A Sea Of Red

Late in the article Coach Frank Rocco says he believes the reporter got his wires crossed, but it almost sounds like if Penn State is an option then that will be the choice (the part about camps)

Early Tuesday, news began circulating stemming from an article in The Virginian-Pilot, which had stated that Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian Academy quarterback Michael Rocco had committed to Penn State.


Rocco is a teammate of Virginia Tech commitment Bobby Massie.
Rocco, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound sophomore athlete, has done nothing of the sort, according to his father and head coach, former Nittany Lion quarterback Frank Rocco.

"We played down in Virginia Beach this past Saturday, and I guess in the Virginia Beach newspaper, they had come up with some information that my son had committed to Penn State," said the elder Rocco. "He's only a sophomore, and he's having a great year, I think that last week he was the No. 1 passer in Virginia.....

http://bwi.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=724745

I believe this could also be interesting although I'm not a member so I cant read them.


For Rivals.com members

http://bwi.rivals.com/search.asp?Search ... erms=rocco

One of the threads the Poster said he spoke with the grandfather of Michael

you want to know something funny I listened to Phil Gross's (BWI editor) radio program in Harrisburg,PA and they must have talked for 15 minutes about Rocco and his commitment to the program! People in Pa still blame Paterno's love feast with Frank Jr. for not getting Marino back in the day. Which by the way I am glad he went to Pitt and not PSU.

On a side note I don't think there is anyone in the country more informed on college football recruiting than Phil. You can ask him anything or about any 1-5 star recruit and his take on the kid and where he projects for any school not just PSU. For fantasy geeks his show is the bomb!

It's been a year or two since I dealt with this, but I'm pretty sure that a sophomore cannot commit to college.

An 8th grader can commit if an offer is received by mail. It doesn't happen often but it occurs in hoops more frequently these days.

Wow! I had no idea an athlete could be signed that early. If this is the case how does the term "verbal commitment" even enter into the language. It seems like you would just sign and that would be the end of it. In that scenario a "verbal committment isn't worth the paper it's written on!" My tribute to Yogi Berra!

A player cannot sign until their senior season. But a verbal commitment (which is not binding) can come as early as an offer is tendered.

spc0506 wrote:Wow! I had no idea an athlete could be signed that early. If this is the case how does the term "verbal commitment" even enter into the language. It seems like you would just sign and that would be the end of it. In that scenario a "verbal committment isn't worth the paper it's written on!" My tribute to Yogi Berra!

I believe it's USC basketball that made the news b/c they accepted a verbal agreement from a 8th grade player and all the media outlets said that's to early and a lot could happen to that athlete in 4 years. But this is the trend and if you want to win it seems you're going to have to begin doing this until the rules change.

This is nothing new overseas. Soccer teams sign kids at 8-9 years old into their academies.