Again, like it or not, there is a considerable difference between 900 miles and 2500 miles. That's reality. I spent most of my 20's back and forth from south Florida to NYC, never had an issue with the travel, and still feel very much at home in both places. The one time my wife and I flew to SanFran, not only did it have a completely foreign feel, the flight time also absolutely drained me.
I don't consider it being homesick per se. And I'm sure distance wasn't the only factor, but there is a difference.
And as I said a few nights ago, this is from one of our own players(Tabor) on his flipping from Arizona to UF.
"It really came down to distance from home," said the 6-foot-1, 186-pound Tabor. "I talked with my family after I made the decision to go to Arizona. We felt that it was a better decision to play closer to home."
DC to Tucson? 2268 miles.
DC to Gville? 774 miles.
Not debatable.
As for Mullen flying out there, what choice does he have. One of his top recruits is bailing and it's at least in part because of something that rattled him. Like I said before, if he doesn't make the attempt, he'd be getting roasted for that. If he was a commit and waffling the week before NSD, and Mullen flew out to settle nerves or relieve concerns, does that automatically make those concerns valid? What is he supposed to do?
The one part I'll agree with you on is that his parents likely got in his ear. For all we know, they may have been uncomfortable with the UF thing from the beginning. Once they had a window, they may very well have used it to seal this. And that's not really a knock on them, because I might do the same. But the fact remains there are a lot more credible signs pointing to this being about much more than the Jones incident than there are that one night changed his mind on UF.