[Papa John]

Lots of reasons why Ramsey, or anyone else, would choose UCLA over Stanford:
* Better fit re: football program (coaches, future teammates, NFL potential, etc.)
* Childhood favorite team
* Easier for family members and friends to attend games
* Significant other attending UCLA, or a college in LA
* Undergraduate major degree program--I had a freshman dormmate at Stanford who transferred to UCLA because she realized that she wanted to major in theater and realized that UCLA had a better program
* Better fit re: student life/atmosphere--a lot of young people are attracted to Westwood

And yes, although it wasn't a surprise that Ramsey went to the Bruins, it still stings for those of us who believe that this class needs to be the watershed class that turns Stanford's football fortunes around. I suppose Tennyson would say "'Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all."

Yeah, but you still wonder why he chose Stanford first and then changed his mind. He knew about all those UCLA pluses when he committed to Stanford.

Good question, of course, but this isn't the first time we've lost a commit to UCLA. Brandon Stephens, now with the Baltimore Ravens, and Josh Moore are the most recent, although I don't know what their admissions statuses were when they decommitted.

Maybe Ramsey was pressured into committing by a well-meaning adult when he was admitted to Stanford? His mind said Stanford, but his heart said UCLA, and in the end he went with his heart? My son is a freshman in high school, so he's just starting to think about colleges, and he's been talking with older siblings of friends who are waiting to hear from the universities to which they have applied. The my-parents-want-me-to-go-to-school-X-but-I-really-like-school-Y theme is still around.

[Papa John]

Lots of reasons why Ramsey, or anyone else, would choose UCLA over Stanford:
* Better fit re: football program (coaches, future teammates, NFL potential, etc.)
* Childhood favorite team
* Easier for family members and friends to attend games
* Significant other attending UCLA, or a college in LA
* Undergraduate major degree program--I had a freshman dormmate at Stanford who transferred to UCLA because she realized that she wanted to major in theater and realized that UCLA had a better program
* Better fit re: student life/atmosphere--a lot of young people are attracted to Westwood

And yes, although it wasn't a surprise that Ramsey went to the Bruins, it still stings for those of us who believe that this class needs to be the watershed class that turns Stanford's football fortunes around. I suppose Tennyson would say "'Tis better to have recruited and lost than never to have recruited at all."

Yeah, but you still wonder why he chose Stanford first and then changed his mind. He knew about all those UCLA pluses when he committed to Stanford.

Good question, of course, but this isn't the first time we've lost a commit to UCLA. Brandon Stephens, now with the Baltimore Ravens, and Josh Moore are the most recent, although I don't know what their admissions statuses were when they decommitted.

Maybe Ramsey was pressured into committing by a well-meaning adult when he was admitted to Stanford? His mind said Stanford, but his heart said UCLA, and in the end he went with his heart? My son is a freshman in high school, so he's just starting to think about colleges, and he's been talking with older siblings of friends who are waiting to hear from the universities to which they have applied. The my-parents-want-me-to-go-to-school-X-but-I-really-like-school-Y theme is still around.