Jadeveon Clowney: 10 Reasons the Top Recruit Is Waiting to Sign

Jadevon Clowney: Where will he sign?

The nation's top recruit has chosen to sign on his birthday, February 14, rather than announcing which school he will be playing for on February 2, National Signing Day 2011.

Analysts have narrowed the schools down to Clemson, Alabama and South Carolina, though we will know for sure on Valentine's Day!

Can't Change the Past

Jadeveon Clowney, at this point, probably knows better than the rest of us that you can't change the past. 

If he were to rush out and choose a team without sufficient consideration, he may be left always wondering what could have been if he had have chosen a better team, or if another school would be a better fit.

This "morning-after" regret is actually quite common at college, though it is rarely the star football player who goes through it. 

Your Future Team Is Worth Waiting for

Jadevon Clowney has the power to take his time to decide, and if he feels that waiting is right, then any school that is worthy of his talents will respect that.

Your Future Team Will Thank You

If a team would be thankful to receive the nation's No. 1 recruit today, imagine how appreciative they will be if Clowney makes the decision in two weeks!

It may seem like Clowney is just dragging it on, in a style reminiscent of LeBron James throughout the summer of 2010, but I'm sure LBJ is a much bigger fool than Clowney. In fact, the defensive end from South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, S.C. is actually building tension toward his "Decision."

The school where he finally ends up may, literally, have the coaching staff jumping in the corridors. 

Helps Build Desire

If Clowney conceals his desire, coaches and administrators will only want him more. 

That's right—Clowney is playing hard-to-get, and the game ends on Valentine's Day.

Sure, some may argue that Clowney might be raising expectations a bit too much by waiting, but the No. 1 recruit has never been a bust, right?

Right?

It's His Birthday

There is a simple explanation for all this waiting—Clowney is a man who wants his cake, and he wants to eat it, too.

By combining his birthday with the decision, he is certain to have the greatest B-day celebration ever. Whichever school he chooses will erupt into chaos, simply because he's revealed his intention to attend.

It seems like a waste to have two separate celebrations, particularly in these hard economic times.

Will Provide a Deeper Connection

As any abstinence lecturer in high school will tell you: "Waiting will provide a deeper connection."

This could possibly be one of the reasons Clowney wants to wait. He may think that waiting will indeed strengthen the bond between him and his chosen team. They will want him so badly, that when they finally get him, they will treat him right.

Try and remember, despite being an elite athlete, Clowney is still just a high-school kid.

Front and Center

Clowney is currently the No. 1 prospect in the nation, so why should he have to share his spotlight with all these other prospects?

For the next two weeks, Clowney's face will be front and center on most sports Web sites, which will help build a huge national profile for him before he has even played one college game. Subsequently, he'll bring more national attention on the school he chooses.

Rather than being lumped in with all the other signings, Clowney will have every story, every tweet and every status update all to himself. Sounds pretty tempting.

Resisting Pressure

One of the signs of a great man is his ability to resist pressure.

Ghandi resisted pressure, and has gone down in history as an icon.

Now, Jadeveon Clowney will join him.

Sure, they may have been resisting very different kinds of pressure in extremely different ways, but you've got to admit, being your own man is a pretty good trait.

It could be argued that Clowney is in fact showing that he will not do anything on anyone else's terms. He could become a great leader in the sport, or he could become a coach's worst nightmare.

Only time will tell. 

He Is Too Scared to Commit

Try and remember that Clowney is just a kid—it is likely that the biggest decision he has ever had to make is which classes to take in his senior year.

Now, he is facing a question greater than most people will ever face, and under intense national scrutiny. At this point, it all probably seems quite surreal, and it would be ridiculously difficult for him to actually maintain perspective.

Clowney is no fool, though, so he probably realises that schools are presenting their best faces, and the reality of college life may be different than what he has seen.

He Hasn't Decided Yet

Maybe it's true. Maybe he is not some ego-maniac. Maybe he is not too scared to commit.

Maybe he actually has yet to decide.

That would be pretty unlikely, though. Instead, it's probable that he is waiting for a variety of reasons, some of which may have been discussed here.

It is difficult to believe that, after all of the (figurative) wining and dining that has been done on Clowney's' behalf, he is genuinely unsure of where he will go.