Falling Like Dominoes

After a week in which a slew of current Penn State players decided to move on, now a prominent member of the talented 2013 recruiting class has de-committed. His name is William Fuller. I'm hoping against hope that he is not the first domino in a chain reaction.




For those of you unfamiliar with William Fuller, he is a three-star WR recruit out of Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. On Sunday, he switched his commitment to Notre Dame.

I have to be honest and vent just a little bit here. This de-commit has me irked a bit more than the others. The reason for that is this: A week before his decision to switch to Notre Dame, Fuller visited Penn State and following said visit he tweeted, "Great time at Penn State! Coach O'Brien made me remember why I committed in the 1st place. I'm 100% committed to the greatest college." (Italics added by me.)

I'm sure this was a difficult decision for him, and I know that he has to think about what is best for him and his future here, but don't sit there and tell me you are "100% committed" and then less than a week later switch to a different school. Again, I understand you feel like this is the best thing for you, and I can respect that. What I can't respect is lying to everyone. If you had doubts and were still considering transferring, you could have simply said something to the effect of, "Great time at Penn State. Love coach O'Brien. Got some thinking to do."

Perhaps part of this can be blamed on youth — 17- and 18-year-olds do and say things without thinking too much about the future or the effect of their actions. And part of it can be blamed on social media, where everyone has the opportunity to put all their thoughts on the internet for everyone to see, again without considering the effect. I mean people post dumb shit on Facebook and Twitter all the time.

Yes, as someone who loves Penn State and Penn State football, every de-commit stings. But as I mentioned in my brief thoughts on Silas Redd leaving, I can look at the situation rationally and understand that these kids have to make the decision they feel is best for them, and I can put my fandom to the side and respect and accept that. But if you're gonna leave, or if you're thinking about, just be straight about it.

A few other PSU notes: Another 2013 recruit, LB Zach Bradshaw, has reportedly de-committed; 2013 recruits Adam Breneman (TE) and Brandon Bell (LB) will reportedly be on campus over the next few days. Why? Nobody knows, but it doesn't sound good. They are dropping like flies. And to end on a somewhat positive note, #1 QB recruit Christian Hackenberg reiterated his commitment to Penn State last night on the school philly's radio show.