I would say the key phrase is "a man's word should mean something."
we are not talking about a man. we are talking about a 17-year-old kid. Remember being a kid - hormones - uncertainty - not knowing what was going on on a daily basis? Is it that hard to understand that a kid - facing probably the most important decision he's made in his young life - might have second thoughts?
Verbal commitments - in a legal sense - mean nothing. once the recruit signs a letter of intent, that means something. there's no LOI involved here - just a kid who changed his mind. If a top Iowa Recruit de-committed from IA and flipped to MN, would you say the Gophers don't want him because he didn't honor a commitment? I think not. 17 is not 21. Not a legal adult. Held to a different standard.
You are to logical S.O.N....