Ranking the Contenders: Deion Colzie
Deion Colzie broke off a five-month pledge to Notre Dame last month and re-opened his recruitment. Within hours of his decommitment, the four-star wide receiver picked up three new offers, and nearly 10 programs joined the chase in the following weeks.
Colzie now plans to take more time with his recruitment, take more visits and not to rush into a decision. It wouldn't surprise anyone, with everything on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, if his recruitment went late into the fall.
Here's how things appear to stand right now with Colzie's recruitment.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
1. GEORGIA
Colzie goes to high school just a few miles away from Georgia's campus, so location is really in the Bulldogs' favor. He is very familiar with the program, he is close to UGA commitment Brock Vandagriff and Georgia never slowed its recruitment down through his commitment to Notre Dame. Colzie did not visit many programs while committed, but Georgia had him on campus at least twice in that time. The Bulldogs have been trending since Colzie re-opened his recruitment.
2. NOTRE DAME
When a prospect decommits from a program, you can usually count on that program being out of the mix completely, but that is not this case here. Notre Dame did nothing wrong. The Fighting Irish handled the news as well as they could and they have not slowed their pursuit of Colzie. Notre Dame was his dream school, it has the balance of athletics and academics that Colzie likes and it would not be a shock to see him end up with the Irish.
3. AUBURN
The programs listed from this point on could really be ranked together. Auburn is close to home, Colzie has had some interest in the Tigers and he has developed a good relationship with co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Kodi Burns. This will come down to the visits. Colzie plans to visit Auburn at some point, and if things go well, the Tigers could be in this to the end.
4. OREGON
The Oregon offense, its team speed and its success last season under Mario Cristobal has Colzie's attention. Colzie has not visited Eugene yet, but he has had very steady contact with the staff there over the last month. Oregon has put a lot of effort into Colzie and he sees that, so a visit looks likely at some point. Oregon is still a relatively new program in Colzie's recruitment, so getting him on campus is key here for Cristobal.
5. TENNESSEE
Tennessee already has a couple of wide receivers committed and a versatile athlete in Roc Taylor on its commitment list, but the Volunteers have continued to recruit Colzie. The communication is there, and Colzie listed Tennessee as a program of interest in a recent interview, so this one could be worth watching moving forward.