Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest on recent decommitments

The Early Signing Period is almost near and leading up to next Wednesday there are always lots of decommitments. With one of the busiest coaching carousels in recent years, there are more changes than expected. Here is a look at many of the latest decommitments since Dec. 1 and where those players could be looking now:

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The three-star running back from Tampa (Fla.) Hillsborough committed to Pitt during his official visit in June and his pledge stuck through the season - a great one for the Panthers that led them to the ACC championship. But Bailey backed off his pledge in recent days and is now planning to visit Mississippi State this weekend. Even if things go well, Bailey could wait until the late signing period to make his final decision.

Oregon won out over Alabama and others in March when he committed to the Ducks and all looked good - he wanted to play for coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead in Eugene. Now both of those coaches are gone with Cristobal off to Miami and Moorhead taking the Akron job. Florida has shown significant interest in the last couple days and others should be involved, too.

After Mario Cristobal left Oregon for Miami, the five-star offensive tackle from Houston (Texas) Summer Creek reopened his recruitment. Texas and Texas A&M will be contenders and on Wednesday, Banks planned a visit to Alabama in January. Cristobal met with Banks on Wednesday night and it will be interesting to see if the Canes become a serious player now as well.

The new four-star receiver from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas backed off his pledge to Pitt on Dec. 1 and in the last few days Georgia came in with an offer. This weekend, Brown is expected to be in Athens. The Bulldogs have definitely become a major contender in his recruitment but Pitt isn’t giving up and had an in-home with him on Wednesday. Auburn and Florida State are also contenders.

Since late June, Campbell had been committed to Clemson but the four-star linebacker backed off that pledge days after defensive coordinator Brent Venables took the Oklahoma head coaching job. The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout is expected to take the next few days to consider top options but the Sooners should be in there along with Penn State, Michigan, Texas A&M, Georgia and others probably.

The three-star receiver from Shreveport (La.) Green Oaks had been committed to LSU since October 2019. He was going to play for the Tigers. But when coach Brian Kelly took over, Crawford decided to reopen his recruitment. He’s not been short of interest as Nebraska, Texas, Cincinnati, Auburn, Baylor, Houston and “a lot more” have already reached out.

Since his decommitment following Mario Cristobal’s move from Oregon to Miami, a lot of Southeast schools have been in contact and Dudley now has Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Texas on his radar. Dudley is close with Oregon position coach Ken Wilson so if he stays in Eugene the Ducks might not be completely out. With so much going on, it’s expected Dudley will wait until the late signing period.

Since late June, East has been committed to Mississippi State but in recent days the three-star offensive lineman from New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine backed off that pledge and could be flipping to the Bulldogs’ rival. All indications are that Ole Miss is emerging as the frontrunner for the 6-foot-7 offensive tackle.

The four-star QB from Flower Mound, Texas, backed off his Florida commitment on Wednesday and since his announcement a bunch of top programs have reached out. Options won’t be a problem. Oklahoma and Ole Miss offered late Wednesday night. Prior to that, Evers had heard from Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Iowa, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Boise State and others. No visit this weekend has been scheduled yet.

Ranked as the seventh-best receiver in the 2022 class, Gibson decommitted from Florida on Wednesday like some others and there are reports Florida State and Oklahoma have been the most interested so far. Prior to his Florida commitment, Georgia was trying hard to get him to commit to the Bulldogs but that didn’t happen and Georgia might be looking elsewhere now. Visits could be coming up before another decision is made.

After picking USC over Penn State and others in June, the four-star cornerback from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic backed off his pledge following Lincoln Riley’s arrival and now he’s fresh off a visit to Nebraska. The Huskers are definitely a major contender in his recruitment and there are some whispers that Missouri is also interested.

The three-star cornerback from Montgomery (Ala.) Montgomery Catholic had been committed to Mississippi State since March but decommitted in recent days and now schools are getting more interested. Griffin visited Tennessee during the season

After about a six-month commitment to Virginia, the three-star defensive end from Spring (Texas) Westfield has backed off that commitment following the surprising news that coach Bronco Mendenhall was stepping down. Indiana, Minnesota, Washington State, TCU, Houston, Ohio State, Oklahoma, SMU and Tulane are jumping in.

A commitment to LSU since April, Johnson backed off his pledge in recent days and his brother, Max, entered the transfer portal after being the starting quarterback in Baton Rouge. Wherever Max Johnson ends up his brother could definitely go as well but the four-star tight end should have his pick of schools across the country.

The three-star offensive lineman from Azle, Texas had been committed to Virginia Tech since June but he backed off that pledge around the time of Brent Pry’s hiring in Blacksburg. He recently had an in-home visit with Mississippi State with coach Mike Leach and others and it looks like the Bulldogs could be in good shape.

Since March, Longmire was committed to Kentucky but backed off that pledge in early December and has since received significant interest. The three-star athlete from Corbin, Ky., has been in communication with Cincinnati, Purdue, West Virginia, Mississippi State and Tennessee mainly. The plan is to take some visits in January and sign during the late period.

Following the departure of Manny Diaz at Miami, the three-star linebacker from Manvel, Texas backed off his pledge to the Hurricanes. It’s unclear which programs have shown the most interest in recent days as there are a lot of moving pieces on the other schools that had been recruiting him but Utah and TCU offered in recent days.

The three-star receiver from Hoover, Ala., committed to Northwestern in late October but that pledge only lasted until early December. When Meredith backed off his pledge, it looked like a flip to Arizona State was imminent but then Maryland offered and he’s now planning to visit with the Terps this weekend.

A Florida commitment since February, Nolton decommitted in the days after coach Billy Napier was hired among a mass exodus of that recruiting class. It’s been so long since Nolton has been on the market but West Virginia, Louisville, Kentucky, Missouri and Marshall have already reached out to him.

According to Olson, he let the new USC coaching staff know on Wednesday that he was exploring other options as it’s certainly been busy in recent weeks for the three-star offensive lineman from Napavine, Wash. In the past month, Notre Dame, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, Utah, Penn State, Boise State and Fresno State have all been in touch.

It was smooth sailing for Sabb and his commitment to Clemson but then the four-star safety from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy visited for Michigan’s big win over Ohio State. It was supposed to be an innocent trip to Ann Arbor but now it looks like the Wolverines are in the driver’s seat to land his commitment.

With the transition from Dan Mullen to Billy Napier, Smith backed off his pledge to Florida and it looks like two other SEC programs have been showing the most attention. Smith recently visited Tennessee and had an in-home visit Wednesday night as the Volunteers make him a priority. Ole Miss is definitely involved as well.

As Washington moved away from coach Jimmy Lake and then hired Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State, Stratton backed off his pledge to the Huskies and reopened his recruitment. It’s unclear which programs have put Stratton back on their board but Nevada and FIU had offered previously and it wouldn’t be shocking if things pick up as many programs are still looking for a QB in this class.

Oregon won big when Williams committed on July 1 but the massive offensive lineman from Duncnaville, Texas has now backed off his pledge following coach Mario Cristobal’s move to Miami. Now things get really interesting. Texas and Oklahoma were the other finalists this summer, Miami is making a run at him and Florida has offered and is pursuing hard as well.

The four-star linebacker from Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County had been committed to Georgia Tech since May 1 but over the last few months many other programs have gotten involved and the Yellow Jackets recently got rid of some coaches. That has prompted Willis to reopen his recruitment in the final days before the early signing period and it looks like Ole Miss could be the beneficiary.

The three-star linebacker from Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic was a long-time commit to Oregon dating back to July 2020. But the departure of Mario Cristobal to Miami and the uncertainty moving forward prompted Winston to de-commit on Thursday. UCLA and Cal have already reached out and others could get involved, too.