CARLSBAD, Calif. | Top high school athletes face a massive decision when choosing which school to attend. From getting recruited at an early age to all of the factors heading into a life-changing moment, teenage kids can sometimes get wrapped up in what they are being told by the schools that are after them.

With No. 1 Auburn men's golf trying to repeat as national champions at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif., I figured it would be a good time not to hear from the players about their decision to become a Tiger, but from their parents. After all, they're the folks who raised the young men, witnessed them become uber talents in their sport and, of course, participated in the recruiting process with their children.

Here are the stories on why their son chose Auburn and how much head coach Nick Clinard impacted the decision:

Why Auburn for Carson?

"It was always his dream school. When we got there, he loved the facilities, loved the coach, loved the college feel. So it was pretty much the whole package."

Clinard's influence on the decision?

"I would say I liked Nick because he seemed like a family guy, and that's important to our family that we're a pretty tight-knit crew, and I felt like he would provide that. The same concept of being there for each of the boys. "

Was the decision worth it?

"Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I would probably say it's still Carson's dream school."

Why Auburn for Josiah?

"I feel like Auburn found us as a family. When we moved to Prattville, Alabama, our family we came to be friends there with were all Alabama supporters. But when somebody introduced Josiah to Auburn and they found us, and we got to know the school and know the coaches and know the team dynamics, we just felt it was an awesome fit for Josiah and who he was with their slogan of faith and family."

How influential was Clinard's relationship with your son?

"It's huge. When you have homeschooled your child, and you are giving them to another person to essentially raise and take 'em through the next part of their development of life. Finding somebody that you can trust and that wants the best for your child, that's super important."

Why Auburn for Cayden?

"Cayden committed when he was really young before the rule changes, so we had time to go to three or four of his favorite schools that were recruiting him and visited Florida, Vandy. And when we got to Auburn, it just felt like home. He loved everything about it, wanted to commit on the visit, but we came home and talked about it for a while. But a great decision."

Clinard's influence on the decision?

"Coach Clinard was great. He and Caden really hit it off, spent a lot of time together, and ultimately Caden feeling close to Nick. That was probably the ultimate reason we decided for Auburn."

Why Auburn for Brendan?

"Well, back in the day when coaches could follow you when you were a little younger. We were fortunate that Coach Clinard and Jacob Davidson were both out there following Brendan around a lot, and they made quite an impression. I mean, following him through rainstorms and everything else. And they invited us up to visit, and that was Brendan's very first visit and he fell in love. And I tried to get him to go to a lot of other places so I could watch free football games, but he wasn't really interested in doing that. I mean, we did do some courtesy visits to Florida and Clemson because some other friends of ours went, and we kind of tagged along. But his love was always Auburn. He got up there, the coaches were wonderful, and it felt like home. And what they say about Auburn being family, that's absolutely true. And so he just felt like that's the place. And no matter what I would say about going to visit other places, he was locked in."

Why Auburn for Jackson?

George: "The coaches and the university campus, everyone came for an unofficial visit. Coach Clinard and Williams spent eight hours talking with us, stressing both the education aspect as well as the golf facilities, et cetera. My wife and I were very impressed with their focus on education, but Jackson loved the facilities, and in the end, at the end of the day, when we got in the car, he said, 'I don't want to leave.' I'll just stay here and get to work. And we knew then that he was hooked."

Meghan: "Well, I don't know if George told you, but we went there for an official visit, spent eight hours with coaches and got in the car, and he said, 'I don't want to leave.'"