Roquan Smith, a four-star linebacker out of Montezuma, Ga. who committed to UCLA on National Signing Day but never sent his letter of intent, will make a decision within the next few weeks but has decided to not sign until the first day of summer classes.

In a way, Smith is now a pioneer who wants to make sure his final decision between Texas A&M, Michigan, Georgia and UCLA is the correct one while fighting against some of the harsh realities of recruiting.

“He’s not going to sign a letter of intent,” Smith’s high school coach Larry Harold told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution on Monday. “The reason why is because what he went through last week. This just gives us flexibility in case something else unexpectedly happens again.”

Harold said schools were surprised at Smith’s plan, but all have agreed to let him commit and then wait on signing anything binding until he’s made up his mind.

“They all said that’s fine, but they were like ‘What does this mean?’ They said this has never been done before, to the best of their knowledge. It could set a precedent. They had to do some research, but they said it indeed could be done and that they’re fine with it. Again, we’re doing it this way after what happened last week. I don’t know where this is all going to go. I guess God put Roquan in this position for a reason. Maybe it was meant to help educate other kids about these types of situations.”

Smith was one of several high-profile targets to make a nationally-televised announcement on ESPNU last week. After being tipped off by Georgia’s coaching staff that UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich (Smith’s primary recruiter) was leaving for a job in the NFL, Smith hesitated and needed more time.

He has since returned to his daily routine as well as ‘hunting and fishing’ according to Harold who says the elite defender will make a decision that’s right for him without any outside influence.