There are essentially two trains of thought when it comes to how a recruit's commitment affects their future visit plans. The first outlook is staffs that view a commitment a bit more open, where players are still encouraged to go out there and see what other programs have to offer while they're confident that the recruit will ultimately see them as the best fit.
However, there's another way programs like Minnesota view a commitment, and it's much like marriage. Commit to PJ Fleck's program and it's expected that you don't go see anywhere else.
"We have a problem in our society. We don't have a problem in our program," Fleck shared on their latest Coaches Caravan stop, according to the Star Tribune.
"I have a rule: You commit to me, you can't go see another place. Not because I'm insecure. But if you want to be committed, you're going to be committed. Too many people teach young people to be committed but also one foot in and one foot out. You’ve got to be all in."
It's worth noting that Fleck pointed out on the same caravan stop that, as of May, there had been 642 de-commits across the country around college football in each of the past two seasons, which equates to about five or six per team.
There's no right or wrong approach here, some will love Fleck's approach while others are bound to view it as insecure. Bottom line is asking kids to commit to something really can't be a bad thing in my opinion...and if the original commitment doesn't work out, the transfer portal has made it a whole lot easier for kids to essentially restart the recruiting process all over again (...and whether that's good or bad is a conversation for another time).
Head over to the Star Tribune to read the full piece.