Finley Earner | CCHS #74 | co28 | OL

Junior Film Highlights. Includes OL film from:
- Week 5: vs. Metheun High School
- Week 4: @ Xaverian Brothers
- Week 3: @ Bishop Hendrickson
- Week 2: vs. St. John’s Prep
- Week 1: vs. Boston College HS
- Preseason: @ Catholic Memorial

November 15 is coming up and it is the biggest day in HS football - it's the day that the offers get put on paper. Everything before this was just words and verbal promises.

Have you heard it call it signing your national letter of intent? I have too, but we don't sign those as student athletes anymore (since 2024).

The letter of intent used to lock the athlete in and penalize the athlete if they changed their minds. Now on November 15, we sign an aid agreement, which locks in the money at the school.

Basically, we used to commit to the school, now the tables are turned a little and the school pretty much commits to us. It's a small but important difference...

So what is the actual difference?

Letter of intent (NLI): Signing bound the athlete to the school for one academic year. If they backed out or left, they usually lost a year of eligibility unless the school released them. That held even when the coach who recruited them left! (Think Coach Urban Meyer telling Josh Heuerman "you aren't my recruit" when he got to Ohio State after he passed on him while coaching in Florida - brutal!).

Athletics aid agreement: The school signs a written promise of athletics aid, such as a scholarship. Once a recruit signs it, other schools have to stop recruiting them, but there's no eligibility penalty attached like there was with the NLI if the recruit changes their mind. ^ In the Urban Meyer story the recruit could literally pack up and pivot before the school deadlines.

Why did he NCAA change it?
They voted to end the National Letter of Intent in October 2024. It was because free transfers through the transfer portal had made the NLI's penalty mostly pointless, because an athlete could commit, enroll, and then immediately transfer anyway. Dropping it also cut paperwork and ended the situation where a recruit was stuck after a coaching change.

What it mostly means for college recruits today:

✓ More leverage and less risk when committing

✓ Signing dates still matter, because they're when written aid offers become official

✓ A signed agreement is a statement of commitment rather than a contract binding the player, so flips can still happen

Thanks to Cornell @BigRed_Football for having me on campus. It was great to hear from and meet Coach @DanSwanstrom, got to connect with @coach_dees, missed catching up with Coach @Sean_Reeder, but met @brendanjjlee (Cornell #80) who is from DC, but has cousins that attend CCHS. Also my teammate @drewokeefe7 got a random shoutout by someone walking by me on the field who recognized the @CCRaider_FBall logo. Long trip, but great day. Thanks for having me in Ithaca. #YellCornell #GoBigRed

Big tournament win last night and now I’m excited to head up to Cornell @BigRed_Football to meet Coach @DanSwanstrom, @coach_dees (< awesome Coach BTW), Coach @Sean_Reeder, and Coach @M_E_Miller in person. #YellCornell #GoBigRed

Thanks @PRZNewEngland for the live scouting evaluation from our solid win in the state tournament tonight. The sets will get tighter over the next week. We will all be ready!