There are no egos more fragile than a teenage football stars. So how do they do it? How does the coaching staff manage to keep some recruits on ice without making them feel like second fiddle? Andrew mentioned that he CB'd Bubba Bolden primarily because of his uncertainty about Shaun Wade's commitment. When considering OSU's rapidly depleting available scholarships, OSU couldn't have provided a commitable offer to Bolden prior to Wade's seemingly inevitable decommitment, right?

So how do the Buckeyes let these talented 4 stars with dozens of other options know that they're interested, but that they can only accept a verbal if someone else decommits or if another more sought after prospect pledges to another program? Isn't it obvious to the recruit that is on ice that they like them, but don't love them? Wouldn't this offend the recruit? 

This seems like such a delicate arrangement, easily lost by a wrong word or lack of attention. So...how do they do it?