Midwest Spotlight: Ten notable decommitments from the 2021 class
The 2021 class has certainly experienced a strange recruiting process and that has led to decommitments. This week we break down decommitments, starting with ten of the more notable ones that have occurred in the Midwest.
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What happened: Allen and his teammate Rod Moore both committed to Michigan within weeks of each other this past spring. Everything seemed to be fine and Allen was one of the more vocal commitments in the Wolverines' class until Sept. 9, when he suddenly decommitted from the program and re-opened his recruitment.
Current status: Allen plans to start his recruitment from scratch, and is in communication with programs such as Cincinnati, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.
STING FACTOR: Markus Allen
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What happened: It made a lot of sense when Bolticoff committed to Kansas State back in December. The Wildcats were recruiting well early in the 2021 class, and Bolticoff was an in-state prospect. His high school coach is a former TCU player, however, and not long after the Horned Frogs offered Bolticoff this past spring he decommitted from the home-state program.
Current status: With the dead period in effect, Bolticoff was not able to visit TCU, but still made his commitment to head coach Gary Patterson in June.
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What happened: Minnesota scored a number of commitments early in the spring, but also suffered several decommitments in late spring and early summer. One of those decommitments came from Crumpley, who was on the Gophers' commitment list for two months from April to June.
Current status: Crumpley said he was too hasty in making his initial commitment and still plans to consider Minnesota, but is also looking at programs such as Cincinnati, Kentucky, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
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What happened: Jackson decommitted from Minnesota on two different occasions. He was originally the Gophers' first commitment in the 2021 class back in February, 2019, but decommitted this past January because he wanted to see more schools. He then re-committed to the Gophers in April, only to decommit again six weeks later.
Current status: The most recent decommitment was also a flip to Purdue, which is bringing him in to play quarterback.
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What happened: Johnson’s first commitment, to Northern Illinois, was very brief, lasting just a couple weeks this past March. He went on to land a few more offers that spring before deciding to commit to Cincinnati, which had offered the previous fall, on May 1.
Current status: Johnson remains committed to Cincinnati, but schools continue to recruit him and he is listening to their pitches. He has landed new offers from Michigan State, Purdue, San Diego State and Washington State since committing to Cincinnati.
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What happened: Labas built an extensive offer list that consisted mostly of Mid-American Conference programs before deciding to commit to Ball State on May 11. Just over a week later, though, Labas landed his first Power Five offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes. He considered his options for a couple weeks before deciding to decommit from Ball State on June 3.
Current status: Labas waited a week after he decommitted from Ball State, and announced a commitment to Iowa on June 10.
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What happened: A top 10 ranked player in-state, McGraw kicked off the Indiana Hoosiers' 2021 class with a commitment in late January. He began to question that decision, however, after the Hoosiers' defensive line coach and strength coach left the program shortly after his commitment. McGraw stuck it out until May, when he flipped his commitment to Penn State.
Current status: Penn State was runners-up in McGraw’s first commitment, but was able to land him after the changes at Indiana.
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What happened: Scales announced a commitment to Western Michigan in early April, but stepped back from that pledge in June saying he had rushed the process. The majority of his 17 scholarship offers have come from Group of Five schools, but he has generated Power Five interest from the likes of Missouri, Oregon State and Pittsburgh and he holds a Washington State offer.
Current status: Scales remains uncommitted and could see more Power Five interest late in the process with a good senior season.
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What happened: The Devonta Smith recruitment is what separates the No. 1 class in 2021 from the No. 2 class currently. Smith committed to his home-state Buckeyes in March, but stepped away from that commitment on June 25. Four days later, Smith announced a commitment to Alabama.
Current status: Smith was part of a wave of commitments that allowed Alabama to slide by Ohio State for the No. 1 class this summer, where they remain, just 74 points ahead of the Buckeyes.
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What happened: Threats issued a commitment to Purdue in April, right in the midst of a surge in his recruitment. He backed off that pledge in July, though, citing a misunderstanding between he and the Boilermakers' staff, and started to consider a list of schools that included Cincinnati, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Current status: About one month after his decommitment from Purdue, Threats issued a commitment to his home-state Cincinnati Bearcats.