If you follow college football recruiting, you’re likely well aware that the “offers” recruits receive from schools aren’t like the offers you receive in the professional world. Not all players who receive offers have the green light from the staff to publicly commit to the school. Receiving a scholarship offer does not guarantee that the player will receive a Letter of Intent when it’s time to sign. Schools sometimes “pull” offers ahead of the signing periods. And while players picking “School X over Schools Y and Z” make for good headlines, sometimes it’s because Schools Y and Z did not consider the player a “take,” effectively making that player’s decision for him by not sending him an LOI.

As bad as it sounds, it’s a recruiting reality that an injury can lead to a player losing his spot in a team’s recruiting class. Class of 2019 cornerback Jaydon Hill pledged to Florida on Sept. 6, 2018. Eight days later (Sept. 14), Hill tore his ACL. At SEC Media Days, a Huntsville, Alabama reporter asked Dan Mullen why he stuck with the 4-star Bob Jones cornerback and did not pull the offer or decline to send Hill an LOI.

Mullen said that taking a player’s commitment goes beyond adding them to the football roster.

“When I sit there with parents and families and they commit to you, they’re committing that they’re trusting their son’s future in your hands,” Mullen said.

The coach’s full answer, including the news that Hill is cleared to go in fall camp, can be viewed in the video below: