Here’s the video. The crowd is shocked. And I think that’s a sister next to him as well. She was shocked.
That almost tells me that it’s definitely
not an NIL issue. You don’t shock someone by picking a school who just gave you 2.5 mil, and there’s zero chance someone that close to him wouldn’t know. Also don’t think our play would have any bearing because they’ve been torched all year. Sometimes these kids just get swept up in it. It’s bizarre and we don’t get it, but it happens. Remember Tracy Howard in 2012? He was a sure Gator the whole class and took one visit to um near NSD. The canes were never in it and then he announces for them.
One thing to consider is these kids read comments and recruiting experts talk for months, if not years. I’ve often wondered when a kid is a “lock” for so long if it becomes tiresome and almost even disrespectful(perceived that way at least) that everyone says they’re definitely going ____, as if they aren’t even making a decision anymore. So many times that school loses its luster later on and land somewhere else, almost out of a weird form of spite. Doesn’t make it smart, but it could definitely be the case, especially with young people who often make bad decisions.
To circle back, the reason you probably didn’t remember Tracy Howard until I mentioned him is that he had a dismal career at miami, never reached his potential, went undrafted and had no NFL career. You know which DBs of that 2012 recruiting class did sign with us? Marcus Maye and Brian Poole. Both had better college careers(and experiences) and played or are still playing in the NFL. Because despite his being an idiot, WM knew how to coach DBs and they saw that and made a smart, not impulsive, move. My guess is McClain will regret not playing here, especially under Raymond.