D.J. Russell, who just started his freshman year at Arlington Country Day High School in Florida, committed to the University of Miami on a basketball scholarship last July. Freshman pitcher Alexis Holloway of Crown Point High School in Indiana has verbally committed to Notre Dame on a softball scholarship. Dylan Moses, a freshman out of University Lab in Baton Rouge, La., recently committed to LSU on a football scholarship.

Underclassmen across the nation are committing to colleges early, and truthfully, it’s the best thing that they can do.

Some could argue that by committing to a college or even considering colleges can affect a player’s ability in that sport due to added pressure to improve or repeat their previous performances. But depending on the player, pressure may not play a role in their high school performance. As with current junior quarterback Kyler Murray, who has been offered scholarships by colleges including Texas, Clemson and Ohio State, sought-after players can still continue to be successful after being offered scholarships. Yes, the pressure for Murray to repeat his sophomore performance is there, but such pressure seems to motivate him to keep getting better.

By committing to a school, students can better learn the tendencies and coaching staff of that respective program. Although they cannot officially meet a college’s coaching staff as a freshman, they can learn about the staff and the players that they may play with later.

And the best part of a verbal commitment to a university by any high school athlete is the allowance of a decommission. Any student who has been mentioned above can decommit from the college that they chose because a verbal commit is non-binding. Until signing day in their senior year, high school athletes can commit and decommit as often as they feel necessary. Verbally committing as a freshman is no different than committing as a sophomore, junior or senior. It allows a student to be able to relax on thinking about college and go out and play the way they know how.

If a student trusts their athletic ability and deserves an athletic scholarship, it doesn’t matter how old they are.

story by Collin Thompson // online sports editor