"I went to the two academics, and it seemed like a great deal," he says. "It's a really good education, you have a guaranteed job coming out and they were really nice, but I didn't know what to do."

His next trip was to Tulane, which Sprinkle describes as "a lot most laid-back."

"That was definitely the most fun recruiting trip. We went to Bourbes Street, hung out, went to the bars," he recalls. "There the drinking age in 18, and I remember sitting next to some cop, drinking."

By the time his scheduled visit to Harvard rolled around. Sprinkle says he was "sick of traveling."

But Sprinkle went through with it. Corbin picked him up at the airport. After a quick sightseeing tour of Boston and Harvard's campus and athletic facilities, he was brought to Restic's office.

"I was kind of nervous going into that because you have everyone bracing you, warning you that you gotta watch out for handshake, the handshake is really important to him," Sprinkle says. "But I did okay."

To his surprise, Sprinkle was then directed over to admissions for an interview.

"I didn't realize I had to meet with an admissions officer. At other schools, giving you school admission is just a formality," he says. "At Tulane, they just give you a signing contract for the team and coaches take care of admissions. I didn't even have to fill out an application there."

At Harvard, "I didn't even bring a coat and tie," he says. "The guy I stayed with let me borrow one of his."

But the trip to Harvard was far from all business. He was taken to a dinner at the Kennedy School penthouse, and later to a party at an underground fraternity.

"There was more than one keg," he says. "I remember being so amazed."

But what sticks out most in his memory, he says, is his conversation with Restic.

"He said 'if you don't come here then for the rest of your life, you'll think what if, if I had gone to Harvard, how would my life be different now!'" Sprinkle remembers. "That really stuck with me. If I had chosen to go somewhere else I'd always be thinking back, wondering."

Returning home, Sprinkle says he was more confused than he had been when he left. "I just didn't know what I wanted," he says. "There was a lot of pressure both ways.

In February, Harvard sent Sprinkle a letter saying he was a "likely" admit. He then signed a letter of intent for Harvard -- which is non-binding because it is not an athletic scholarship -- even though his mind was not made up.

Financial aid was one source of concern. Tulane offered Sprinkle a free ride, and though Harvard provided what it thought he needed, there was a large financial gap.