Stephon Tuitt Is A Wishy-Washy Flip Flopper

by Winfield Featherston on Jan 20, 2011 8:18 AM EST in Georgia Tech Football

With approximately two weeks until National Signing Day, Stephon Tuitt, the nationally ranked 22nd best defensive end in the country, de-comitted from Notre Dame and decided to sign on with Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech.

What are you saying about Tuitt? Still GT, right? RT @JNewbergESPN: Musical chairs at ND. Now Tuitt is back in.less than a minute ago via yoonoRSCarson
GTBlogScott

Last night suddenly, it was reported tha Tuitt pulled yet another switch, dropped Georgia Tech, and joined back up with Notre Dame.Multiple sources have reported the story ranging from South Bend beat writers to the ESPN recruiting blogger.

"I feel like I got some things off my chest," Tuitt told Irish Sports Daily. "Some things about the college and some of the little things and big things. They answered all my questions. I finally have some closure. I'm 100 percent."

Stephon Tuitt is not the first to de-commit / lose a scholarship and he surely won't be the last. Two names come to mind in Donte Aycock and Cedric Everson. Neither turned out to be worth much discussion. Auburn dismissed Aycock and Cedric Everson couldn't seem to stay in one school for more than a year before going elsewhere, landing at ~~Iowa State~~ Iowa and finishing his potential with legal trouble. Clearly in both instances, Georgia Tech ended up on the right side of the line.

"He is done with recruiting," Tamara Tuitt said Wed night.The DE from Monroe, Ga., is ranked as the No. 22 player nationally by Rivals.com.less than a minute ago via webEric Hansen
hansensouthbend

This Stephon Tuitt drama is an annoyance because recruiting drama is manufactured drama. It's too much. With or without him we will max out our recruiting class and be successful. However, at this rate will anyone be surprised if he waffles again?

Wes Durham said it best once:

"Tell me when they [recruits] get on the field[for the Jackets] [first and then I'll worry about them."

As a final note...at least Vad Lee gets it.

Yup I heard its true about Tuitt..... Parents shouldn't make their child decision! Thankful for the parents that I have!less than a minute ago via txtVad Lee
VadLee02

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oh boy . . .

as the world turns on another recruiting soap box drama the questions remain. Can little Stephon ever find happiness in the grown up world of college football? Will he finally settle down and learn to love the gifts he’s been given? Will he and his mother develop a love for each other that is mature and non-abusive? Can Tuitt find what he is looking for in a cold snow bank in Indiana? Will the disciplined orthodoxy of Catholicism become his new surrogate mother? Will the world even care in two years?

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 9:21 AM EST reply actions

I read that in the voice of the guy who does movie trailer voiceovers

Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John HeismanFromTheRumbleSeat

by Winfield Featherston on Jan 20, 2011 9:42 AM EST up reply actions

in a world where . . .

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 10:03 AM EST up reply actions

followed by loud percussion sounds and rapid cuts from scene to scene.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 10:04 AM EST up reply actions

oh the drama

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 10:05 AM EST up reply actions

That's funny!

It also reminded me of the 1960’s Batman TV show with Adam West.

by Dive Keep and Pitch on Jan 20, 2011 10:13 AM EST up reply actions

More seriously,

does this mean that Tuitt can forget about playing for Tech, or at least having a Tech football scholarship?

by Dive Keep and Pitch on Jan 20, 2011 10:14 AM EST reply actions

If I were a betting man, it would be a total "YES"

Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John HeismanFromTheRumbleSeat

by Winfield Featherston on Jan 20, 2011 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

I'm not sure what he sees

Notre Dame is signing somewhere around 7 DE’s this season. Does he honestly expect to see significant playing time there? He’d probably be the best option for GT this year. There’s got to be something else in play here. Maybe his mom doesn’t want him around anymore.

by acedarney on Jan 20, 2011 10:18 AM EST reply actions

Quick thought from the ND side of things

I know there is a lot of DE recruits flowing in, but some might be playing on the other side of the ball, and some are movine to OLB such as Ishaq Williams. Most likely, Tuitt will sit out a year because in my mind there is no way he replaces Ethan Johnson or Kapron Lewis-Moore, where he would have had an immediate impact in GT.

In a world where everything works out, our front 3 would look like

Tuitt-Nix-Lynch

But if that doesnt happen, he might dissappear behind future recruits.

Best of luck to GT this upcoming season!

Tremendously Tremendous!
Jonathan Toews will eat your baby if it means two points.

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today.
-Lou Holtz

by Mr. CheeseHead on Jan 20, 2011 4:24 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the info

I didn’t know ND ran a 3-4. I guess that makes sense then, because most of the position listings on Rivals/Scout/etc. are based on a 4-3 or similar defense. They aren’t too accurate on the tweeners.

by acedarney on Jan 21, 2011 11:18 AM EST up reply actions

More reason to loathe ND

Man I wish we had a home & home again with ND in 2012 & 2013. DRAD – make it happen!

by terickson on Jan 20, 2011 10:33 AM EST reply actions

Grown men hanging on the minute

by minute vacillations of 17 year old prima donnas.

Must be late January before signing day…

by DressHerInWhiteAndGold on Jan 20, 2011 12:18 PM EST via mobile reply actions

he'll live

I’m glad I didn’t have to make my collegiate decision in front of the peering eyes of 10,000,000,000 CFB fans.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 2:33 PM EST reply actions

Are there really that many fans watching him?

O.K., seriously, who made the decision for you when you were trying to decide where to go to school?

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 3:03 PM EST up reply actions

And might I add, you are always the gentleman. :-)

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 3:03 PM EST up reply actions

I actually chose Tech over ND

and it was because of the Benjamins…

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 3:34 PM EST up reply actions

FYI

I had zero direction coming out of high school. Tech was cheap and good and I was offered scholarships. Notre Dame was expensive, good, far away, and cold. So the decision was moreso dumb luck. I ended up liking the ATL lifestyle and GT sports.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 3:39 PM EST up reply actions

I knew you were a made man

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 8:47 PM EST up reply actions

I had no help either. I actually started going to those programs where representatives of different colleges show up and try to sell you on going to school there. It came down to who would have me.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 8:49 PM EST up reply actions

I'm already starting to be a big Vad Lee fan

At this point I don’t really want Tuitt if he wants to come back. I understand how hard of a choice this is, but if he changed his mind again I would think that raises a pretty big red flag.

by shakenbake11 on Jan 20, 2011 3:15 PM EST reply actions

I like Vad Lee too

I want to see a ton of signs that say “Vad the Impaler” when he gets to Tech.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 3:35 PM EST up reply actions

Lets not put too much on Vad

He’s also a 17 year old kid, and doesn’t need this pressure on him…especially if he doesn’t turn into the savior of the program. We can’t expect a national championship from this kid and consider it a failure if he doesn’t make it.

I agree with Ricky Bobby up there though…we probably don’t want Tuitt (or his talkative mother who just wants him to make millions in the NFL).

by acedarney on Jan 20, 2011 3:40 PM EST up reply actions

well

I think this was starting to smell like a Cam Newton-esque situation based on the ND boards.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

How many people thought that

when they heard Brian Kelly made an emergency run to GA. True or not, it’s a sign of the times we live in.

Better to have died a small boy than to drop this football - John HeismanFromTheRumbleSeat

by Winfield Featherston on Jan 20, 2011 4:48 PM EST up reply actions

All I need to know about recruits - GT vs. ND

Against GT in 2007, Notre Dame had four Rivals 5 star recruits on the field. Jimmy Clausen aka Tenuta’s punching bag. Konrad Reuland transferred a few games after GT whooped the Irish. James Aldridge was a career backup running back. Sam Young actually worked out and was drafted by the Cowboys last year. So out of 4 5 Star recruits, only 1 really panned out.

I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.

by BirdGT on Jan 20, 2011 4:40 PM EST reply actions

Yep that pretty much sums up the career of Weis

High promise-low results

Tremendously Tremendous!
Jonathan Toews will eat your baby if it means two points.

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today.
-Lou Holtz

by Mr. CheeseHead on Jan 20, 2011 4:51 PM EST up reply actions

There is the charitable interpretation and the uncharitable interprestation

Charitable: He is a big soft-hearted kid who doesn’t like to disappoint people so he inadvertently led people on because he doesn’t like to say no to people.

Uncharitable: He and his mother are going to need lots of baby sitting and attention and you probably don’t want them in your program.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 20, 2011 8:55 PM EST reply actions

I have a feeling

that it’s somewhere in between. His mother is obviously highly involved in his decision-making, which can be good as long as it’s not obnoxious and she’s not just telling him what to do all the time. Also, he was probably intimidated and impressed during the recruiting process (when everyone is promising him the world), and didn’t want to say no to those people.

There’s a difference, however, in not being able to say “no” on the spot, and going home and thinking about it for a while before saying “no.” He still waited until after he left his visit to make the decision to switch to Tech. I’ll just wait to see how it pans out and make my decision then. Maybe it won’t pan out and I’ll never think about the kid again after a couple years (like the other two players mentioned in the original post: Aycock and Everson).

by acedarney on Jan 21, 2011 11:16 AM EST up reply actions

Shame on You

Did you really just trash a 17 year old kid you don’t even know simply because he chose to go to a different school?

Do you know he is still considering GT? Your post won’t help any.

by gtstigall on Jan 21, 2011 12:43 PM EST reply actions

Perhaps we deserve the shame

but CPJ has a clear policy which he tells all recruits and Tuitt, having violated that policy, can no longer attend Tech on scholarship even if he wanted to.

by Atlanta's original team on Jan 21, 2011 2:56 PM EST up reply actions

Newsflash

Tuitt wants to come to Tech. He has a difficult situation and this blog is currently being used in negative recruiting against GT.

by gtstigall on Jan 26, 2011 11:06 PM EST up reply actions

I really hope Stephon doesn't read this stuff...

He sounds like a good kid making a tough decision being pushed around a little by lots of adults. I’d still love to see him as a Jacket if he flips again. I won’t hold my breath though. Our class is great without him and wish him the best where ever he ends up. (fingers quietly crossed)

by Rob_The_Slender on Jan 21, 2011 8:56 PM EST via mobile reply actions