Could it have happened like this?
Coaches: Hey we have this Jones kid coming in for a visit and it looks like he is interested.
Thorton: Oh
Coaches, Yeah, Now we have recruited you longer and offered you first. We need to know where we stand for sure with you. Are you committing or do we need to go another route?
Thorton: Look at other options.
Not so far fetched IMO. If you have the #2 ranked player in the state coming in for a visit this close to NSD, then you need to know for sure where you stand on others so you know if you are wasting your time or not.
I 100% believe this to be what happened. I wish the kid wouldn't have spoken out like he did, but I think the coaches were ready to fish or cut bait. There is a time in sales when you say, "alright, we have talked a whole hell of a lot, but I have other customers and prospects I really need to see. I really want to do business with you, but we can't keep doing things like this. Do you want to buy from me or not? Because if not, I need to find someone that does."
I have no idea what happened, but I have a hard time believing it to be anything other than what AUTiger1 posted. No one has ever said anything about these coaches "pressuring" or "panicking"...ever...