Is this the advice that parents are giving their underclassman high school kids these days? Telling them if they have a whim that they might like to go to a school that has offered, it is ok to publicly say you are committed, because you are still in the recruiting game and can change your mind willy-nilly?
The coaching fraternity/sorority is a close-knit one. Superstars can get away with lots of stuff that includes commitment hop-scotch…but then again, superstars or their parents don’t need to be posting on and reading CC for college recruitment advice.
But the average underclassman recruit who has given a commitment, and then puts him/herself in play again–absent extenuating factors such as a coach being fired or the like-- risks alienating the first coach (obviously) and putting his/her integrity in question with other coaches.
There are lots of ways to show significant interest without committing as an underclassman, especially since there can be many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip before the NLI is faxed or the Ivy/D3 admission is confirmed.
For the average underclassman recruit–the type who typically comes to CC for recruiting advice–I can see two reasons to commit. First, you want publicity/prestige/bragging rights. Second you want to to stanch (not stimulate) the recruiting process because you are totally sold on the school, completely trust the coach and/or Admissions Office, and don’t want distractions.
And if you do commit, my advice is to do it with the intention of honoring what you said, not with the intention of stirring up attention from other coaches