Boston College Recruiting: DB Tre Tarpley Decommits; Heads to Vanderbilt

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Boston College football fans received a Sunday morning surprise with the news that one of their most recent football commitments backed out just days before National Signing Day.

That young man was Tre Tarpley, who joined the Eagles’ recruiting class just last week on January 26. It is reported that he will instead be SEC-bound to play for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Boston College’s current 2014 signing class stands at 26.

This does hurt the Eagles in the secondary slightly, but Tarpley only just got here, so the decommitment does not sting very much. Furthermore, he was not one of Boston College’s top recruits — most of them are already enrolled — so the loss is sustainable. It does also open up a spot for a last-minute newcomer, such as Nat Dixon.

It is somewhat surprising to see a player commit so late in the game and then change his mind, but keep in mind that these are mostly 17-year olds. They are young men making very adult, public decisions about their future and sometimes, those decisions are not made with firmness. At this point, it does not matter why Tarpley left; we are left only to suggest (with no inside knowledge) that his commitment level was probably not very strong in the first place. This sort of thing happens throughout the process and Boston College fans can still move on confidently with the class we have.

Regardless, we do wish Tarpley well in his future.