Reached out to Elijah Walker last night after the news broke of his de-commitment.
Personally, the announcement was a combination of surprise and reality for me. I was somewhat surprised that he de-committed, considering I'd been told how the bowl game and recent weeks had improved his outlook on the Wildcats. What was even more surprising though was the timing. If he wanted to de-commit, he could've done that weeks ago. Why now?
While myself and others really thought DJ Reed's presence and the need for a safety immediately would hold out, it apparently wasn't enough and perhaps this has been coming longer than we wished to believe. After all, prior to the bowl game when I asked Elijah how strong his commitment to K-State was, on a level of 1-10, he only answered "6". Or the fact that he slowly became less responsive as fall turned to winter. He used to DM on Twitter regularly to ask about the games and what channel they'd be on, then went silent for a long stretch.
Needless to say, I was curious to get "why" answered. I reached out last night in an effort to get to the bottom of things and garnered this response from Elijah...
"It was very hard to make the decision I made. Both schools are great schools and I just had to go with my gut feeling. I've done all the research I could possibly do and TCU is where I want to pursue my dreams."
I pushed on but haven't gotten any further details beyond that quote. What I do feel comfortable saying now though are three things:
Personally, the announcement was a combination of surprise and reality for me. I was somewhat surprised that he de-committed, considering I'd been told how the bowl game and recent weeks had improved his outlook on the Wildcats. What was even more surprising though was the timing. If he wanted to de-commit, he could've done that weeks ago. Why now?
While myself and others really thought DJ Reed's presence and the need for a safety immediately would hold out, it apparently wasn't enough and perhaps this has been coming longer than we wished to believe. After all, prior to the bowl game when I asked Elijah how strong his commitment to K-State was, on a level of 1-10, he only answered "6". Or the fact that he slowly became less responsive as fall turned to winter. He used to DM on Twitter regularly to ask about the games and what channel they'd be on, then went silent for a long stretch.
Needless to say, I was curious to get "why" answered. I reached out last night in an effort to get to the bottom of things and garnered this response from Elijah...
"It was very hard to make the decision I made. Both schools are great schools and I just had to go with my gut feeling. I've done all the research I could possibly do and TCU is where I want to pursue my dreams."
I pushed on but haven't gotten any further details beyond that quote. What I do feel comfortable saying now though are three things:
- This one stings K-State. And I say sting not in the sense that they don't have other options (more on that below) but because of the timing. Once again, K-State has a solid commitment, potentially (depending on who you ask) one of its better commitments in the class and can't hold it with three weeks left to Signing Day. That'll damage your psyche a bit. They identified early, pursued first, worked hard to stay there, and yet still wound up on the losing side. It's a gut punch and one the Wildcats are growing very tired of. They worked hard but maybe not hard enough.
- Maybe there's a more specific and direct connection to me saying 'They worked hard but maybe not hard enough' than simply using it as a staff-wide statement. If we're keeping it real here for a second, there's a common denominator in many of K-State's de-commitments and/or crucial whiffs over the past several recruiting cycles and his name is Tom Hayes. Let me start by saying that I know he's a respected guy and a smart coach (despite his game day faults which are pointed out here often). I think he does prepare his players well and many of them will be the first to tell you that too. But when it comes to recruiting, he's doing more harm than good and that's just being honest. Tre Jackson was there at this time last year and was lost to Tulane. Though football insiders disputed me last January, I feel confident in saying that there was a weak connection between Jackson and Hayes which played a major role in him choosing the Green Wave. In 2015, K-State lost a commitment from Bryce Balous to Oklahoma State, another defensive back. The misses in the secondary go on and on: Riyahd Jones, Melvinson Hartfield, Mike Stevens, Darreon Jackson, Coney Durr, even John Davis to an extent this year. Did they all have reasons aside from Hayes that they didn't choose K-State? Absolutely. But his presence as their would-be position coach didn't help change their minds any. Fact of the matter is, his recruiting resume isn't exactly littered with victories and for one simple reason - he's just not active enough. Even Elijah Walker has mentioned in the past how unfamiliar he is with Hayes and how he was looking forward to getting to know him on his visit - which to my knowledge was the first and only meeting the two had and one of only a handful of spoken discussions beyond that. That's inexcusable. You can send kids all the mail and all the cool media graphics you want but at the end of the day, at this time of the year, they are going to want to know their position coach and many don't know enough about Hayes. Harsh as that may come off about a person with his football background and pedigree, it's true.
- Amidst all the negative that I just regurgitated, there's still hope for this class at the safety position. Plenty of it. For one, Evan Fields is still on the board and still feels strongly about K-State. In a way, maybe Walker's de-commitment is a good thing at least when it comes to his recruitment because now the staff can go all-in for Fields. Beyond him, there are two more solid options, each at different classes too (which is a small bonus). On the junior college side, there's Garden City's Brian 'BJ' Blunt. He visits Manhattan this month and is expected to receive a scholarship offer, so he could immediately fill Walker's void within the next two weeks. On the high school side, K-State is also back in the running for the talented Avery Showell, a recent de-commitment from Wake Forest. Showell was on the radar early this summer before announcing his verbal for the Demon Deacons but has since reopened things with the departure of a few defensive staff members on the ACC program. He'll visit K-State the final weekend of this month, giving the Wildcats the last opportunity to make an impression on him (which is never a bad thing). He has a little bit of Kaleb Prewett to him with his size and athletic ability.
