

[grunkiejr]

And comparing Texas's recruiting abilities to anyone frankly is a waste of time. They compare to, maybe, a handful of teams....if that. And that is out of what, 140 or so Div 1 college programs.

Agreed. Texas is a clear number one team in a recruting hot bed. Others that could be considered somewhat similar: Ohio State, USC and maybe to an extent Penn State and LSU. Florida is as much of a hot bed as Texas but there are three legit teams that compete for athletes. Penn State and LSU can pull a lot of players from their back yard but they still have to recruit elsewhere, Ohio State can pull more from Ohio than PSU or LSU can from their home state but they still have to recruit nationally and USC can probably get everything they want from California but they choose to look elsewhwere.

 

[grunkiejr]

imho, the gopher football program will have 'arrived at the next level' when this sort of recruiting activity ceases...

by offering a full ride to a recruit...who happens to have no other offers...and then accepting his conditional 'soft' verbal...hoping he doesn't waver over the ensuing 11 months...

this activity doesn't necessarily enhance brewster's reputation as a 'good' recruiter...

and it doesn't appear to stock the gopher roster with guys who necessarily wanna wear the maroon and gold...

Your statement is funny to me because most people look at the commitment 11 months away from signing day as a positive sign that we are getting plan 'A' guys rather than plan 'B' guys. I acknowlege that I would prefer that his commitment be solid right now but we will have to see how it plays out.

We all know you hate Brewster so I don't think anybody views your comments on whether this enhances Brewster's reputation as a good recruiter as anything other than a part of your agenda to rip on Brewster (and hail Dantonio). Getting players to sign rather than commit is what makes a coach a good recruiter.

 

[50PoundHead]

I basically see it as a good sign. He may or may not remain committed, but we're getting in doors early and I don't see how that could be a bad thing. He's offering guys that Mason never even thought about offering.

 

[dinkything]

Your statement is funny to me because most people look at the commitment 11 months away from signing day as a positive sign that we are getting plan 'A' guys rather than plan 'B' guys.

We all know you hate Brewster so I don't think anybody views your comments on whether this enhances Brewster's reputation as a good recruiter as anything other than a part of your agenda to rip on Brewster (and hail Dantonio).

grunkie...not sure where the dantonio comment comes from??

although now that you mention him, he is doing a great job at msu...and has brought class and academic standards to their program... along with some w's...and is kicking the wolverines around on the field and on the recruiting trail...

concerning plan 'a' guys...i don't know how you define plan 'a'...perhaps you could enlighten the masses?

 

[grunkiejr]

grunkie...not sure where the dantonio comment comes from??

although now that you mention him, he is doing a great job at msu...and has brought class and academic standards to their program... along with some w's...and is kicking the wolverines around on the field and on the recruiting trail...

concerning plan 'a' guys...i don't know how you define plan 'a'...perhaps you could enlighten the masses?

Plan 'A' would be the first players we target and plan 'B' would be the players that receive offers if Plan 'A' goes elsewhere. For instance, in the last class we brought in Turmour Battle for a visit and slowed played him about whether he would eventually receive an offer. However, we ended up getting a commitment from Army AA CB Michael Carter and Battle never received an offer and I believe he ended up at Wyoming. If Battle would have gotten an offer 3 months after his visit it clearly would have been going with plan 'B'.

The Dantonio comment was because I know your aliases on GI and on this site.

And on a separate note, we really don't know what the Gophers coaches said or accepted. All we really know is that a HS player from Illinois has told members of the media that he has been offered and gave a soft verbal commitment to Minnesota coaches. The Minnesota coaches can't comment on the kid until Feb. 2010. However, it's not unusual for coaches to tell a player at this point that they want him to look around and make sure that committing to Minnesota is what is best for him and they'll continue looking at players. We'll probably bring in 5 DB's so whether this player remains committed doesn't really impact us recruiting additional DB's. For all we know the kid feels he is committed but still willing to look and the Gophers coaches may consider him a strong lean and they'll continue to recruit DB's to fill their 5 or so scholarships that will probably be allocated to the defensive backfield.

 

[dinkything]

Plan 'A' would be the first players we target and plan 'B' would be the players that receive offers if Plan 'A' goes elsewhere...

The Dantonio comment was because I know your aliases on GI and on this site.

the next time i visit gi will be my first...not even sure where to find the website??

one question for you, grunkie...was fritz rock a plan 'a' recruit last spring?

 

[dinkything]

Agreed. Texas is a clear number one team in a recruting hot bed. Others that could be considered somewhat similar: Ohio State, USC and maybe to an extent Penn State and LSU. Florida is as much of a hot bed as Texas but there are three legit teams that compete for athletes. Penn State and LSU can pull a lot of players from their back yard but they still have to recruit elsewhere, Ohio State can pull more from Ohio than PSU or LSU can from their home state but they still have to recruit nationally and USC can probably get everything they want from California but they choose to look elsewhwere.

grunkie...not sure how much you've followed pennsylvania recruiting over the past decade...but joepa has had his lunch handed to him on a regular basis in his home state...somewhat similar to rich rodriquez in the state of michigan since he arrived 2 years ago...

 

[FiveStarFan]

grunkie- you and I both know who this clown is...

 

[sonnygarcia]

grunkie...not sure where the dantonio comment comes from??

although now that you mention him, he is doing a great job at msu...and has brought class and academic standards to their program... along with some w's...and is kicking the wolverines around on the field and on the recruiting trail...

concerning plan 'a' guys...i don't know how you define plan 'a'...perhaps you could enlighten the masses?

Dinkything, first, its not very appropriate to name your moniker after your man piece, but I guess thats none of my business. Second, I hope the "class" you mention in the MSU program doesn't count its players beating people unconcious at parties (see MSU Hockey player).

 

[btowngopher]

You guys are being way too hard on this kid. This is common place, and I don't think this means his verbal is meaningless. Don't jump all over him for being honest. This happens with every program out there.

 

[calminnfan]

So he is a soft verbal! As he said, it is still early and there are probably a lot of schools that will show interest in him. How would you guys be if you were in his shoes?

Though I believe the percentages are against Brew holding on to him, at least we know Brew has a chance to retain him.

 

[grunkiejr]

grunkie...not sure how much you've followed pennsylvania recruiting over the past decade...but joepa has had his lunch handed to him on a regular basis in his home state...somewhat similar to rich rodriquez in the state of michigan since he arrived 2 years ago...

I'm aware that OSU has done a great job recruiting in Pennsylvania (Pryor is just the icing on the cake) and PSU has done more recruiting in New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. The discussion wasn't about whether teams are doing something similar to Texas, it was how many actually have the chance to do something similar. Pennsylvania and Louisiana are right around 5th and 6th best recruiting states in the country (top 3: Texas, Florida, Cal...Clear #4: Ohio...next 2: Penn, Louisiana) and PSU and LSU are a clear best team in the state. Texas didn't always recruit their state as well as they are today. Penn State has the chance to do something similar to what Texas is doing but I agree that they are not as successful at it as Texas and even if they locked down Pennsylvania it doesn't have the talent of Texas.

As far as Rich Rod having his lunch handed to him in Michigan, I don't agree. To have your lunch handed to you in Michigan I believe you have to be trying to eat in Michigan. Of the 12 recruits from Michigan that committed to MSU, RR only offered scholarships to 4 of them. Will Campbell was the top recruit in the state and they got him. If MSU brought in a better recruiting class than Michigan I might agree with you but RR focused out of state (8 recruits from FL, 3 from MI, 3 from OH, 2 from AZ) and brought in a top 10 class and the 2nd best rated in the Big Ten.

 

[GoAUpher]

As far as Rich Rod having his lunch handed to him in Michigan, I don't agree. To have your lunch handed to you in Michigan I believe you have to be trying to eat in Michigan. Of the 12 recruits from Michigan that committed to MSU, RR only offered scholarships to 4 of them. Will Campbell was the top recruit in the state and they got him. If MSU brought in a better recruiting class than Michigan I might agree with you but RR focused out of state (8 recruits from FL, 3 from MI, 3 from OH, 2 from AZ) and brought in a top 10 class and the 2nd best rated in the Big Ten.

This is right on the money. Part of the reason MSU has had stronger classes recently is because they've been able to sweep up more MI talent. Rich Rod has made it clear that he will be looking nationally to find who he wants vs. making his living off owning the state of MI.