Robert Foster: The day after; collection of links

I get it - we've had a lot of Robert Foster coverage lately. In addition to all the posts we've had earlier this year, we had an early look at the decision, then coverage immediately after the decision, and then a bit of analysis in the past two days.

But when one of the best recruits in the nation goes all heel on the local football team, it's kind of a big deal. So today, we've got a bit of link coverage in the aftermath of Foster declaring he'll head to Alabama.

First, if you've not yet seen the announcement, here it is. Yesterday, Foster spoke of his love for Alabama:

"I love Alabama. They make me feel comfortable," Foster said Tuesday. "Coach [Nick] Saban, we sat and ate breakfast at his house, and we spoke about what I have to do to be a better man."

SB Nation's Bud Elliott also throws out a good point in that he may have been encouraged by the success of another Crimson Tide freshman receiver, Amari Cooper, who put up big numbers this season. And another motivating factor seems to be Foster wanting to prove that Pennsylvania has athletes that can travel elsewhere (huh?).

The intriguing thing in all of this is that it didn't always appear he was headed south Chris Peak mentioned that Foster was actually planning to tell his family he was Pitt-bound before changing his mind not all that long ago before making his decision. And speaking of family, it sounds like his mother wanted him to stay local.

So where do we go from here? It's clear Pitt isn't giving up on him (nor should they). This appears to be a fairly soft verbal and if you're looking for someone on the inside to back that up, look no further than his current coach:

“This is a verbal,” said Central Valley coach Mark Lyons, who said Foster “probably” changed his mind multiple times Friday morning. “That‘s why I don‘t know if this is always the best thing to do it this early. But for him, it was the right thing to do.

“I‘m never going to say anything is over, but right now, he is comfortable with this.”

Yeah, I'm not all that convinced, either. Sure, Pitt has gone from the frontrunner to a bit of an underdog, but it doesn't sound like this is a done deal. The best thing the Panthers' coaches can probably do is keep a close eye on him and hope some of the current players can get him to reconsider.

All of that said, we might not be dealing with the whims of a teenager. He spoke of the rumors about Nick Saban possibly jumping ship and said that won't change his mind:

Foster was actually asked at the press conference about the rumors of Saban to the NFL.

"That doesn't bother me at all," he said. "I mean, I'm going to college for a reason. I'm going to get an education and hopefully chase my dreams. So if he decides to leave, I'm still going to have to do my job and get my education and do my classwork and do what I have to do."

Foster was asked if he would change his mind if Saban left - "No, it wouldn't."

Foster also asked for some divine help and seems like he's pretty committed:

“I made up my mind this morning. I got on my knees and asked God to give me the answer. This morning he told me the best fit for me is Alabama. It was very close. It was stressful, and it was getting to me. Like I said, I got on my knees and asked God to give me an answer, give me the correct answer, give me the answer that would fit for me, and he told me Alabama. So that’s the school that I’ll be going to.”

Changing his mind might not be as easy as it sounds.

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