I think the new NCAA rule which pretty much makes it hunting season on these poor kids year round may be part of why they're committing early and *may* indicate a stronger commit than it has in years past, especially for legacies. Todd Kelly Sr. spoke about his dislike of the rule change and how he'd already switched Todd's phone number and forced all calls to go through him. That was in a Feb. article KnoxNews ran.
Of course it will be different for different kids because Kelly Sr. has been through the old process and knows how recruiting in general works. He's protecting his kid but a lot of other parents who've never been through it may be more lost about how they should go about it as well as fearful they might hurt their kid's chances (though parental intervention shouldn't hurt at all, a lot of parents may not know that).