I almost feel sorry for this stupid bastard

[Kaos]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/02/alabama_commitment_darius_phil_1.html

PRICHARD, Alabama -- He wore an Alabama cap at Vigor High School's national signing day ceremony, but by the time he left school Wednesday Darius Philon had signed with Arkansas.

"He just said he was going to school with his friend for four years," Vigor coach Kerry Stevenson said of Philon, who joined Vigor teammate Jamichael Winston in signing with the Hogs, but not without some drama.

Philon, a defensive lineman who has been committed to Alabama since September, told the crowd at Wednesday's ceremony that he was "undecided" between Alabama and Arkansas, and two teammates later said he'd been asked to grayshirt by Alabama.

"I know everybody is looking forward to me going to Alabama," a visibly conflicted Philon told the audience. "I just feel like I'm undecided right now."

After a long pause, he stood and donned an Alabama cap as the room erupted. But Philon, who didn't take the stage with 11 Vigor teammates until after the ceremony had begun, left abruptly before it ended and did not speak with the media. Stevenson said after the ceremony that Philon had not signed with any school that morning.

He confirmed that Philon signed with Arkansas later Wednesday afternoon.

Two teammates, Marlon Moore and Paul Kyles, said that Philon had been asked by Alabama to grayshirt -- or defer his enrollment until next January. Kyles said he believed Philon got the call last week.

"The Arkansas thing came along this week," Kyles added. "Before signing day, he had said he was going to go on and go to Arkansas."

Stevenson would not confirm that Alabama had talked about a grayshirt with Philon, who underwent knee surgery right after the season. He did allude to a numbers crunch in Tuscaloosa under the SEC's new 25-signee limit, however, and said the situation came to a head in the last two or three weeks.

"The SEC limited the number of folks they can sign, so they got put in a bind," Stevenson said of the Crimson Tide. "Everybody knew it. Everybody was just trying to wait and see where it was going  to spill out. I think the guys that can stay and use their time a little bit more was the direction they decided to go. The guys that got hurt that need more time to rehab."

Alabama asked another commitment who suffered an injury this year, Atlanta-area running back Justin Taylor, to accept a grayshirt. Taylor signed instead with Kentucky on Wednesday.

Stevenson said Philon, who took no other visits after committing in September and has not been to Arkansas, felt Wednesday morning like "he had the world snatched from up under him."

"I'm pretty sure he's wondering, 'Why me?'" Stevenson said of Philon, who was No. 119 on the Press-Register's Super Southeast 120. "On a number of occasions, (Alabama) stated how much they don't want to lose him. They got put in a bind. I can see where it could happen, especially with this being the first year of the SEC putting in a stipulation like this."

The idiot fuck could have come to Auburn, been welcomed and been a part of the team.  But he had to try to be a bigshot and get his fucking face in the papers. 

Don't try to tell me he knew before today that he was going to get shoved aside.  It wouldn't have gone down like it did. 

We were there for him first and he acted like a dipshit.  Well fuck him.  Even still I sort of feel sorry for the kid.  At what point will these punks learn? 

[Buzz Killington]

Kerry Stevenson...that name sounds familiar for some reason.

[JR4AU]

I can't feel sorry for any kid that get's processed like this.  All they have to do is look at Rivals, realize their place in the pecking order, and they'd see that it's a virtual certainty.  Worse, he's probably too ashamed to try and ask Auburn if he can come back, and went to the Hogs.

[ssgaufan]

First thing I get from this is that his HS coach loves to suck on the saban cock.  Next is the fact that saban is one smart fucker when it comes to this shit.  If he is cheating in recruiting (and I think he is) he goes ahead and fills his class with good talent the legit way, then once the ones he is paying or whatever unethical method he is using decided to commit he drops those other kids on their asses.  He knows that they will probably be pissed about it, but he has done nothing unethical with them, so therefore he isn't worried about what they will say.

[Buzz Killington]

First thing I get from this is that his HS coach loves to suck on the saban cock.  Next is the fact that saban is one smart fucker when it comes to this shit.  If he is cheating in recruiting (and I think he is) he goes ahead and fills his class with good talent the legit way, then once the ones he is paying or whatever unethical method he is using decided to commit he drops those other kids on their asses.  He knows that they will probably be pissed about it, but he has done nothing unethical with them, so therefore he isn't worried about what they will say.

^^^This^^^

I wonder what the group of kids that committed earlier this week for 2013 are thinking right about now?

[JR4AU]

First thing I get from this is that his HS coach loves to suck on the saban cock.  Next is the fact that saban is one smart fucker when it comes to this shit.  If he is cheating in recruiting (and I think he is) he goes ahead and fills his class with good talent the legit way, then once the ones he is paying or whatever unethical method he is using decided to commit he drops those other kids on their asses.  He knows that they will probably be pissed about it, but he has done nothing unethical with them, so therefore he isn't worried about what they will say.

Excellent theory, and I'll add to it.  He takes these early commits, who are usually kids that are maybe worried they might not make a roster like Bammer, and are just floored when offered early...thus creating "early momentum" in crootin...but these are the first on the train, and the first to be kicked off when the better talent wants to come aboard.

[Kaos]

We're to the point that commitments should be binding.  A kid "commits" and the school accepts then that's it. 

He can't take other visits and he can't be recruited by any other school. 

The school that accepts his commitment can't "process" him and he has to be a part of the signing class.

It's got to change. 

I acknowledge the fact that this would have cost Auburn Carnell Williams, but this is ridiculous. 

[JR4AU]

We're to the point that commitments should be binding.  A kid "commits" and the school accepts then that's it. 

He can't take other visits and he can't be recruited by any other school. 

The school that accepts his commitment can't "process" him and he has to be a part of the signing class.

It's got to change. 

I acknowledge the fact that this would have cost Auburn Carnell Williams, but this is ridiculous.

That, like so many things, would be a double edged sword.  Signing day would be, well, Kaos. 

[JR4AU]

Then again, coaches could use the "bammer has 26 super secret commits, you can't go there, and we only have 3 slots left in our super secret commit class". 

[Token]

We're to the point that commitments should be binding.  A kid "commits" and the school accepts then that's it. 

He can't take other visits and he can't be recruited by any other school. 

The school that accepts his commitment can't "process" him and he has to be a part of the signing class.

It's got to change. 

I acknowledge the fact that this would have cost Auburn Carnell Williams, but this is ridiculous.

As I said after the Taylor ordeal weeks ago, an early signing period would put a stop to a lot of this. 

[JR4AU]

As I said after the Taylor ordeal weeks ago, an early signing period would put a stop to a lot of this.

Would also take the wind (profit motive) out of NSD too. 

[Token]

Would also take the wind (profit motive) out of NSD too.

Maybe some, but the top guys ESPN is concerned with would probably still wait until Feb.  It would probably only benefit the middle of the pack kids who don't want to get screwed in the number crunch. 

[Tiger Wench]

Y'all are missing something. The coach quoted in the article was sympathetic towards bammer.  "They got put in a bind by the NCAA...". Yeah, poor pitiful Saban... Never mind the kid that got fucked over.

Unreal brainwashing.

[Buzz Killington]

Y'all are missing something. The coach quoted in the article was sympathetic towards bammer.  "They got put in a bind by the NCAA...". Yeah, poor pitiful Saban... Never mind the kid that got fucked over.

Unreal brainwashing.

Wasn't this one of the guys involved in them getting on probation the last time too?  Too damn much of this shit is going on in the high schools around Alabama.  With Sevarese in charge of the hen house, it will only get worse as time goes by too.

[AUTiger1]

Did anyone hear Lord Saybinz on teh ESPNs earlier today talking about when a kid a commits and they expect them to hold that commitment?  It was irony at it's best.

I don't really feel for these kids and their drama queen antics.  Attention whores are what they are. 

[The Prowler]

Yup, but when a Keenan Allen de-commits from uat and commits/signs with Cal-Berkley....Coach belittle loses his fuckin' mind and bites the head off of reporters that ask him about the kid, then he swings his midget arms around while saying "a commitment means that you're commited to that particular University, aight....and that should mean, aight, that you don't look elsewhere, aight."

[RWS]

One of Philon's coaches is a regular poster on TideSports, and is usually pretty good about calling things how he sees it. Whether it is good, bad, or ugly, he shoots fairly straight. According to him, 2 weeks ago Philon was approached by UA staff about greyshirting, and he did not want to do that. So the staff said "ok", and took that as it was. Within 48 hours of signing day, they basically told him he was going to have to take it or leave it because Alabama had oversigned. Which obviously puts the kid in a bind. It had nothing to do with his knee injury, because it was a minor meniscus tear that would put him back 100% before spring ball. Simply a matter of oversigning.

I wouldn't be too wild about them asking Philon to greyshirt 2 weeks before NSD, but at least it would have given him time to maybe take an official to Arky or somewhere else. If they were serious about him greyshirting, they should have stuck to their guns when they spoke with him 2 weeks ago and told the kid "Sorry, but if you don't greyshirt, you need to move on." But coming back within 48 hours of NSD after you already accepted "no" as an answer, and dropping this on the kid is total horseshit.

Bottom line, UA screwed the pooch on this one and really fucked this kid over. Whether it was Saban himself or the asissistants in charge of DP's recruitment, it was a massive fuckup.

[GH2001]

I can't feel sorry for any kid that get's processed like this.  All they have to do is look at Rivals, realize their place in the pecking order, and they'd see that it's a virtual certainty.  Worse, he's probably too ashamed to try and ask Auburn if he can come back, and went to the Hogs.

I think he burned that bridge. Although Chiz probably would have taken the high road and accepted him.

"Alabama was put in a bind"?? Tha fuck....... No bind. Accept Philon and tell the other last minute cat NO.

[Townhallsavoy]

One of Philon's coaches is a regular poster on TideSports, and is usually pretty good about calling things how he sees it. Whether it is good, bad, or ugly, he shoots fairly straight. According to him, 2 weeks ago Philon was approached by UA staff about greyshirting, and he did not want to do that. So the staff said "ok", and took that as it was. Within 48 hours of signing day, they basically told him he was going to have to take it or leave it because Alabama had oversigned. Which obviously puts the kid in a bind. It had nothing to do with his knee injury, because it was a minor meniscus tear that would put him back 100% before spring ball. Simply a matter of oversigning.

I wouldn't be too wild about them asking Philon to greyshirt 2 weeks before NSD, but at least it would have given him time to maybe take an official to Arky or somewhere else. If they were serious about him greyshirting, they should have stuck to their guns when they spoke with him 2 weeks ago and told the kid "Sorry, but if you don't greyshirt, you need to move on." But coming back within 48 hours of NSD after you already accepted "no" as an answer, and dropping this on the kid is total horseshit.

Bottom line, UA screwed the pooch on this one and really fucked this kid over. Whether it was Saban himself or the asissistants in charge of DP's recruitment, it was a massive fuckup.

But it doesn't matter.

Fans won't care as long as UA wins.

The 25 signees won't care because they have the scholarship.

The 25 blue chip recruits UA goes after next year won't care because they'll believe Philon just wasn't good enough and that they are too good to be passed. 

There needs to be an early signing period OR the date that scholarships are offerred needs to be pushed up. 

[RWS]

Fans won't care as long as UA wins.

En masse, you're right. But I know in the little world of TideSports, that shit isn't sitting well with alot of folks. And it shouldn't. I know I've defended UA's grayshirting practices before, and that's mainly because it's been handled about as well as a greyshirt situation could be. And I still stand by the times I've defended those situations. Usually the kid knows well in advance he either could, or will be asked to greyshirt. But this was a clusterfuck, and as a fan, it's damn embarassing. It wasn't handled right. I'm all about them getting the best players. But in this case, they should have made room, or told the surprise commitment kid "Sorry, you missed the boat."

There needs to be an early signing period OR the date that scholarships are offerred needs to be pushed up.

This. And really, the coaches would be all about it as well.