Rivals.com – Polynesian Bowl: Recruits talk coaching carousel

HONOLULU – The coaching carousel has been spinning as aggressively as ever this cycle, with a number of recruits and recent signees left to react to the sudden departures of the head coach they committed to or at least wonder if their coach will remain in place.

In addition to the two Arizona signees reacting in real time to Jedd Fisch‘s departure to Washington, Rivals caught up with several other prospects to discuss how they handled that process.

Mike Norvell was one of the names being floated for the Alabama job that eventually went to Kalen DeBoer last week, but even the thought of the Florida State head coach moving on made for some tense moments for offensive line signee Manasse Itete. The three-star recruit will be making a cross-country move from Modesto, Calif., to Tallahassee for college, and the culture and program Norvell has built with the Seminoles played a big role in his decision.

“When I heard about Alabama, I was kind of nervous because we already signed the letter,” he said. “When a coach moves, the old staff moves too. It was something kind of scary, but he texted me and said like, ‘I’m with you guys. I made a promise, so I will keep my promise.’

“So, when I saw he signed a new contract, I was happy. He keeps his word.”

A pair of Texas A&M signees – four-star linebacker Jordan Lockhart and four-star offensive lineman Isendre Ahfua – committed to the Aggies when Jimbo Fisher was still in charge, but stayed the course after the hiring of new head coach Mike Elko.

Lockhart said other schools came in “really heavy” on him once Fisher was fired, while A&M’s remaining coaches told him to just be patient. But then those coaches left too, making Lockhart to take everything in and make sure he was set in his decision.

“It was kind of nervous, you know what I mean,” Lockhart said, noting that Arizona, USC and SMU were among the schools who checked in with him during that time. “… Unfortunately, when they left, you kind of question things, like where is my next move? But meeting coach Elko, he just hit me up and just gave me another OV so I went up for the second time, had a lot of time just sitting down at dinners with him, just getting to know him as a person and coach, guy I’m going to be trusting for the next three to four years of coaching career.

“After that, it was safe to say I wanted to keep my commitment with Texas A&M.”

Ahfua said Miami made a strong push for him during that interim period, while Utah and BYU also tried to get involved.

“Miami really wanted me,” Ahfua said.

Ultimately, he too chose to be patient.

“I just wanted to see what steps they were going to take after things had happened,” Ahfua said. “There’s a lot of teams and a lot of coaches that could panic in that type of situation, but I felt like coach Elko was a little bit more straightforward on how things were going to go and how things were going to be. It wasn’t really too much of a big deal.

“I mean, I thought about it of course, just like any kid would. I thought about it, I talked about it with my parents and I just prayed on it, and I just felt like God told me to just buckle down and he’s got something planned for me.”

Meanwhile, four-star wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer – the highest-rated prospect in UCLA‘s 2024 recruiting class – had to weather rumors and uncertainty about head coach Chip Kelly‘s future and also the departure of five-star quarterback Dante Moore to Oregon via the transfer portal. But he too stuck with his commitment decision.

“It’s all scary just as a high school student being recruited, ‘Am I making the right decision?’ But, you know, you can’t really chase the coach – you’ve got to chase the place,” Gilmer said. “Big one is Washington – coach DeBoer and his whole staff is going to Alabama. If I would have went there, that would have been a whole different thing. I think everything works out for a reason.”

So, he was asked, is the solution to go back to just having the February National Signing Day instead of the Early Signing Period, so that players are making these final decisions after the dust settles on coaching changes?

“Yes and no. I think people should get suited for spring ball and get ready for going in,” Gilmer said. “But I don’t think it’s kind of fair for colleges to, like Nick Saban, for people to come in, sign, do all that, get suited then the coach is gone. Now they’re stuck there.”

“… I think they should do all that college stuff before kids come in, so like Dec. 30 is the last day where coaches can change and stuff.”

In short, there is no easy answer.

Julian Sayin, the five-star Alabama QB signee, will not be participating this week as planned. Also no longer part of the game from the initial roster are four-star safety Peyton Woodyard (Alabama), five-star DE Colin Simmons (Texas), four-star CB Cai Bates (Florida State), four-star WR Ryan Pellum (Oregon), four-star CB Corian Gipson (Clemson) and four-star S Aaron Flowers (Oregon) while the status of five-star Colorado OL signee Jordan Seaton is still unclear.

A number of players are arriving Monday or later in the week due to flight cancellations across the country or other matters.

The Rivals100 prospects expected to take part in the game are five-star QB Dylan Raiola (Nebraska signee), five-star ATH/WR Terry Bussey (Texas A&M commit, unsigned), five-star OT Brandon Baker (Texas), five-star WR Mike Matthews (Tennessee), four-star WR Bryant Wesco (Clemson), four-star LB Dylan Williams (Oregon), four-star WR Jordan Anderson (Oregon State), four-star TE Carter Nelson (Nebraska), four-star QB Jake Merklinger (Tennessee), four-star DT Aydin Breland (Oregon), four-star CB Marcelles Williams (USC), four-star DE Jordan Ross (Tennessee), four-star OG Deandre Carter (Auburn) and four-star TE Christian Bentancur (Clemson).