Sting Factor: April's 10 biggest decommitments

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

The first opportunity for prospects in the 2020 class to sign is less than eight months away, and some prospects are already rethinking their early commitments and heading back on the market to test the waters.

With that in mind, we look back at the decommitments from Power Five programs in April and rank them in order of the “sting” to the programs that lost the verbal commitments.

MORE: Five high-profile QBs who entered the transfer portal

Sanders had been committed to the Sooners since 2017 and recently took an official visits to Norman, so it came as a pretty big shock when he flipped to the Tide late in the month. Sanders cited his desire to play defense at Alabama as the main reason he made the decision, as Oklahoma was planning to use him as a tight end. There is still plenty of time for the Sooners to replace him, but losing a longtime commit that is highly ranked always hurts.

Sting Factor: 8

Tennison surprised many when he committed to the Hurricanes in February, not because he wasn’t a priority for the school but because it appeared as if he was going to take his time and sort through his options. As it would turn out, his commitment would only last two months, partially because of pressure from other schools like Auburn and North Carolina. Miami and new coach Manny Diaz worked hard to keep Tennison on board, but instead he backed off his commitment and now appears to be looking hard at the Tigers. Miami isn’t likely to give up on Tennison, whom it regards highly.

Sting Factor: 7

Harper committed to the Illini in early April, helping to jumpstart the Illini’s efforts in the 2020 class. But by the time the end of the month rolled around, he decided to back off his pledge and go back on the market. While Harper might not be as highly ranked as some other players on this list, he was - and is - a priority in-state target at a position of need for Illinois. The door isn’t closed on a possible reunion between the two sides, but nevertheless, losing his pledge so quickly still stings.

Sting Factor: 7

Cohen has had a whirlwind couple of months, netting several major offers from programs all over the country. He committed to the Gamecocks in late March, took a visit to campus the next week, and a week later he announced his decommitment. The offers have continued to come in for Cohen, but he recently officially visited South Carolina, keeping the door open for a possible reconciliation. Losing Cohen so quickly after landing him still hurts for Gamecocks fans.

Sting Factor: 7

Another short-lived commitment, Navarrette committed to LSU on April 6, only to flip to Oregon less than two weeks later. Navarrette made his pledge to the Tigers while on campus and appeared to be the next highly rated California prospect to be headed to Baton Rouge. When this happened, it looked as if it was going to sting more in the long run, but LSU’s recent addition of five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett has made Navarrette’s flip old news.

Sting Factor: 6

Leonard committed to the Wildcats late last year and was a great early evaluation by the Wildcats' staff. Unfortunately for UK, once other schools had a chance to scout Leonard, it led to a flood of other offers, including the in-state schools in Florida. After a strong push from Florida State, Leonard backed off his commitment from the Wildcats and at this point a reconciliation seems unlikely. The blow of losing Leonard was softened by the recent commitment from in-state Rivals250 offensive lineman John Young.

Sting Factor: 6

Branham committed to the Wolverines in 2018, but as the school made several offensive coaching changes following the conclusion of last season the writing was on the wall for a split between the two sides. Branham finally made his decision official in April, since vowing to take a more methodical approach to the recruiting process the second time around. Kentucky and Louisville are two of the schools now heavily in the mix, and Michigan appears to have moved on to new targets.

Sting Factor: 5

After picking up an offer from the Tigers in March of last year, Draine jumped on the chance to commit to the Tigers, and he stayed pledged to the school for more than a year. But several programs, including Tennessee, continued to recruit Draine hard, ultimately leading to him pulling the plug on his commitment to the LSU. Draine is now a prime target for the Vols, and Florida State also recently entered the mix. LSU appears to have moved on to other targets at the position.

Sting Factor: 4

Dubar picked up an offer from the Red Raiders in March and didn’t wait long to jump on the chance to commit. But over the next month he started to receive more offers and might have realized that he made his decision too quickly. Dubar decided to back off his pledge in mid-April and go back and test the recruiting waters. Losing a quality in-state commitment stings, but there’s still plenty of time for Tech to get back in the picture or find a capable replacement for him in the class.

Sting Factor: 4

Barron was the Frogs' first commitment in the class of 2020, jumping on the chance to commit after picking up offer in March. But shortly after he made his decision other schools entered the picture, including Oklahoma State and Tennessee. Brown also continued to take visits to other programs and rather than continue to do so while committed, he backed off his pledge in April. Look for TCU to remain involved and perhaps even reunite with Barron down the road.

Sting Factor: 4