You don't think it's a character flaw to bold face lie to people? Really? This is one of the basic tenets of human existence throughout every culture on the planet.
We have completely jumped the shark in how we bend over backwards to excuse behavior that wouldn't be tolerated by elementary school children.
I'm not saying this as some crotchety old guy that thinks kids owe fans/schools/coaches a damn thing. I'm coming at this as someone who currently coaches and is intimately familiar with the recruiting process. My school puts a half dozen players in D1 every year. I currently coach two Team USA players. We have 5-star basketball players at my school too. And we play in a conference that is as loaded as any in the country except that California football factory league.
I would be absolutely mortified if one of my players conducted themselves how Walker did. There is nothing wrong with flipping your commitment, listening to other schools while committed, etc. However, there is proper way to handle your business. Being a liar -- either because you don't have the stomach to be honest, or as part of a charade to make a splash and "surprise" people -- is not it. At best, it is immaturity. At best.
He has been telling ND all the way through today that he is all in and would be signing tomorrow. He's been telling the exact same thing to Michigan. It does not matter which people he is lying to... this is not how human beings are supposed to behave, period.
If you want an example from just this year, Devin Moore is a perfect example. Verballed to ND -> kept listening to other schools -> decommitted -> will make a final decision. Was respectful to all parties the entire time, very little to be criticized unless you want to nitpick.
Last thing I'll say -- I could go into detail on the advice we give our players on how to handle recruiting and commitments, but suffice to say I have seen many verbal commitments switched over many years and have never seen a player on any of our teams conduct themselves even close to this. I think that I have very reasonable expectations on conduct, and I think it speaks to some larger cultural problems in society that people are completely desensitized to deceit/disrespect/selfishness. I get it, because college football coaches are the kings of that kind of behavior and modeling it for these kids, but it's still jarring.