7 Recruits Who May Have Already Chosen the Wrong School

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) There are lots of recruits who just aren't prepared to make a life-altering decision at the age of 17.

There is so much pressure on today's top recruits to make a decision that could affect not only their next four to five years, but on their chances of moving on to the next level with the most money, if they move on to the NFL at all.

Taking the Rivals top recruit list and those who have already committed, let's take a look at those who may have chosen the wrong school and why that may be the case.

While many on this list may not be worried about their decision yet, they soon may be.

John Theus Commits to Georgia

The No. 7 overall recruit is John Theus, a hulking 6'6'', 300-pound offensive tackle from Jacksonville, Fla., and he committed to Georgia.

Maybe he inked because his brother was there as a long snapper. Maybe that family wanted to party together on Saturdays, but whatever the reason, Theus isn't going to enhance his pro prospects by being part of an iffy line.

Not to mention that Mark Richt may not even be his coach when he reaches campus. Another terrible season like last year's campaign would more than likely be the last one for Richt.

That in turn, would shake up the entire staff and everybody he thought he liked in terms of staff would be gone.

Theus could have gone almost anywhere and perhaps should have gone anywhere else than Georgia.

Johnathan Gray. a Top Running Back, Commits to Texas

If you want to suck as a running back, go to Texas. It's not an opinion, it's a verified statistical fact. Texas offensive linemen are simply offensive. But Johnathon Gray made that decision.

And with Malcolm Brown there, you're not going to get that many attempts.

There were so many other places where Gray could have gone, like Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and USC. Those were the other schools he was considering.

Gray is a real talent, but one that could easily be wasted at Texas.

Gunner Kiel, Quarterback, Indiana

Gunner Kiel seemed more like a boy trying to avoid homesickness than a future NFL prodigy hoping to go the NFL one day.

All he will do by going to Indiana is sit his brother on the bench by taking his job away from him and maybe, just maybe in one year out the four he'll be there, pray he can make the worst bowl on the schedule.

And that may be a pipe dream too.

At Indiana, he won't get television time, he won't get bowl games and there won't ever be Heisman talk.

But at least he'll be near his mom, dad and brother.

Travis Blanks, Defensive Back, Commits to Clemson

Travis Blanks is someone a lot of schools wanted. Dabo Swinney is one of my favorite coaches, but will he be there for the years that Blanks is going to be there?

Not only that, but Blanks had to kind of skill to land on an "On TV every Saturday" kind of team and let's face it, that's not Clemson.

You pick a school for the school, not the coach or the staff. They do come and go more often than not.

Blanks could have stayed in town and gone to FSU and been a local hero, as well as being on TV more often with more chances for a conference title and better bowl games.

Of course, Dabo could stay and build a great program, but it's more a long shot than FSU or others.

Kennedy Estelle, Offensive Lineman, Texas

One of the best offensive linemen in the country, Estelle could have gone somewhere and been on a great offensive line. His 6'7'', 300-pound frame makes him the perfect left tackle, but chances are that he won't get the notoriety at Texas.

Why?

Texas has a multi-year problem on the offense line and things don't look to get better really soon.

While Estelle is certainly a great building block to grow on, there isn't enough to go with him. He may go down to his senior year as a lineman whose team couldn't pound the rock and thus lower his NFL draft status.

Texas has a lot of great things about the program, but flooding the NFL with offensive linemen isn't one of them, at least, not lately.

Zach Kline, Quarterback, University of California

Zach Kline has been a Cal fan since he was four years old and always dreamed of playing for Cal. He's developed a good relation with Cal coach Jeff Tedford.

But the problem is this, four losses in 2008, five losses in 2009 and seven losses in 2010. If this trend continues, Tedford won't be there when he finally make it to campus and Cal won't be a school worth playing at for several years.

As the second-best quarterback as rated by Rivals in the pro system quarterbacks, he could have gone to a myriad of schools, but let it be known early in his junior year that they'd be wasting their time recruiting him. He was sold only on Cal.

Had he gone to a "hotter" program with a better supporting cast, he could really have increased his stock and exposure. He'll be just another quarterback at Cal.

Kendall Sanders, Athlete, Oklahoma State

The No. 4 athlete in rivals ranking is Kendall Sanders, from Athens, Texas. This season the talented football player will play quarterback, receiver, cornerback and running back. And that's when he's not returning punts or kickoffs.

Who knows, maybe he'll also compose the songs the band plays at halftime.

Now while he won't play quarterback in college, he could do almost anything else, but they'll play him at corner back in the Cowboys defense.

Oklahoma State plays offense and wins games in track meets with other schools. If they win, it's because they simply outscored the other team.

It's not because their defense held up a big lead and squashed another defense.

When you could be the only good defensive player, especially a corner, you don't really noticed because the opposing teams simply play away from you.

This is a good place for Sanders to simply disappear.

And That's It!

Larry Burton is a Syndicated Writer whose work appears on the Internet and in print. If you'd like to keep up with all his articles, follow him on Twitter and sign up as a fan on his Bio Page.

Please feel free to sign up on Bleacher Report for free and comment below on any teams you think I've omitted as one of the seven most important wins over the last seven years, or simply comment on your own thoughts.

Thank you for reading and supporting Bleacher Report, your best stop for all your sporting interests.