Things got a little out of hand this year when one of the nation’s top football prospects said he got death threats from fans while finalizing his college choice.

Chris Jones, a defensive lineman from Houston, Miss., told ESPN that he got death threats while mulling between in-state rivals Mississippi State and Ole Miss just before last month’s signing day. That’s why Jones tried to keep a secret at the time -- and publicly denied (but later admitted) -- making a few clandestine visits to Ole Miss before eventually sticking with his original commitment and signing with Mississippi State.

Jones was crucified on Twitter while it was all going on.

“You know, with Social Media these days, everybody has an opinion,” Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen told the AJC.

“You remember when newspapers had the section for ‘Letters to the Editor?’ Everybody could send one in about a certain topic, and the newspaper would post three or four in the daily newspaper? Now in the new age of Social Media, everybody can do that every single day.

“And so, everybody has an opinion, and I think it makes it a little difficult for the young men because of the recruiting aspect of things. A lot of people forget that these are 17-year-old kids that have no media training. They have no experience on how to handle these situations.

“When our kids get to Mississippi State, we give them training on Social Media and how to do interviews. But with the way everything works these days, a lot of 17-year-old kids are becoming celebrity household names before they get to college and they don’t know how to deal with it. It makes it very difficult on the kids.”

And the death threats? Mullen was obviously disappointed and says they were unacceptable. But he understands people get worked up about recruiting.

“It’s the Southeastern Conference, come on,” he said. “That’s why we’re the best conference in the country, because of the passion people have for the SEC.”