Holy Spirit senior linebacker Dan Mastromatteo recently made an oral commitment to attend the University of North Carolina - again, and again, and again.
After the third time he committed to the school, Mastromatteo insists there will be no changing course.
It really wasn't his fault that he was put in such a crazy predicament.
High school seniors may sign letters of intent for football on Feb. 1, and Mastromatteo won't be able to write his name fast enough to make things official.
"It was a little tense and up and down, but I'm happy how it ended," he said.
Not long after Mastromatteo first committed, North Carolina fired coach Butch Davis on July 27 because of an ongoing NCAA investigation concerning improper benefits and academic misconduct.
Shortly after, Mastromatteo decommitted.
Yet he really liked the campus and the school, which might be a lesson for recruits - pick the school, not the coach.
The day after Davis was fired, defensive coordinator Everett Withers was named interim coach. Mastromatteo committed again.
"I just felt it was such a good place that I recommitted," Mastromatteo said.
He also didn't make his decision with blinders.
"I knew if Coach Withers didn't get the job as head coach, there would be a new staff and that would bring a lot of anticipation," Mastromatteo said.
And that is what happened.
Larry Fedora, the former head coach at Southern Mississippi, was named North Carolina's coach last month. (As an aside, Withers has become the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State under new coach Urban Meyer.)
So recently, the new North Carolina coaching staff re-recruited Mastromatteo. That meant a visit to Mastromatteo's Absecon home from assistant coach David Duggan, who also was an assistant under Fedora at Southern Mississippi.
Mastromatteo asked one simple question.
"I wanted to know if they were just doing this to honor the commitment or if they wanted me," Mastromatteo said. "He said he felt I would do well in their scheme."
That was good enough for Mastromatteo, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey selection, who would fit well in many schemes.
NCAA rules prohibit a coach from commenting on a recruit before he signs, but one has to think that North Carolina liked what it saw of Mastromatteo on tape.
