ABJ
IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER
Recruiters keep after Copley senior even after he gives his commitment to Northwestern
Beacon Journal staff report
The highlight of David Arnold's football recruiting experience came last month when Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald looked at him from across his office in Evanston, Ill., and said the Wildcats wanted to extend a scholarship offer.
Arnold sighed, his shoulders dropped and his face relaxed, perhaps for the first time in months. He turned to his mother, Shannon Pangas, who was sitting next to him in Fitzgerald's office. Tears formed in her eyes.
Later, in the parking lot, Arnold, who has been the focus of an ongoing Akron Beacon Journal series on college football recruiting, uttered the four words dozens of Division I schools would have loved to hear him say: ``I'm ready to commit.''
Less than one week later, Arnold, a senior at Copley High School, orally committed to Northwestern.
``Now I can focus on school and stop thinking about the other stuff,'' he said later.
Still, his recruiting saga might not end with the oral commitment.
While many high school seniors never change their nonbinding oral agreement, some decide to switch. Competing schools continue to make phone calls and send text messages, letters and e-mails.
``The way we treat a commitment, you almost have to recruit the kid harder... nothing's final until signing day,'' said Joe Moorhead, offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach for the University of Akron.
``It's not over till the fax rolls through.''
In fact, very few programs back off top-rated recruits unless the prospect or family asks them, said Mike Farrell, national football recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.
``Colleges need to recruit commitments as hard as they recruit noncommitted kids,'' Farrell added.
This practice might be as old as recruiting itself, although recruiting Web sites such as Rivals.com and Scout.com have made it easier for colleges and their fans to follow the step-by-step recruiting process. Both Web sites rank Arnold as a three-star recruit on a 1-to-4 scale.
Since orally committing, Arnold has received at least two phone calls and about eight text messages from Northwestern coaches.
Arnold collected six scholarship offers and was recruited by more than 100 schools on all levels of college football, including the Akron Zips. He's extremely happy with his choice.
He is still undecided on a major.
The Wildcats are looking at Arnold to play either receiver or safety.
His choice?
``Whatever gets me on the field the fastest,'' he said.
Decision fallout
The day after he announced his oral commitment, the information traveled from his family's home in Copley to recruiting message boards throughout the nation. Other college football programs made an effort to change his mind.
The common responses that Arnold received either on the phone or through mail or text messages were ``Why?'' and ``Please give us a chance.''
It was hard for Arnold and his parents to tell the other schools that he would not be accepting their offers. They knew this day would come, when he would pick from his growing list of suitors.
``It was hard because we really did like those coaches and we really did establish a relationship. It felt bad,'' Shannon Pangas said. ``On a personal note, it was like telling friends you don't want to be friends with them anymore.''
Moorhead said the Zips' decision to continue conversing to prospects or wish them luck and move on is made on a case-by-case basis.
Several days after Arnold's commitment to Northwestern, the Zips sent him a letter congratulating him. Like other schools, they wish him good luck, but in case anything goes wrong before or during his time in Evanston...
Immediately after Arnold decided on Northwestern, Minnesota and Purdue coaches tried to stake their last-minute claim in the Arnold sweepstakes. They talked to Dan Boarman, Arnold's high school football coach at Copley. They wanted to judge how solid the oral commitment was.
Meanwhile, Illinois assistant coach Ed Warinner was scheduled to attend Arnold's second game of the season against Cleveland Collinwood.
Arnold and his family asked Boarman to tell other schools that he plans to attend Northwestern next season, and that he isn't expected to change his mind.
Since then, Boarman said the phone calls from other colleges have stopped, although Arnold still receives recruiting mail.
Thinking it through
Not long after the Northwestern trip, Boarman wanted to make sure Arnold orally committed for the right reason.
Boarman's first question was simple: What did you like? If Arnold's answer had to do with academics, Boarman felt he was making the decision based on the right information.
Arnold said Northwestern, of all the schools that recruited him, had the best academic programs. He also was impressed with several academic services and the ``big-time feel'' of the small town outside Chicago.
That's all Boarman needed to hear to agree Arnold made the right choice.
``He even chose it over my alma mater (Indiana) and I was OK with it,'' Boarman said. ``If every family put the time and effort into the process as they did, there would be less mistakes.''
Family-changing process
This entire recruiting process has changed the family.
David is more relaxed.
Half-joking, Pangas has learned more about the rules of NCAA recruiting than she cares to know.
``I can probably quote half of the NCAA Clearinghouse,'' she said. It took some time, but she finally found Northwestern athletic gear in the area.
Frank Pangas is trying to balance his feelings as a father and an Ohio State fan.
``Although I'd like to, I just find myself... I just feel some inner resentment or something,'' he said. ``I don't know. And it's only going to get worse next year when I see some of the players that were recruited over David.
``I still love Ohio State, but I wish they would have given him a chance.''
That opportunity might come in the household in about a decade: Younger brother Frankie turns 7 next July.
