While spring usually produces plenty of commitments with colleges hanging around high school campuses, talking with coaches and meeting players, it's the summer when some of the top-rated football talent has the chance to actually visit schools, see what colleges have to offer and meet coaching staffs and current players.

From Coral Gables to Gainesville, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, Columbus, Ohio, and in just about every corner of the country, summer camps usually end with a high profile football talent heading home and then making a decision of a lifetime.

At a time when many recruits are under a microscope, and any decision they make is usually plastered all over fan websites, the choices are never easy. A visit to a top-flight college will include many things that could sway an athlete to sign -- without ever visiting another school.

A few years back, after attending a University of Florida summer camp, I was amazed at how quickly these young men made a decision. Maybe it was just being at Florida Field and seeing all the trophies in the weight room. It could have been a walk around campus or talking with current students. It could be the thought of 90,000 filling every space at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Florida State University starting running back Antone Smith was perhaps different than most recruits. When he took his trips to schools and to camp events, he tended to break away from the athletes he was with and stroll around campus, talking to ''regular'' students about the school.

''To me, every school I will visit will have a football field, weight room and tradition,'' Smith said during the process. ``What I felt was important is the chance to experience college life as a student to see things that maybe the college coaches will never show me.''

Smith chose FSU over Miami, basing his decision not so much on which football program was better, but where he would feel most comfortable. While his trips to Miami always impressed him, his decision to pick Tallahassee over Miami also came down to what he experienced away from the football field and other recruits who made the trip with him.

As the summer camps are in full swing throughout Florida, there are several highly-recruited athletes locally who have still not made up their mind, and the job of every college coach and his staff is to make sure that when an athlete comes on campus, to do everything within the rules to make that camp experience a memorable one.

''For me,'' North Miami Beach quarterback Nico Flores said, ``the school that I feel most comfortable with is where I will end up. Everything about the school has to be right for me.''

Flores, who will spend the next three months with his 31 other teammates at the ''NMB Summer Camp,'' heads into the summer with schools such as Mississippi State, Boston College, Florida International and many more interested.

Killian running back Lamar Miller (Miami, Florida, LSU, Rutgers, Texas and West Virginia), Palmetto running back Jaamal Berry (Ohio State, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan and Mississippi) and Plantation quarterback/cornerback Brandon McGee (Miami, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio State, Tennessee and USC) are worth keeping a close eye on during the next few months.

Palm Beach Central linebacker Jon Bostic was an unknown a year ago. Suddenly, a few camps and an impressive junior season, and Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, South Carolina, UCF and USC start to come around. Miramar quarterback Eugene Smith has everyone from Boston College to Michigan, Louisville, Clemson and USF on his list.

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