Love them or abhor them, we can all agree commitment ceremonies jumped the shark a long time ago. But by this point, about every stunt a recruit can use to announce his college intentions has been done.
Until yesterday.
Todd Harris, a four-star recruit from Palequemine, La., and the No. 7 ranked safety in the Class of 2017 according to 247Composite, called a ceremony where he was to choose between LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss.
That didn't happen.
Instead, Harris committed to... Paleqeumine High School.
The stunt, understandably, didn't go over well with the reporters who made the trip -- which wasn't many, considering Palquemine gave only an hour's heads up before the "announcement" -- on a Sunday night or the fans whom were led to believe a commitment was on the way.
Harris's head coach Paul Distefano stood up and took the blame.
“Look, it was my idea,” Distefano said, via The (Baton Rouge) Advocate. “Please, I don’t want anybody taking shots at Todd, because I asked him to do it and he agreed. There’s so much going on with social media and recruiting. It can overshadow everything. Our deal was this: We want our guys to understand how fortunate they are to go to a school like Plaquemine High, where they have opportunities academically and athletically.
“Todd is very committed to Plaquemine High and always has been. Today was just a way to show that as we get focused on our season.”
That certainly was an, uh, original way to get ready for the upcoming season.
Harris, by the way, is widely expected to sign with LSU.