Jason Butt: Your reminder to not send angry tweets at recruits on signing day

ATHENS -- National Signing Day is Wednesday, and therefore, here is your yearly reminder as a human being on planet Earth: Do not tweet anything obscene, rude or even borderline insensitive to a recruit. The same applies to any other method of social media, such as Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat.

If the thought of, "I'll show this guy!" creeps through your brain when staring angrily at your Twitter account, you should probably put the phone down. Walk away and do something productive with your time instead.

It doesn't matter if a particular recruit has been in Georgia's bag for the longest time. You're only making yourself look like an imbecile if you choose to go this route. There are plenty of other positive things to do with your time. For instance, read a book. Call a loved one and tell them how much you care about them. Go for a jog at the local park. Read through The Telegraph's print edition for the second time. There are countless things you can do instead of typing vitriol to someone you've never met.

Do not assume he got paid to switch his commitment. Do not think he swindled the coaching staff. You weren't a part of the process. You ultimately do not a know a thing.

Inevitably there are players who get cold feet and wind up at a different school. And, of course, there might be a coach or two who winds up selling a recruit at the last possible moment on why he should flip.

If you were among those who tweeted at Roquan Smith after his UCLA announcement, do you feel stupid that now that he just finished his first year at Georgia? Even Georgia head coach Kirby Smart might flip a recruit or two on signing day. Would you be upset at those recruits who backed out of commitments at other institutions at the last moment to join your team? Of course not. So don't do it if a Georgia recruit signs elsewhere Wednesday.

There is a ton of pressure on these 17- and 18-year-old young men to make a decision that will impact the next three to five years of their lives. There is a ton of pressure on the coaches recruiting them, because if they don't land the best players, their teams could suffer on the gridiron each Saturday.

Peach County head coach Chad Campbell said college coaches try and come up with the most creative ways to land recruits. But in their heads, Campbell said, this is what they're truly thinking about.

"We really want you here. We really do. Because if you don't come here, we're looking for another job," Campbell said.

A ton of pressure exists for those with a stake in the actual game and business of college football. While the general fan is passionate, energetic and supportive of his or her team, the real stakeholders are the big-money boosters who donate six-figure amounts of money to their chosen program. Those are who the coaches and athletics directors ultimately answer to.

For the casual fan, there is no pressure. It's all entertainment on his or her end.

You might be upset if a recruit -- who hasn't proven anything at the college level yet, by the way -- goes somewhere else. But deal with it. Your life will continue. The sun will rise again at dawn. Don't be that person trolling a soon-to-be high school graduate about a decision that's ultimately up to him and his family.

Georgia will get plenty of players who want to be at Georgia. Don't waste your time on being a jerk toward those who choose not to be at Georgia. Let them live their lives. If you don't, and you spew hate toward them, you're only signaling your own lack of a life.

We all love this game. I wouldn't have pursued a career in covering football, and other sports, if I didn't. Fans wouldn't spend their hard-earned money on memorabilia, apparel and tickets if they didn't. But everyone should at least have the decency to carry on regardless of a player's decision.

So leave the recruits alone.

You're only going to make yourself look like an idiot if you don't.

Contact Jason Butt at jbutt@macon.com

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Jason Butt: Your reminder to not send angry tweets at recruits on signing day ."