HondaReport.com

Expecting a 17-year-old to make a huge commitment is hard enough. Asking for one months before the letter-of-intent deadline can be quite stressful ... unless it's a match made in heaven.

(In case you've been off-line and hiding out from civilization, Gabe is a 5-foot-7, 175-pound Kealakehe running back who has been a recruiting target of UH in recent days and weeks.)

I'm happy for both sides. As a UH fan who covered Big Island sports for eight years, it's great to see that the Warrior staff is being progressive in recruiting the talent there and on other Neighbor Islands. That's a big change from recent years, particularly with skill-position players off Oahu.

The drama surrounding Gabe's situation is well documented. We've covered it in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and other publications have done their share, too. For Gabe, who hasn't even had a chance to visit other universities like 95% of other recruits, this is probably the most stressful time of his young life. Hopefully, the dust has settled and he can go back to just being Gabe.

I've often thought of recruiting in relationship/marriage concepts, so here's how I look at Gabe's scenario. Enjoy.

• The guy has been talented and dedicated for so long, but never had a date before. Everyone tells him that he's gonna be great once he finds the right girl, but it's a new world to him. His instinct is to explore a little, but he's got his mind and heart on one, though he won't talk about her publicly.

• The girl next door asks Mr. Nice Guy out. He's truly flattered. She rarely goes out with guys from the neighborhood. People have always thought of her as someone who goes for the guys with more notoriety, guys from the mainland or Honolulu.

• There's no rush at first, though each is thinking, 'I could marry this one.' She starts talking about what it would be like to get married. In his culture, he has to marry before he's 18. She wants to do it, but he wants to wait. He doesn't have to commit to a wedding with her until February. He wants to get to know her, and he believes she should feel the same way.

• Suddenly, she wants make a decision about whether they're getting married or not. She wants him to make a promise. She wants him to say it out loud. She wants a verbal commitment that he'll marry her. He's stunned. Shocked. He likes her. A lot. But he still hasn't even gone on a date with anyone else yet. How does he know that The One isn't out there? He's not looking to "play the field." He just never got to look at all.

• The Girl Next Door wants an answer. Now. His family sees the stress he's under. His father knows that the stress of saying "No" could be much worse than just saying "Yes." So the boy who has never dated gives the Girl Next Door his verbal commitment to get married.

Part of him is elated. He won't be moving very far, and he'll get to see his family often. They'll get to see him and his new bride succeed in love and life, hopefully. (She comes from a very good family that has a lot of love.) Part of him feels like this is an arranged marriage, that he never got a chance to make his own way.

For you and me, the Girl Next Door is a keeper. She's hot. She's nice. She's kind. She even cooks really well and loves, really LOVES football. (She's Betty AND Veronica rolled into one. Mary Ann and Ginger. Jessica Alba and Mandy Moore. Tyra Banks and Oprah. No wait, scratch that last one...) But you've already seen what the 'field' is like. We know this girl is great. Mr. Nice Guy might not know this yet. He isn't even 18. He's thinking about his friends, his teammates and classmates ... suddenly, it seems like they have all the choices and freedom in the world. They can go date all they want, even if the girls they see don't like football. There's something appealing about that.

Hopefully, he'll know in time that this is the right choice even if it feels a bit uncomfortable right now. The timing, more than anything, is least comfortable. Fast-forward to February, and it'll all be good, both for the Girl Next Door and Mr. Nice Guy.