When the college football head coach leaves so too does all verbal agreements by the high school player.
USA FootballTy Montgomery
That is the conventional thinking of most anyway and certainly is the fear of those left holding the proverbial verbal college list.
In the case of Team USA wide receiver/athlete
Ty Montgomery that was never even a consideration when Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh jumped down the San Francisco Peninsula from Stanford to the NFL 49ers.
As dynamic a recruiter and rising coach as Harbaugh is, nothing was going to pull the muscular 6-foot, 202-pound receiver away from Palo Alto.
"I didn't pick Stanford for the coach," he said Sunday at practice. "I picked Stanford for the school. No, nothing is changing my mind on the Cardinal. It's a great school and football program still."
To be honest. That's probably why Harbaugh recruited athletes like Montgomery, a teen well beyond his years. He was encouraged by his mother, he said, to spread his wings and see the world, even though for football players the scenery doesn't get much better than Texas.
He said he never felt the pressure to stay, not by family or friends. Montgomery rushed for 823 yards and 10 touchdowns in just five games last year as a running back for
St. Mark's (Dallas, Texas). He'll play receiver for Team USA and likely at Stanford after catching 101 passes for 1,826 yards and 26 touchdowns in his high school career.
He'll be joined by USA teammates
Kevin Hogan, a quarterback, defensive back
Wayne Lyons and receiver
Devon Cajuste at Stanford next fall. All will partake in a National Signing Day ceremony Wednesday morning about 10 hours before the team's game with The World at Westlake High School.
Another USA teammate, linebacker
Anthony Sarao, decommitted from Stanford after Harbaugh left and verbaled to Pac-10 rival USC. It was the same route another four-star standout took, running back Amir Carlisle, who Montgomery befriended during the recruiting process.
Montgomery and Carlisle had planned to room together.
"When I first heard he left, it hit me pretty hard," Montgomery said. "But when (Carlisle) called and told me all the reasons (he wants to be in actor and Southern California makes more sense), I totally understood. It doesn't mean I won't try to kick his butt when we play them."