Terms that are seen and heard in the context of recruiting. Sometimes they are overused or misused. But, at least in some cases, it's pretty clear that they can and do exist.
Might be very difficult to ever get proof in the form of definite confirmation or an admission of things like that from the principals (and of course the schools can't comment directly at all). But if Rashad Wheeler told the Pitt coaches 2 weeks ago (as reported by Chris Peak in his recruiting article on Wheeler) then he was in fact a "silent verbal" to Pitt for those 2 weeks. Rashad and Pitt and knew; the general public didn't.
Likewise, with schools putting out hundreds of "offers" for a max. of 25 openings (very often less than that) arithmetic alone shows that some of those offers won't, and can't, last forever. There are contingencies and dynamics (preferences, rankings, priorities, positional numbers, players committing elsewhere, etc.) They can also change quickly and frequently. There is also sometimes "spin", misinformation and disinformation that may be leaked. Then, there are also some offers to the most coveted recruits that will remain open all the way until NLI day arrives or the player commits, whichever comes first.
Might be very difficult to ever get proof in the form of definite confirmation or an admission of things like that from the principals (and of course the schools can't comment directly at all). But if Rashad Wheeler told the Pitt coaches 2 weeks ago (as reported by Chris Peak in his recruiting article on Wheeler) then he was in fact a "silent verbal" to Pitt for those 2 weeks. Rashad and Pitt and knew; the general public didn't.
Likewise, with schools putting out hundreds of "offers" for a max. of 25 openings (very often less than that) arithmetic alone shows that some of those offers won't, and can't, last forever. There are contingencies and dynamics (preferences, rankings, priorities, positional numbers, players committing elsewhere, etc.) They can also change quickly and frequently. There is also sometimes "spin", misinformation and disinformation that may be leaked. Then, there are also some offers to the most coveted recruits that will remain open all the way until NLI day arrives or the player commits, whichever comes first.
