Sting Factor: Avante Dickerson's decommitment from Minnesota
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
After being committed to Minnesota for about nine months, Avante Dickerson backed off his pledge this past weekend and is now back on the market heading into a final decision on signing day.
The decision did not come as a total shock to many who followed the recruitment of the Omaha (Neb.) Westside four-star cornerback since he decided not to sign with Minnesota during the early period.
That called into question exactly what Dickerson was thinking with his recruitment and over the last few days, that became more clear when he reopened his recruitment.
Nebraska and Oregon are the front-runners in Dickerson’s recruitment. The Huskers are right down the road and his Omaha Westside teammate, three-star safety Koby Bretz, is already in the class. But the Ducks are also appealing as coach Mario Cristobal and his staff have proven they can go anywhere for top recruits.
Either way, it looks like the ship to Minnesota has sailed for Dickerson and he will be headed elsewhere to play his college ball.
LOCAL REACTION
“The decommitment of Dickerson didn't really come as a big surprise, especially after he chose not to sign with the Gophers despite giving his verbal pledge to the staff in April. However, this one does hurt when you consider Dickerson was the highest-rated prospect in Minnesota's class, he also offers versatility in the secondary, and could have competed for early playing time as a returner on special teams.” - Sean Williams, TheGopherReport.com
Sting factor: 8
NATIONAL REACTION
“Ouch, this one hurts. Dickerson is a good-sized corner with speed and was a huge get from Nebraska. He could play corner or safety or even wide receiver and impact in the return game, so his versatility will be missed in this class as well.” - Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 9