5-Star LB Matthew Thomas' Mother Refused to Sign Letter of Intent to Attend USC

Five-star linebacker Matthew Thomas recently told Josh Newberg of 247Sports that he would have landed at USC if his mother had agreed to sign his letter of intent.

Instead, his mother refused to sign the letter of intent and he ended up going with Florida State.

The beginning of the interview told all:

"

Josh Newberg: At what point did you know you were going to sign with Florida State? 

Matthew Thomas: Well I decided that morning (Signing Day). The night before I was honestly thinking USC. I was trying to get the LOI and everything ready and signed first. But my mom didn't want to sign it. She didn't want me to go to USC.

"

All I can say is, "Wow."

Four-star running back Alex Collins found himself in the same situation on national signing day, only to spurn his mother's wishes and enlist his father to sign the letter of intent at Arkansas. Collins' mother wanted him to join the local Miami Hurricanes.

It turns out USC did nothing wrong when pursuing Thomas. The Trojans appear to have been bamboozled by a controlling mother. It adds to what was a relatively disappointing recruiting season for the program.

While the Trojans still ended up signing four 5-star recruits and eight 4-star recruits (per 247Sports.com), several top recruits—including Thomas—decommitted from the school before signing elsewhere.

It's yet another notch in the proverbial belt of recruiting season, which almost always comes with its fair share of surprises and controversy. 

And, as I wrote about Collins, it's yet another example of how bad the recruiting process has gotten. Young kids are being pressured into decisions from all angles without being given the opportunity to sit back and decide for themselves. In one of the most important decisions in their young lives, and they are being tugged back and forth, only adding to the confusion that accompanies recruiting season.

Thomas didn't appear too upset with the outcome. He told Newberg that he's "going to make the best of my situation" and "everything works out how it's supposed to."

It shows a lot of maturity on Thomas' part. You can only hope that it works out the best for him.