The 2021 class has certainly experienced a strange recruiting process and that has led to decommitments. This week we break down decommitments, starting with 10 of the more notable ones that have occurred in the Southeast.
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RELATED: Ten notable Midwest decommitments from the 2021 class
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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For almost 19 months, Callaway was committed to Mississippi State, an in-state program. He committed to the Bulldogs last fall, then flipped to Alabama early in July. Nick Saban and his staff offered the Mississippi athlete late in April, and as soon as that offer was presented the buzz about a potential flip started. Mike Leach and the staff in Starkville fended the Crimson Tide off for a couple of months, but the Crimson Tide got their man.
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Colzie felt he rushed his initial decision. He committed to Notre Dame, his dream school, in October 2019. Early in March, he surprised many when he backed off that pledge. Now, he will announce what he says will be his final decision later this week. Could he go back to the Irish? Florida, Notre Dame and Tennessee are his finalists. He wanted more time to explore his options, so he has put a lot of time into the recruiting process and now he will make a decision next week.
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Crippen’s saga is interesting because he flipped almost directly from Notre Dame to rival Michigan. Crippen was one of the earliest Notre Dame pledges in this class, and exactly what happened between him and the Irish differs depending on who you ask. Notre Dame would like you to think that it cooled on his skill set and pushed him away. Michigan and Crippin himself would dispute such a story. Either way, the lineman’s recruitment is shut down and he’ll enroll at UM this fall.
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Right before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Hancock took a visit to Clemson, he committed to Dabo Swinney and the Tigers about four days later. He rushed that decision. After sticking with Clemson for four months, he re-opened his recruitment for about five days, then committed to Ohio State. He actually told Ryan Day and the Buckeyes staff that he was flipping before he ever decommitted from Clemson. Ohio State was his leader for months before that visit to Clemson. He was on a visit high and overreacted to that visit.
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Langston may still end up at Florida, but the Rivals250 defensive lineman backed off of his original verbal pledge in May of last year, saying he rushed the decision. This, of course, was because other major schools became aggressively involved. These days, LSU seems like the only threat to UF, but most expect a recommitment at some point. Things could certainly change as UF’s class fills.
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This was a mutual parting of ways at best, as Miami accepted Meyer’s commitment pretty early in the process before seeing things break down in May, near the onset of the pandemic. Metayer’s decommitment was significant because now it seems his senior season will determine where he lands. Interest in his services seems to have dipped a bit. He has the physical tools to be an impact player on the FBS level, so a smaller school could find itself getting a steal here if things break correctly.
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This one is pretty simple. McDowell’s dream is to play in the SEC. When he committed to NC State in April, he did not have any offers from SEC programs. Late in May, South Carolina offered, and two weeks later, McDowell was a Gamecock. He had visited Columbia a handful of times, they had been recruiting him for months, and as soon as the offer was made, he knew he was going to change his commitment to the SEC program.
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It came down to just wanting to play closer to home and in a conference that would play opponents closer to his family. Paul initially committed to Nebraska. The Huskers did a great job recruiting him, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to stay in the Southeast. He is now an Arkansas commit and will play SEC programs so his family will be able to attend his games. Sam Pittman and his staff laid their plan out for Paul to make an early impact and he liked it.
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Smith committed to Mississippi State, an in-state program, early in the process but a coaching change in Starkville hastened a decommitment. Even before that coaching transition, Smith was looking out of state at LSU. He made that move official in December and he has not wavered since. LSU went on to a perfect 15-0 season, Smith has bonded with the Tiger staff and he looks set on playing in Baton Rouge.
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The five-star committed to Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma Sooners the summer before his junior year. Things were good through the 2019 season but, over the holidays, when he spent time with his family in Alabama and Georgia, he realized how he wanted to be closer to them when he goes to college. That put Georgia in the driver’s seat. He re-opened his recruitment soon after and then committed to the Bulldogs a few weeks later. Before he decommitted from the Sooners, he knew he was going to Georgia. He just waited for the proper time to announce it.
