Jun 29 2007
Austin Holt not sure what a commitment is
If you haven’t yet seen the article on Scout.com (I found it via Cougarfan), Austin Holt is being courted by other schools in spite of his verbal commitment to BYU. The weird part is that he’s acting like his commitment to BYU isn’t a commitment at all. The article points out Holt’s active dialog with Stanford and that Holt likes what he sees with Stanford. He’s also getting attention from UCLA and Florida. Wait, um…you commit to a school and then take other recruiting trips? How do you even still have a “top 4″ list?
This quote just blows my mind:
“BYU has to be number one for me right now,” he maintains. “They were the first ones to offer me; they did all that stuff. I committed to them. The other three that I have, they are all right there.“
Right where, Mr. Holt? If you told BYU that you would play for them, why are you keeping other schools on the line? Does that make any sense at all?
Austin Holt is an outstanding talent, but what kind of loose garbage is floating around in this kid’s head? This even goes beyond the fickleness of Haloti Ngata. At least Ngata had enough of a conscience to be ashamed of defecting, so he didn’t tell anyone. Holt seems to not even grasp that when you commit to a school, you’re supposed be done with recruiting. Sure, some kids flip-flop a la Haloti Ngata, but those kids have usually been taught that flip-flopping is an embarrassing sign of moral weakness. Even if they go through with it, they still know that what they did was lame. This whole episode has me shaking my head thinking, “Kids these days…” And I’m only 27.
Another head-scratcher from the article:
Is Stanford then a serious and viable option for the nation’s #2 tight end?
“Very much. They’re at the top with me,” Holt states. “They offered me barely when I was into my junior year. When Coach Harbaugh came in, I called him like a week into his coaching job. We talked for a while, and it was good. They have still recruited me, and I still get text messages from all the coaches - Coach Harbaugh, Coach Anderson and Coach Drevno - a couple times a week. I keep in good contact with them.”
Someone needs to intervene here. Odds are that someone who knows Austin Holt or his family is going to find this article and pass it on to him or his parents, so I plead with you to point out how lame he looks right now and encourage him to honor his commitment. Point out the fact that BYU’s offense features the tight end position in the passing game. Remind him that BYU is a program on the rise, not just talking about being on the rise like Stanford. Point out the serious nature of a commitment and the importance of being a man of your word. As an LDS missionary, how will he be able to look someone investigating the Church in the eye and ask him or her to make commitments if he himself flaked on a big commitment? This is absolutely a matter of integrity and Austin Holt should understand that his is at stake.
15 Responses to “Austin Holt not sure what a commitment is”
The real disturbing part is this quote
“When Coach Harbaugh came in, I called him like a week into his coaching job. We talked for a while, and it was good.
This means HE is intiiating communication, not a good thing. I can see schools still contactng recruits with only verbal committs, but this is a bit different. One thing I see from this is that maybe because Jim Harbaugh was in the NFL recently so Holt thinks differently toward him. Plus Stanford is not on a rise like BYU. Stanford won 1 game last year only 1!!! While the BYU was conference champs. Things could change by the time he plays an actual down in 4 years after his mission and redshirt. This is crazy that he still has a ‘list’ of schools
I’m actually not convinced that Holt is not committed 100%. His dad has said repeatedly that he goes to camps to get better and to prove that is deserves to be the #2 TE in the country. As far as his interviews, the kid is 17-18 years old. I know Id be a mumbling mess at that age (I can be now years later, too.) A lot of the stuff reporting by scouting services is geared towards a team, including very slanted questions (and reporting) because that is their job. I wouldn’t worry about Holt.
I originally considered that possibility. That may be the case (I sure hope it is), but if you had a chance to read the article that the Stanford writer posted, Holt’s language doesn’t exactly sound awkward or pressured to me. Yeah, the questions are totally slanted, but is it that hard to say, “I’m committed to BYU and I’m going to play there”? We’ve seen dozens of other high profile recruits put the whole issue to bed by doing just that. Austin Holt can put out the whole firestorm surrounding his allegiance or perceived lack thereof by just being more frank about his commitment.
Oh wow!! Im actually good friends with Holt so i got the inside scoop!! First of all Im a huge Utah fan and have tried to convince him and all the bingham boys to cross over to the red! But still they have held strong with the cougars! I’ll admit they have got a good program down in provo that does incorporate the tight end!! And yes he has been going to camps and combines and recruiting trips even though he gave a “soft verbal”. But if its not in writing it means nothing! He has been checking out Stanford because they have a better education than BYU and after all education is a lot more important than football!! So stop raggin on his decision and personal life or maybe you might just see him playin for “THE UTAH UTES”! But currently his decision is byu so just be happy about that and we will see how it plays out!!
If you’re Austin’s friend, then you’re probably still pretty young, so I’ll give you a pass this time. The issue is being a man of your word. If Austin had the intention of courting other schools, he shouldn’t have committed to BYU yet. He committed to BYU, though, and he should be resolute in honoring that commitment. The fact that the term “soft verbal” is even acceptable is retarded and a sad indicator of the fickleness of athletes coming out of high school.
By the way, even Austin is smart enough not to go to the U. Who wants to go 7-5 ever year until Coach Whit-less-ham gets canned? Ute fans had better pull out those 2004 DVDs and enjoy the memories, because it’s going to be a LONG time until they have the upper hand in this state again.
First of all the cougars are gonna get killed next year and thats a known fact! They basically lost their whole team!! Sure they will be good in a few years but not next year!! And plus Holt can do whatever he wants! Yes he still says he is going to BYU! But I talked to him today and maybe slowly we can convince him to come play where champions are born THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH!! Or Florida or Ucla or Stanford they all want him!!
You’re really not worth the argument, but just to get your facts straight: BYU returns 16 starters. The entire first-string offensive line has starting experience, plus significant depth and experience at every position. Returning players on offense accounted for 1802 yards and 23 touchdowns, and that doesn’t include Austin Collie’s freshman stats from 2004. Collie’s numbers would balloon those stats significantly.
Anyway, good luck to the Utes this year. They’ll need it to win 8 games, especially with no running game.
What? No running game? May I remind you that Brian Johnson is starting this year and he is a running machine! So who needs a half back when your qb can do it all! Heck he’s a modern day Booby Miles!! He’ll spin left, he’ll spin right it don’t matter, He’ll score the touchdown, block, hold the ball and kick the extra point!! Heck He’ll walk your dog, fill the gatorade cooler, and paint your back porch! The boy can flat out play football!!
Oh and he can PASS!!!
Hm, OK, so Brian Johnson is going to absorb the beating normally reserved for a running back. The thought of Brian Johnson as Utah’s main rushing threat brings a smile to my face. He might want to slide a little more this year…
Wierd thing!! I actually saw brian johnson yesterday at the Rocky Mountain Revue!! And dang he has bulked up and its pure muscle! So watch out for the stone wall Johnson!! Oh and by the way did you see that Sealver the DL from Copperhills changed his commitment from byu to Utah! Their droppin like flies!
Zzzzzzzz… I guess being the sixth best DT on the squad didn’t appeal to your boy Sealver. Smart move if he ever wants to see the field.
I like to see you tell him that!! But sixth string at gillette community college in wyoming would be better than playin for byu.
OK, now you’re just boring me.
Let Brian Johnson run next year, he will just get hurt again, it will be fun to see what the Yewts will do without him.
I’ll tell you what they’ll do without Johnson: they will put in the man with the strongest arm in the galaxy–Grady! Yes he will be throwing TD passes from his own endzone! oh please… The yewts will be lucky to pull 7 wins this year. Have another “great year” Utah, sitting in third place behind TCU!