College Football 2012: Miami Recruit Makes a Smart Choice to Re-Open Recruiting

Earlier today, we brought you the story of how Brian Kelly had landed a commitment early in the 2013 cycle from a quarterback. Great for the Irish, and now the real work starts for Kelly to keep a kid that Urban Meyer has eyes on in the boat. Now we wrap up your day with another story from the recruiting world as a high schooler does what high schoolers do—change his mind.

Levonte "Kermit" Whitfield committed to Miami last summer, and the Orlando, Fla. native is now changing his tune. Whitfield is now opening up his recruitment and wants to hear from everyone. As a rising junior, the self-described Miami fan was in the boat for the Canes and Al Golden but now, as summer approaches the kid is looking to see what other offers roll in.

Whitfield is a 3-star recruit that will most likely play defensive back or wide receiver at the next level, and his recruitment is wide open now. While the Canes remain atop his list, he hopes to hear from Florida State, where his cousin, Marvin Bracy, will be playing football.

Even with all of the decommitment jokes and the way Whitfield decided to announce the re-opening of his recruitment, the fact is he is probably making the best choice. Not just for himself, but also for all of the schools who will be involved in this process. Al Golden and his staff understand that Whitfield is on the market. Other coaches can readily and openly pursue the young man if they see fit. Lastly and most importantly, Levonte Whitfield will have a lot more information in his hands when he makes his final decision in the future.

Regardless of how you look at it, recruiting is hard. It is hard work for the coaches involved who are trying to wrangle 16 to 18-year-olds who operate on whims. It is hard on the players; the constant drain of phone calls and visits and mail doesn't leave a lot of time for normal life. Minds change. Coaches change. Throw in some Miami NCAA issues and Al Golden is going to continue to have his work cut out for him on the recruiting front. The good thing is this happened almost a year before signing day; that leaves time to look at other options, adjust their strategies and try to maximize the athletes that they can get into the boat.

Yeah, people are going to laugh at the third-person comments and the idea that he wants to see all of the offers, but Whitfield did everyone a favor this weekend. Miami's still got plenty of time in the cycle to target more players, and Whitfield will get to land at a place that he knows is right for him, after checking out the entire landscape.