Picture this.
You're a sophomore cornerback at Jacksonville, Florida, Trinity Christian Academy with a handful of scholarship offers from programs such as Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, UCLA and Virginia Tech, to name a few. Your high school suggests you make a soft verbal commitment to a program at that time, allowing you to further your relationship with the coaching staff while also keeping your options open.
Ohio State, meanwhile, has just knocked off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and is set to face Oregon for the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship. Urban Meyer is the head coach with whom you've had the most contact over the last eight months, so you pledge your services to the Buckeyes in January 2015.
But in the meantime, you've become a key component of Trinity Christian's bid for a fourth-straight state title. Programs such as Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford and USC have all begun to take notice, each offering a scholarship along the way.
If the Ohio State coaching staff doesn't have an issue with it, don't you owe it to yourself to at least see what each of those schools has to offer?
So that's exactly what five-star cornerback commit Shaun Wade has done this fall in visiting Alabama, Florida and Notre Dame all while maintaining his commitment to Ohio State.
“We want him to go to Ohio State. He wants to go to Ohio State,” Wade's father, Randy, told Eleven Warriors. “This is an opportunity to make sure. The things he's doing, he'll never be able to do again.”
“We Want Him To Go to Ohio State. He wants to go to Ohio State. This is an opportunity to make sure.”– RANDY WADE
Wade noted each school has positive attributes. For example, Alabama is close to Shaun's maternal family and is, “the hottest school in the country right now;" Florida offers early playing time and is about an hour from Jacksonville; and Notre Dame has great academics.
“[After football, Shaun] can rely back on his education and those connections,” Randy said.
Picking Virginia Tech, which will get an official visit from Wade this coming weekend, would give him the opportunity to play alongside his childhood best friend, Isaiah Ford.
“We'll sit down as a family [in late November, early December] and discuss the pros and cons of all the schools,” Randy said.
If the talented defensive back ultimately reaffirms his commitment to Ohio State as his parents expect him to do at that time, it will be the result of bonds forged in the last two years.
“Academically, [Ohio State] is excellent,” Wade's mom, Gwendolyn, said. “They've just been themselves to me.”
The staff talks more than just football, she added. They talk about their families and build a genuine relationship, which is something no other staff has done.
“They've just Been themselves to me ...They Really Show a passion for your kid.”– GWendolyn Wade
“They really show a passion for your kid,” Gwendolyn said, noting Meyer texted them on Monday morning to wish them safe travels following Shaun's official visit.
She forgot to reply upon their return to Jacksonville, and after a few hours, Meyer sent another text to make sure nothing had happened.
“That means something,” Gwendolyn said.
Shaun's parents are sold on Ohio State. Now everyone must wait and see if their son, the longest-tenured commit in the class, still is too.
