Glass reiterates Indiana will honor scholarships
This was a news story about several high school players who verbally committed to Indiana under Bill Lynch, but were said they were told by new coach Kevin Wilson that their scholarships would not be honored. Athletic director Fred Glass had initially stated that all commitments would be honored and stepped in to say that would still be the case.
Several of the 22 recruits who verbally committed to Indiana for the Class of 2011 while Bill Lynch was still the football coach wavered on their commitment to some degree when Lynch was fired. Some have already committed elsewhere.
Shafer Johnson did neither.
“As long as they don’t give up on me, I won’t give up on them,” he said days after Lynch’s termination.
But on Sunday, the senior defensive tackle from Southfield Christian in Michigan said new head coach Kevin Wilson told Johnson he had, in essence, given up on him.
“Coach Wilson told me I’m not a good fit for their scheme,” Johnson said. “I’m pretty much no good going there.”
Johnson also said another recruit, defensive tackle Donte Phillips from Mequon, Wis., was told his scholarship was being pulled. Chris Curtiss, who coaches offensive line recruit Jalen Schlachter at Corunna (Mich.) High School, said Schlachter was told he was no longer part of the recruiting class either.
“They said at this time they are not going to honor that commitment,” Curtiss said.
Recruiting commitments often fall apart in the wake of coaching changes, but it would appear particularly egregious in this case because athletic director Fred Glass said in the press conference announcing Lynch’s firing that all verbal commitments would be honored.
Glass reiterated Wednesday his statement still stands.
“I don’t challenge any kid or family who thinks they heard that Indiana wasn’t going to honor their scholarship,” Glass said. “. I don’t challenge them hearing that, and if they did, it was a mistake. We have agreed that we’re not going to renege on scholarship offers.”
Johnson said it was made fairly clear to him this weekend Indiana was doing just that. He said at the end of a visit to Bloomington, he was pulled into a room with Wilson and several other assistant coaches and told IU would not be accepting his commitment. He was asked if he was told that flatly, or simply told he was unlikely to see much playing time and might be better off seeking another school.
“No. I’m out,” he said. “I’m shocked, hurt, disappointed. I stuck with them for the coaching change. I feel like I kept my commitment to them, and I get bit in the butt. I was definitely hurt when I first heard that. . The timing of the whole thing is what makes it so scary. It’s two weeks until signing day. I gotta find somewhere to go.”
Glass said he is sensitive to the integrity of that commitment, which is why he said Johnson’s and the rest will be honored.
Glass said he and Wilson have had continual dialogue about recruiting and the verbally committed players. He said he encouraged Wilson to evaluate each recruit on his own and be candid with each player in regards to his talent level and whether or not he fit in the system.
“Having a new staff, they’re going to evaluate you in a way different than the previous staff did,” Glass said. “Whether it’s ‘You don’t fit in the scheme,’ or ‘We don’t think you’re as good.’ I think that’s important to communicate that. That being communicated in itself could lead people to go to other places, but I think it would be unfair to pull your punch on that and let them think everything’s fine. I think communicating that is fair game, good to do, and I fully endorse that.”
However, Glass said each committed player should be given the opportunity to accept the scholarship offered by the previous staff. He said he received a call from the mother of one of the recruits Wednesday apprising him of the situation. He said the department and coaching staff will reach out to the affected recruits to inform them their scholarships are still valid.
“It’s a different issue to say ‘Your scholarship’s pulled,’” Glass said. “That’s not what we’re communicating. We’re going to clarify that with each of the kids that think they heard otherwise and probably did hear otherwise. I think it’s critical to stand by that commitment.”
Of course, it’s going to be a tough sell to convince the affected parties to come back in the fold. Johnson’s mother, Delora Williams said Wednesday evening she’s not sure what she would say if Indiana called and tried to convince him to re-up, and she doesn’t expect to receive a phone call. Curtiss said Schlachter — who like Johnson was whole-heartedly committed to Indiana and never took another visit before he was told to look elsewhere — is now unlikely to sign with the Hoosiers.
“I feel like I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the way the family feels about this,” Curtiss said. “He is not going to Indiana.”
Wilson declined comment through an IU spokesman Wednesday. Glass said this was not a case of Wilson being deliberately disobedient.
“Kevin’s not a maverick on this,” Glass said. “We had conversation about these evaluations and to the extent something else was communicated, it was an earnest misunderstanding. : This was not a case where he went on and I had to rein him back in. It was just a mistake.”
Dustin Dopirak 