Roquan Smith won't be signing a Letter of Intent with the school he chooses.
The four-star linebacker has been pondering his options after initially choosing UCLA on National Signing Day. However, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich left to become the linebackers coach with the Atlanta Falcons. With Smith torn between the Bruins and Georgia anyway, the news didn't make his decision any easier.
Last week, Smith's coach said it'd be a week or so until Smith made a final decision on a school. Now, Macon County High School athletic director and coach Larry Harold said Smith won't sign a Letter of Intent with UCLA, Georgia or anyone.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“He’s not going to sign a Letter of Intent,” Harold said. “The reason why is because what he went through last week. This just gives us flexibility in case something else unexpectedly happens again.”
Harold has previously been outspoken about coaching changes around National Signing Day. Instead of signing the Letter of Intent, Smith will fill out his financial aid agreement only and officially be a signee when he enrolls in the summer.
“I guess you’ll really be able to tell if a coach or college really wants a kid if they’ll agree to do this – letting a kid come to their campus this summer without signing an LOI.”
“Again, we’re doing it this way after what happened last week. I don’t know where this is all going to go. I guess God put Roquan in this position for a reason. Maybe it was meant to help educate other kids about these types of situations.”
He told the AJC that all four of Smith's choices (Texas A&M and Michigan are the other two schools in the running) were "fine" with his decision to not sign an LOI, though he said they worried about the precedent he could be setting.
Because of his four-star status, Smith, who is expected to make a decision soon, is in an advantageous position. Schools with scholarship availability remaining are willing to wait on a top-100 prospect. However, if he were a three-star recruit, he might not have been able to forego his Letter of Intent. Will other high-level recruits follow Smith's lead if he's on the roster of his final choice in the fall?
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
