Midwest Spotlight: Flip candidates for 2021
More than half of the 2021 prospects rated four stars or higher are currently committed to a college program and many of those commitments have come since the start of April. This uptick in spring commitments from previous years is likely to be mirrored by a higher percentage of de-commitments when the NCAA re-opens recruiting and allows campus visits to take place.
With that in mind we look at five prospects to watch from the Midwest who are potential flip candidates.
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The Midwest commitment that may best highlight the uniqueness of recruiting over the last three months is Arizona State landing Detroit-area lineman Caleb Banks. The two-way lineman showed potential as a junior, but a lot of schools really wanted to see how he would develop physically in the off-season. Since that did not happen in the spring, it could lead to a new wave of offers if Banks answers those questions positively in the fall.
Banks cited a pioneering spirit in his choice of Arizona State, but he has not visited Tempe in-person yet. Kentucky and Michigan State have continued to recruit Banks since his commitment in April.
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Minnesota has raced out to 18 total commitments, with all but five of those commitments coming since the beginning of April. Several of the prospects that committed to the Gophers in the last two months, however, have never stepped foot on their Minneapolis campus.
There are several current Minnesota commitments that I considered for this feature, but I chose Irving because I expect he becomes very popular with schools again when the season starts back up.
Irving is among those commitments who did not visit before committing. He’s an electric playmaker, and the type of prospect many teams look for later in the process.
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Why are we seeing a surge of spring commitments despite recruiting visits being shut down for the last 12 weeks? Thanks to Perry’s candor, we have the answer. Shortly before announcing his commitment to Louisville on Mother’s Day, Perry explained that because spots were filling up, he needed to secure a spot for himself.
Just two months earlier, right as the shutdown was beginning, Perry expected to push his plan back until he could visit more schools, but the wave of spring commitments forced the Chicagoland safety to alter those plans.
Once visits start back up I expect we see Perry continue to explore additional schools. He had listed Iowa State, Michigan State and Minnesota as places he wanted to visit before committing.
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Penn State has been expanding its recruiting footprint in Southeast Michigan, which was highlighted by landing three of the top 13 players in the state over two days. Jaylen Reed was the first of those commitments, saying he was leaning toward Penn State for some time prior to announcing his decision.
Committing this early, though, was not Reed’s intention prior to the coronavirus pandemic closed down recruiting visits. Iowa and Minnesota were on his spring visit list, while a new coaching staff had just arrived at Michigan State. The Spartans continue to push and are a strong threat to Penn State for Reed.
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Lorenzo Styles was part of an early wave of commitments for Notre Dame that kickstarted this 2021 class. A couple of those prospects, however, have since de-committed and Styles is considered one of the stronger flip candidates currently in the 2021 class.
Had there not been strong Notre Dame vibes leading up to his commitment last October, Styles’ decision to spurn his hometown school and his father’s alma mater in Ohio State so early in the process would have been a bigger shock.
Lately, though, it has been Michigan that is talked about as the Fighting Irish’s biggest threat. This will continue to be a recruitment to watch, and I expect to see additional visits from Styles when the dead period ends.