I actually will bet that in a few years college coaches will be burnt by this enough to start catching on. Just because you look great as a 9th grader (only because you are older) doesn't mean you will look that much better once the other kids mature. I would be VERY NERVOUS is my kid was older and looked like a stud. You don't know if they are truly a stud, or do they just look that way because they are older. I don't know about you, but my son actually wants to PLAY in college, so having a "verbal" as a ninth grader means nothing if the kid ends up getting beaten out and then is never able to actually get onto the field when he actually gets to college. BUT, I do think there at quite a few people that are only worried about getting a verbal so they can brag that their kid is "doing to play at ____". Seems a little backwards to me...