What are the negatives of cutting a player I recruited? He's going to be a Jr and I would like to even out my classes a bit, 5 Jr, 2 Sr. He's never going to play as the starter is much better than him and also a Jr and the Fr I recruited is already better than him. There's a C I want to go after that would help me down the road, but I don't have any scholarships left.
Would it be a big hit against me if I were to cut the Jr?

Thank you in advance,

You won't get any cash to help you recruit since you signed him. Also, if you are planning on applying for jobs in the next season or two, your reputation may take a hit. It is very unlikely, but possible, that another player might quit.

My suggestion is that balancing out classes is not worth rushing. If you want that, then be patient and handle it over the course of a few seasons. A senior heavy roster of high IQ players often outperforms their ratings. That said, if he's garbage and you think you have resources in hand to sign someone useful, then that may be worth the risk. I just wouldn't put any value on balancing classes in hurry.

Not a big hit. Once every few years, you may not even notice it. I've heard of other players leaving in protest when a guy you sign is cut, but it's pretty rare, and I haven't seen it myself.

From the FAQ:

"Keep in mind that rescinding a scholarship of a player who you signed for no fault of the player may make recruiting for your school more difficult in the future, as no kid will want to play at a program which isn't loyal to its players. You do not receive any additional recruiting money when you rescind a scholarship. Also, cutting a player could cause other players to leave as well."

I've never noticed the "may make recruiting for your school more difficult" effect. So for the OP, if such an effect is there, it isn't overly punitive. The only noticeable effect is to coaching reputation, which only matters if you're planning to apply for job, and if you're cutting just one of your players the effect will disappear within 2 seasons tops (you'll likely drop from an A+ to an A- coaching rep from the cut).

Thank you all

Are you all assuming reputation DOESN'T factor into recruiting?

Not much ... or at all anymore ... IMO.

Posted by noleaniml on 3/1/2017 9:27:00 PM (view original):
Are you all assuming reputation DOESN'T factor into recruiting?

Totally wasn't saying that it didn't factor into recruiting. Was simply remarking that, much like "favorite school," its effect was negligible or at the very least rendered functionally imperceivable due to its weight compared to all other actions. Maybe it takes on a greater magnitude if you drop multiple players or way back in the you-can-bribe-recruits days of the game, but for reputation hit that occurs for cutting a single player, I wouldn't even bat an eye.