If there was ever a more curious route taken to arrive at a final destination in football recruiting, I haven’t witnessed it.

Cyrus Kouandijo’s decision-making process went from hither to yon and back again. It is a tale of both the pressure placed upon a 17-year-old boy and the tactics of college football recruiters.

Before the decision to ultimately sign with Alabama was finally made, he turned to himself, to his family, to his coach, to God and even to his Facebook friends.

On National Signing Day 2011, his family, friends and coach all went with Cyrus to the announcement party and were all shocked to hear him say: Auburn. In fact, just seconds after saying it, Cyrus was already shocked himself.

“I just opened my mouth and it came out,” said Cyrus of the pick. “But as soon as I said it, I knew I may have [made] the wrong choice.”

Everyone close to Cyrus had known that he enjoyed his last-second visit to Auburn, but no one really expected him to pull the trigger for them.

His father was upset that nothing had ever been said to the family about choosing Auburn. They knew what to expect at Alabama and even had more information on other schools Cyrus had considered.

They knew nothing of Auburn.

Seeing the shock on the faces of those closest to him made Cyrus realize that maybe he should take a deep breath and reconsider his options. This was supposed to be a happy day and no one appeared happy.

No one, that is, but the Auburn people.

His family wanted him to make his own decision and all indications were he was choosing Alabama. It’s not that they thought Auburn was a bad choice, just that they did not have a clue to his reasoning behind it and they wanted to be sure his decision was based on something solid.

They wanted to understand and make sure that the decision was based upon the best possible reasons, not something he’d heard that may be untrue.

His brother, Arie, starting his second year at Alabama, understood more than anyone the pressure of recruiting. He had told his brother many times that the choice was his and his alone to make, and he would always love and respect him no matter what his decision was.

But even he expected him to come to Alabama.

I had a chance to interview Arie on the field after the Capital One Bowl. I asked him if he was ready after his redshirt year to step up, and with a huge grin, he said yes.

Then, I asked about his brother and he said that we would all just have to wait until February and see, but the smile did not leave his face.

So I turned the camera off and said, “OK, the camera’s off. Where do you think he’ll go?”

He said, “He’ll do what’s best for him, this is his decision, but I think I know where he may roll,” and gave an even bigger grin. “Roll Tide?” I asked.

“Roll Tide!” Arie said, and then ran off. It was a very coy way of saying what he didn’t want to say, but it was clear to me that Arie felt sure his brother would be “Rolling with the Tide”.

But that was before the Auburn visit.

Every school would like to be the last one visited, and you have to credit Auburn with the late push. Some Alabama fans would like to insinuate that Auburn put the full-court press on him with parties, girls and even a famous stripper, but in reality, no one outside that circle knows what went on other than the fact that Cyrus had a fantastic time.

The parents wanted to know more about the visit and Cyrus told them everything. I do not know what was said, but the parents felt that what Auburn offered paled in comparison to what they knew Alabama had delivered to their other son, Arie.

Cyrus’ father believed that Alabama would not only make his younger son a better football player, but a better man, as well.

In an interview with Scout.com, Cyrus’s father, Jean-Claude said, “He came back from Auburn two days prior to his announcement. We didn’t have enough room as to sit down and check and balance with the previous visit.

“It was wrong to choose Auburn because they treated him so well but when he came back, you know, in an American family, they sit down and say ‘OK, we think you should go here or there.’

“But we don’t have expertise as, being immigrants, we don’t know a lot of football so we can’t help him so much. So the last push to make a full decision didn’t happen.

“This last visit in his mind had come over everything but right after he chose it, he knew he wasn’t ready.

“He is only 17. He has too much pressure. He didn’t know if he made a good decision.

“That’s the most important decision of his life.”

But Cyrus still wanted more input, and turned to his fans on Facebook for guidance. Cyrus said that the overhwhelming support from his friends for the Tide made him see that Alabama was the right choice for him.

After Cyrus and his brother had another conversation, I spoke to Arie, and he said, “He get [sic] some input from all of us, but it’s his decision and whatever he chooses I will respect it.”

Clearly, Arie didn’t want Cyrus to regret his decision. He wanted his little brother to choose a school for its merits, not its night-life.

That was echoed by the parents.

“It’s not that we don’t like Auburn, we just don’t know anything about them. They didn’t even exist as a choice two weeks ago and now they’re the choice?” Cyrus’ father told the press.

And so a family meeting was called to discuss what Cyrus saw in Auburn. The parents didn’t want to change their son’s mind— they just wanted to understand it.

During the meeting, Cyrus recognized his flawed reasoning, and so did his family.

He had chosen Auburn for its glitz.

So now, with a clearer head, the blessings of his parents, his brother, his coach and his Facebook friends, he made the decision that had been on his mind for so many months before the final visit to Auburn.

It pleased everyone but Auburn’s staff and fans.

“We know that Alabama has the structure that he needs to become the person he wants to be. So for me, I have no doubts. It’s wonderful. So I can be happy,”  Jean-Claude concluded.

“I’m just happy this is all over,” said a relieved Cyrus.

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