Given all the excitement earlier today about the commitment of Madison (Mississippi) H.S. defensive tackle Maurice Bennett to Paul Wulff and Washington State for 2012, now might be a good time to keep in mind that nothing is set in stone until these guys sign on the dotted line in February. (And even then, sometimes that doesn't do the trick.)
Why do I feel the need to remind you of this now? Watch this interview with Bennett, and you'll understand. If you can't watch it right now or are just too lazy to sit through the two minutes, here are the highlights:
- He committed to WSU because they were the first (and still only) school to offer him.
- He's never been to Washington.
- He's still hoping for more offers.
The money quote:
"Well, first of all, I mean, they're my first offer, and, I mean, when they came down from way up there just to see me? I thought, hey, this college is way up there and they have some interest in me, so I might as well just figure out why they're interested in me, so, I just committed to them.
[snip]
"I was waiting to see how many more offers I was going to get before the season started, but, I said, I might as well ... I just want to, uh ... I just want to commit to the one offer I do have. I just want to lock that in. I'm hoping more offers will come, but ... uh ... I'll have my eye out if they do."
Uh, yeah. DesMoines (who dug up the video) summed it up perfectly on Facebook: "I love my prom date. She's the only one who has said yes so far!"
The reporter on the video asked him what his hopes were for his senior season. His response?
"That I would get more offers, and that I would have a rockin' season!"
As someone who works with this age group on a daily basis, I try to help people keep teenage commitments in the proper perspective. This would be one of those times where you'd do well to not be upset if and when this guy decommits. Wulff's work is just starting with this one.