Top 2016 Prospects Share Recruiting Advice for Class of 2017 Recruits

National signing day represented a day of many emotions for the lucky prospects in the 2016 class who were able to land scholarships to continue their playing careers in college. 

It’s also the last time a majority of the players will have control over their future destination in the sport.

With that control comes a cost—one that is hidden to the average teenager. 

Their journey began with hopes of flashing on the radar of top college programs around be nation.

However, once that goal was achieved, their days of being a normal teenager were over.

"

In a couple days... There are going to be a lot of football players making decisions that will change their lives forever!

— Tate Martell™ (@TheTateMartell) February 1, 2016"

While the limelight and perks associated with being a top recruit are a once-in-a-lifetime experience, their new realities also presented them with unseen challenges and pitfalls that left them with plenty of confusion and frustration.

"It's a huge mix of emotions. It can be stressful. It can be fun. It can be tiring. It can be annoying,” 5-star tight end and Georgia pledge Isaac Nauta told Bleacher Report. “But at the end of the day, you have to realize you have an opportunity that a ton of kids wish they could have."

Nauta would know better than most. After piling up 40 offers, he made an early pledge to Florida State before reopening his recruitment last summer.

He’s far from the only star recruit to have second thoughts about an early decision.

Of the nation's Top 200 overall recruits, 49 of them made at least one decommitment.

Overall Ranking	Position/Player	Initial Commit	Final School
3	OT Greg Little	Texas A&M	Ole Miss
4	QB Shea Patterson	Arizona	Ole Miss
11	OLB Mique Juarez	USC	UCLA
12	TE Isaac Nauta	Florida State	Georgia
14	WR Demetris Robertson	Alabama	TBD
16	DE Oluwole Betiku	UCLA	USC
24	DT Benito Jones	Alabama	Ole Miss
33	WR Tyrie Cleveland	Texas A&M	Florida
35	RB B.J. Emmons	Georgia	Alabama
42	WR Nate Craig-Myers	Auburn	Auburn
45	CB Chauncey Gardner	Miami	Florida

Furthermore, of the nation's Top 25 classes, more than 15 of those programs encountered at least one change to their coaching staff during the current recruiting cycle.

Add in the pressures that come with interactions with rabid fans on social media and rankings that serve as targets for fans and coaches alike, and recruiting often turns into a roller coaster. 

Except this decision—one that is certain to change the course of their lives—plays out more like a reality series on Bravo.

As many recruits in the class of 2016 reflect on their process, a lot of them have gained banks of knowledge they wish they would've been armed with when it first began.

Bleacher Report spoke with a number of 2016 stars on topics such as committing early, dealing with coaches, social media and the instant notoriety that comes with a growing offer list.

What's left is a gift to the players in the 2017 class and beyond—a guide that captures what stars in the current class wish they would have known after their first big offer landed.

Committing Early

The trend of offering prospects when they are in the ninth and 10th grade has helped lead to more recruits deciding to commit early.

Current Ole Miss early enrollee and 5-star quarterback Shea Patterson remembers getting caught up in the excitement of having a major college program show interest in him right after he got to the high school level.

“I committed to Arizona in my freshman year when I was in Hidalgo, Texas,” Patterson explained to VSporto’s Recruitniks podcast. “I always wanted to play college football, but I never knew that could actually happen. Then my coach sent out my tape, and Arizona was the first one to see it. They immediately offered me, and I just went ahead and committed.” 

Patterson said had he been able to go back and do it over again, he would’ve waited until later in the process to sort through his options. 

In his case, after he decommitted from the Wildcats, his recruitment picked up steam with more offers that began to roll in after his junior season.

After taking visits to programs such as Ole Miss, Texas A&M and USC, Patterson selected the Rebels last February.

Nauta committed to the Seminoles back in December 2014, yet he continued to take visits to other programs.

His decision to reopen his recruitment had less to do with his feelings about the ‘Noles program. Instead, it was more about learning what it was he truly wanted out of the process.

"I would tell guys to wait. You can get so excited about a certain program and feel like you need to commit, but you gain more wisdom and knowledge throughout the process,” Nauta said. “Coaches change between schools, and you can get stuck and feel lost. It's just part of the business, and you should take your time with it." 

"

My life. My choices. My mistake. My lessons. Not your business.

— Clifford Chattman Jr (@cliffchattman) February 2, 2016"

Some recruits do enter the process with a plan on what they are looking for, but their decision-making can become cloudy with visits and dealing with pitches from coaches at various schools.

David Long, a 4-star corner who was committed to Stanford before ultimately deciding on Michigan late in the process, noted the importance of sticking to that plan instead of being swayed by one good visit or a promise by a coach.

“It’s really easy to get sidetracked when you see something flashy and say, ‘that’s good for me.’ When in reality, it’s not what you originally wanted,” Long explained. “A lot of guys get stuck up in that and get caught up in a bad decision. Mainly, [the recruiting process is about] just staying true to what you told yourself you wanted to do originally.”

"

God bless anyone who says anything negative about me i hope tomorrow you wake up and you win the day say what you want still a child of god

— Tyler Byrd (@D1fuzzymuffin17) February 3, 2016"

Pitfalls of the Process

As a recruit’s offer list expands and recruits get exposed to more campuses on visits, the buzz around their name also brings increased attention.

Rankings may fluctuate, but their star rating remains an attachment to their name that carries on throughout the rest of their careers. 

The competition between coaches in recruiting is every bit as fierce as the action that takes place on the field in the fall.

All the while, rabid fans flood the social media accounts of recruits with messages imploring them to select their favorite school.

Just like rankings, the tone of messages from fans can turn in the snap of a finger.

Even though 16- and 17-year-old kids are a few years away from legally being able to consume alcohol, the mix of these elements makes for a lethal concoction that can influence a wide-eyed athlete into making rash choices without logic behind them.

Left in the balance is a teenager trying to figure out the most important decision in his life to date. 

As 4-star safety and Ole Miss pledge Deontay Anderson notes, the gravity of that choice begins to become clearer as the process wears on. 

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. It’s probably one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make because it’s not just a football decision,” Anderson said. “You have to consider the environment of a school, who you are and what you want to be. It’s a very, very, very big decision.”

With observers across the nation watching their every move, the lines often get blurred on social media between fans and recruits. 

Some fans can be harmless or enjoy playful banter with recruits, while others—as 5-star linebacker Caleb Kelly found out earlier this week—can take things too far.

Florida early enrollee and 4-star quarterback Feleipe Franks—who was initially committed to LSU—said that while dealing with negative messages is part of the territory that comes with being an elite recruit, it’s important to understand the consequences that could come with an ill-advised response.

"Just be smart with it. Only answer the questions you want to answer,” Franks said of his strategy on social media. “If you don't want something to be out there for the whole world to see, avoid it."

As with their ultimate decision, social media is something that recruits can largely control by choosing what they do and do not want to share on various platforms.

Still, other circumstances out of their control can cause issues with their recruitment. 

On the top of that list is the annual coaching carousel. The movement that typically happens in December and January—a period just weeks before national signing day—can cause the most stable recruitments to crumble. 

According to 4-star receiver and Ohio State signee Binjimen Victor, it’s something future recruits need to consider when choosing a program.

"The coaches who recruit you to a school might not be at a school the whole time you're there, so you have to prepare for that. Make the decision for yourself based more on life at the school,” Victor said.

Class Rank	School	Departing Coach	Position
1	Alabama	Kirby Smart	Defensive Coordinator
3	LSU	Kevin Steele	Defensive Coordinator
4	Ohio State	Chris Ash	Defensive Coordinator
5	Michigan	D.J. Durkin	Defensive Coordinator
7	Georgia	Mark Richt	Head Coach
9	Auburn	Will Muschamp	Defensive Coordinator
12	UCLA	Taylor Mazzone	QB Coach
13	Florida	Kirk Callahan	DB's Coach
14	Tennessee	John Jancek	Defensive Coordinator

Making the Final Decision

Even for recruits who do wait it out and use all their time without making a commitment until signing day, the process intensifies as the finish line appears.

As Long surmised, most recruits are deciding between good schools that present similar opportunities on the field and in the classroom.

"It's really hard coming toward the end because there are all these schools constantly telling you why you should come there,” Victor explained. “It's a lot of people talking to you at the same time. Don't think it's going to be an easy decision at the end."

As Patterson noted, sometimes it can make it hard to enjoy the fruits of the labor that went into earning a number of offers from big-time programs.

“Make sure that you enjoy it during your junior and senior year, but once you get that feeling in your heart and you know where you want to go, then go ahead and pull the trigger and help recruit a championship class,” Patterson said. 

Patterson was able to accomplish his goal after he made his decision to attend Ole Miss, but it wasn’t easy, as schools such as Alabama made a late run at him, as detailed by Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

Pressure comes in many forms and from many different angles during the late stages of the process.

Dealing with fans, media and coaches is expected. However, even family members and people in the inner circle of recruits can create more issues instead of helping them make the right decision.

Shavar Manuel—a 4-star defensive tackle who flipped from Florida to Florida State on signing day—cautions future recruits on listening to people who can try to influence them into a decision that may not be best for them.

“Stay focused and be humble. No matter what, don’t let anyone talk you into something you don’t want to do,” Manuel said. “Follow your heart. You will have people in [your] corner to give you advice, but at the same time, you have to do what is best for you because no one is going to go through that experience except you.”

These 2016 prospects represent a small sample of the recruits who went through ups and downs in the recruiting process.

With the coverage and attention in the recruiting industry only growing, it’s likely that the challenges will increase for the kids in the 2017 class and beyond.

While the recruiting process has its share of potential pitfalls, it’s also full of experiences that most athletes never get to have.

Between being courted on official visits and working out at prestigious camps such as The Opening, there are relationships often built with coaches and other players that last a lifetime.

Perhaps most importantly, at the end of the process is an opportunity to get a great education at a top-notch university.

As Anderson explains, finding a balance between enjoying the perks while keeping a level head can make the ups and downs of the process easier to navigate.

“Once it’s over with, you have to start over again in college. Just take it in and enjoy it. At times, it gets annoying, and at times, it gets frustrating. You have to remember to have fun with it and take your time,” Anderson said. “You are blessed to do some cool stuff too. At the end of it is a free education that you’ve earned from a great school.”

Quotes from Bleacher Report National Recruiting Analyst Tyler Donohue were used in this report.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.