There were 20 Power Four decommitments in August, including many big-time flips, heading into the high school football season. Here’s a look at the 10 biggest ones.
MORE GORNEY: Recruiting Rumor Mill following busy weekend of visits | Sleeping giant Texas A&M is still snoozing | How the 2024 five-stars fared in Week 1
*****
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
*****
1. Nathaniel Marshall's flip from Michigan to Auburn
Perhaps no program had a better summer than Auburn and one of the cherries on top was when Marshall flipped from Michigan. With his size, length and athleticism off the edge, Marshall has five-star potential so the rebuild at Auburn continues to go well.
Sting factor: 9
2. Bryce Davis' flip from Clemson to Duke
Rarely does a player flip from Clemson to Duke but Davis’ pledge to the Tigers lasted only about a month before he decided he wanted to play for the Blue Devils. His relationships on that staff were probably the best he had in his recruitment and the four-star defensive end from Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley seemed to always have an interest in that program. In July, Davis picked Clemson. By late August, he had flipped to the ACC foe.
Sting factor: 8
3. Elijah Melendez's decommitment from Miami
The rocked-up four-star linebacker had been committed to Miami since last December and it looked like with how the Hurricanes are recruiting that the Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola standout would happily be in the class.
But Melendez has been flirting a lot lately with Auburn and he had a “great visit” over the weekend. He’s not exactly coming out and saying he’ll end up with the Tigers but one can read the tea leaves here.
Sting factor: 8
4. Jayvan Boggs' flip from Missouri to UCF
This has been one of the wildest recruitments in the 2025 class – and now it might be over. The very talented four-star was once committed to Ohio State but backed off that pledge and picked Missouri on July 4. Then that pledge lasted only about a month until UCF kept up the pressure and got him to flip to the Knights.
Boggs was at the UCF season opener last week and now it looks like things have finally settled down.
Sting factor: 8
5. Isaiah Mozee's flip from Oregon to Nebraska
The four-star receiver from Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North committed to Oregon in the spring and that was no surprise since the Ducks recruit so well and have loaded up at receiver. But when his father, Jamar, moved jobs from UCF to Nebraska the chatter was that Mozee was seriously considering flipping to the Huskers.
That happened in early August as the Huskers gained another playmaker for an offense looking for them. Plus, he’ll get to join his dad in Lincoln.
Sting factor: 7
6. Kendarius Reddick's flip from UCF to USC
When coach Trovon Reed went from Auburn to UCF, Reddick followed him in February and flipped his pledge from the Knights to the Tigers. Reed is still at UCF but USC made the four-star safety from Thomasville (Ga.) Thomas County Central a major priority and last month he decided to change one more time.
The Trojans have continued to recruit the Southeast as hard as anybody and even though every top player isn’t sticking with those early pledges, Reddick is in the class and it’s a big get from Georgia.
Sting factor: 7
7. Jaedon Harmon's flip from Alabama to Tennessee
Rarely does Alabama lose a talented four-star commit especially to an SEC foe but that’s what happened with Harmon, who originally picked Alabama in April but flipped to Tennessee in the middle of August.
Tennessee has long coveted Harmon for this recruiting class and kept after him with coach William Inge coming on staff. Last month, the Vols convinced Harmon to flip.
Sting factor: 6
8. Kade Phillips' flip from Texas to LSU
Down to primarily Texas and LSU, with Texas A&M (where his brother played) also involved, the four-star cornerback from Missouri City (Texas) Hightower committed to the Longhorns in July.
But only a few weeks later, Phillips had a change of heart and flipped to the Tigers. He joins one of the top defensive back classes nationally.
Sting factor: 6
9. Christian Garrett's Georgia flip to Georgia Tech
The Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian four-star defensive tackle committed to Georgia earlier in the summer but decided to look at others with Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Clemson and others staying involved in recent months.
Garrett chose the Yellow Jackets, who looked great in their season-opening win over Florida State, as coach Brent Key and his staff never backed off in coming after Garrett.
Sting factor: 6
10. Izayia Williams' decommitment from Syracuse
After early commitments to Louisville and now Syracuse didn’t work out, Williams realized he wanted to play much closer to home and so the 2026 four-star linebacker from Tavares, Fla. (outside Orlando) focused in on Florida, Florida State and Miami.
The word over the weekend was that Williams tried to commit to the Gators and was told to hold off so he could be shifting gears and focusing more on just the Hurricanes and Seminoles.
Sting factor: 5
