Sting Factor: Brendan Radley-Hiles' decommitment from Nebraska

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Rivals100 defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles backed off his pledge to Nebraska on Tuesday evening. Radley-Hiles has been committed to Nebraska for more than a year and was seen as one of the biggest out-of-state recruiting gets of the cycle.

Radley-Hiles, who had no ties to Nebraska or the Huskers’ program prior to his commitment, chose NU over a long list of other offers but always seemed interested in touring other schools. On Tuesday, that interest came to head. A weekend visit to Oklahoma combined with Nebraska’s less-than-stellar season seemed to push Radley-Hiles over the edge. He announced his decommitment via Twitter on Halloween night.

“Losing the commitment of Brendan Radley-Hiles hurts Nebraska on so many different levels. For starters, Radley-Hiles was set to become the highest-ranked recruit the Huskers had signed in the last decade dating back to the 2008 class when five-star lineman Baker Steinkuhler, a Lincoln native and legacy recruit, signed with NU. He was looked at as a potential program-changing type of prospect that not only helped to fill arguably the biggest need in Nebraska’s class this year, but also as a nationally recognizable figure that was helping to build the 2018 class and beyond as a peer recruiter. Radley-Hiles had been a silent commit for a year before publicly announcing his verbal pledge last April at NU’s spring game and was a key piece in Nebraska’s ‘Calibraska’ movement. Not only do the Huskers have to try and replace a cornerstone figure in their 2018 class, they now have to hope his departure doesn’t open the door for others to follow his lead in exploring other options. This will be a decommitment that Nebraska fans will talk about for years to come.” — Nate Clause, HuskerOnline.com

Sting factor: 9

“This is one that hurts for sure. That’s clear. But I’m not sure it’s quite as bad when you consider the larger situation. Nebraska needs a lot more help than one player can provide and the program seems to be on the verge of yet another coaching change. That’s all to say the Huskers may have much bigger problems in the near future. Is it ideal to lose your top-rated commit? Never, but the fact that Radley-Hiles is a California kid with no ties to Nebraska makes his decommitment easy for the Nebraska staff to explain away. His commitment was a pleasant surprise to begin with. Still, losing a player of Radley-Hiles’ talent level is a kick in the gut.” – Rivals.com Southeast analyst Rob Cassidy

Sting factor: 7.5

“This is my first '10' in the sting factor because this kid is a leader on defense, a huge key to this Nebraska recruiting class and a potential five-star talent. I’ve compared him to a smaller Jamal Adams and felt he would be such a huge get for Nebraska because of his abilities, his California ties and his ability to recruit others and attract talent. This is like losing a quarterback in a class late in the process; it hurts.” — Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell

Sting factor: 10

What Happens Now: Oklahoma is the obvious choice here, as the rumors swirl that Radley-Hiles was close to committing to the Sooners on the visit that immediately preceded his parting of ways with the Huskers. Clemson has also been a player here and remains a team to watch. Still, if we’re handing capping odds, the Sooners have to be seen as the heavy favorite to land Radley-Hiles’ second commitment.