Five key decommitments from Early Signing Period week
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The Early Signing Period saw several noteworthy flips, with committed players like Rivals100 quarterback Sam Howell spurning Florida State to sign with North Carolina. We chronicled those players last week, but today we take a look at the players who decommitted from major programs and are now back on the market.
Jamond Gordon - Auburn
What happened: The Tigers got some good news during the signing period when they landed defensive lineman Derick Hall from Mississippi, but also suffered a blow when fellow Magnolia State defensive lineman Gordon re-opened his recruitment. The one-time Ole Miss commit is once again looking at the Rebels and decided he needed more time to give both schools a look when he announced his decommitment last week.
Brandon Mack - Pittsburgh
What happened: Mack had been committed to Pitt since June, but instead of signing his paperwork on Wednesday, he waited until Friday before officially re-opening his recruitment. Mack, an Alabama native, has been picking up interest from several SEC programs, including Ole Miss and Tennessee. Mack is set to visit the Rebels in January, and might visit Tennessee as well if the Vols join his offer list. Nebraska and Louisville are also vying for his fifth and final official visits.
Cooper Laake - Texas Tech
What happened: Laake appears to be a casualty of the coaching change in Lubbock and is now back on the market after announcing his decommitment on Friday. He was committed to Texas Tech for a little over a month, but prior to that there wasn’t much news related to him and other programs. Luckily for Laake, he’s at a position of need for several schools and it’s likely that he could end up with some new offers between now and Signing Day.
Kendall Young - Vanderbilt
What happened: After getting arrested earlier in the month, Young and Vanderbilt parted ways just prior to the start of the early signing period. The Arkansas native was once a priority for several SEC programs, including the Commodores and Missouri, but now it’s unlikely he ends up back on the recruiting radar until his off-field issues are resolved.
Emil Bo Anderson - Virginia
What happened: Virginia lost a key member of its 2019 class, when high-upside defensive lineman Andersen ran into issues related to his transfer from Europe to the United States. Instead of signing with the Cavaliers, Andersen will likely have to head to junior college before landing at the FBS level. Recruiting players from Europe is always a gamble and this one ended up coming up snake eyes for Virginia.