USC Football Recruiting: Shaq Thompson Foolishly Lets Twitter Influence Decision

Shaq Thompson is viewed as the No. 1 safety recruit in class of 2012, but his recent verbal battles on Twitter caused him to drop the USC Trojans from his list, which is extremely childish. 

As reported by Adam Gorney of Rivals.com, Thompson said on Monday that his final three schools were narrowed down to USC, Cal and Washington. 

After posting the news on his Twitter account, Thompson received backlash from his followers, saying that the Trojans were not a good school for him, which prompted him to drop USC from his list. 

Thompson told Gorney that he is just being real. 

"

That's how it's going to be. I'm the type of person I'm going to keep it real. I was feeling SC but I'm not liking SC any more. People aren't going to take me seriously so why go there? I'm just being real. I was serious. It's whatever.

"

Choosing where to play college ball is a huge decision for these elite high school athletes. Not only do they need to think about football, but academics should be on their minds as well. 

There a plenty of factors in deciding which school to play for, but Thompson is letting others speak for him. 

To top it all off, he replaced USC with Notre Dame in this top three, which is a sign that he's just toying with us all. 

In such a short window, Thompson stated USC was the leading candidate, and now he isn't considering them at all over "tweefs," also known as Twitter beefs, which is constant back-and-forth banter with people that follow you.  

If Thompson were wise, he wouldn't be going to Twitter to get thoughts on where he should play. It's his decision, and he needs to be the one making it. 

He is expected to announce his decision this Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but even then, people should take it with a grain of salt. After all, the 5-star safety was committed to the California Golden Bears, only to later de-commit.

With National Signing Day just under a month away, Thompson has plenty of time to truly decide where he'll play college ball this fall.

Don't be surprised at all if he changes his mind once again. Thompson will make his choice after the game for all the public to see, which should lead several people hitting him up on Twitter to give their opinions.

He listened to them once already, so chances are he takes to heart what they have to say again.

Whatever school ends up with Thompson, they will be thrilled to land such a talented player. Listed at 6'2", 210 pounds, Thompson has the tools to be a great college player. However, he needs to learn to handle social media better.

I'm sure whoever his coach ends up being will sit him down to help educate him on Twitter.  Well, maybe not by the old coach, but Thompson will be instructed by someone on the proper ways to deal with fans on these social media sites. 

USC could have been an excellent destination for him, but he made a dumb move by listening to random people on Twitter. Thompson himself has visited the school, which makes matters worse that he's letting his followers decide his life for him. 

We'll soon know what school Thompson chooses, but don't think for a second it's truly his final decision. Anything can change in this day and age of college football recruiting. 

Hopefully, Thompson won't be taking to heart anymore what random people on Twitter have to say about his life.