Just last week, Ryan Dickens, a New Jersey high school senior and University of Connecticut recruit, sat at his high school awards ceremony after receiving an award celebrating his athletic, academic and community accomplishments. The spirits were high. It was supposed to be a great night.

As the Dickens family continued to watch the ceremony, Dickens’ high school head coach received a call from Randy Edsall, UConn’s head football coach, informing him he was dropping Dickens’ scholarship.

The coach pleaded with Edsall to wait until the next day to tell the family. That night was supposed to be a great night. Their spirits were high. Edsall had different plans. Dickens received the call from Edsall on his way home from the ceremony informing him that he lost his scholarship just two weeks before signing day.

I could spend this entire article ripping Edsall. How can you sleep at night knowing you ended an 18-year-old’s dream just days before it was going to be reality? It’ll be tough for Dickens to find another FBS school willing to give him an offer this late in the process. But he isn’t the first coach to do it, in fact, I bet most coaches have done it at some point in their careers. The problem is the entire process as a whole.

Webster’s Dictionary defines commitment as “an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.” An obligation. In what way is a college football commitment an obligation when either side can pull out of the agreement at any time? There are kids who don’t even have their driver’s licenses that are committing to schools. How iron-clad are these commitments? Hardly.

There are two options for college football. They can completely eliminate the “commitment.” A coach can tell a player that they are almost positive there is a spot open for them, but nothing is guaranteed. Vice versa. A player can tell a coach that he is almost positive he is going to attend that school. But again this would not be guaranteed. They could also make a verbal commitment binding. Eliminate signing day. Have kids sign a binding contract when they are ready to commit. Then schools will be more selective on who they offer, and players will be more careful on their commitments.

Something needs to change. I understand this is a business, but even the most brutal businesses don’t pull out of obligations with 18-year-olds crushing their dreams and leaving them with no other options. Ryan Dickens has since received offers from Bryant University, Lafayette College, and University of Rhode Island. He’ll be playing college football, but not at the level he thought.

Dickens says he would love to play at a school that plays UConn. Well guess what? UConn squares off against Rhode Island in the season opener in 2018. Let’s go Rams.