The list of reasons a high school player commits to a school are many: the head coach, his relationship with the players on the team, the likelihood of playing time and more.

Perhaps we’re overlooking another big one.

According to LSU recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson, landing five-star running back Leonard Fournette in the team’s 2014 signing class had a lot to do with the coaches’ wives.

The No. 1 player in the nation, Fournette’s recruitment came down to Alabama and LSU.

Coach Nick Saban’s wife, Terry, and the wife of Crimson Tide running backs coach Burton Burns (who coached at Fournette’s high school the early ’90s), formed a strong rapport with Fournette’s mom.

Wilson recalled the home stretch of recruiting Fournette on 104.5 FM in Baton Rouge, according to 247Sports:

“Leonard was always very mild-mannered and very modest, and his parents were intricate players involved in the recruitment of him. His mom really liked both schools, but had a certain relationship with the other school — head coach’s wife and Burton’s wife — so we had to kick it into another gear.

“(Kathy Miles) and (Tiffany Wilson) had to go to work to make up ground. We are doing our part as coaches. The reality is people don’t see that part of it. But coaches spouses and kids all play a role in it. Where they were, at one point, pulling their hair because the head coach’s wife at Alabama and the position coach’s wife at Alabama had won the mom over.

“So we had to regroup our wives.

“At the end of the day, (Fournette’s mom) was the champion. She was the one. Dad and son were all good to go, but mom had the final say. We had to recapture her. We had her at one point, and they moved ahead, and we thank those two wives for pulling us through.”

The story about Fournette’s recruitment underscores the need to figure out the top priorities for each individual player. Arkansas coach Bret Bielema recently sent 15 letters to a recruit’s high school girlfriend.

In the era of social media, I’d expect teams to start mining players’ Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts for nuggets of information that may give them an advantage in recruiting.

That could be a difficult proposition considering NCAA rules. But let’s say a certain five-star quarterback idolizes NFL running back Marshawn Lynch and loves skittles. Perhaps that team could put out a giant party jar of Skittles in the team’s dining facility.

It’s interesting that the “First Lady” of the Alabama and LSU football teams are so significant in some recruiting cases.