Sting Factor: D'Marion Alexander decommits from Minnesota
Every time 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 one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE SITUATION
D’Marion Alexander committed to Minnesota in late April. It was a major commitment for the Golden Gophers and showed that coach P.J. Fleck could dip into Texas for a three-star prospect who was being courted by many other programs.
The pledge lasted about two months.
Recently, the China Spring, Texas, standout backed off his pledge to Minnesota after picking the Big Ten school over Baylor, Kansas, Texas, TCU and others.
With his recruitment back open, Alexander said he never lost communication with three schools in particular: Kansas, TCU and Arizona State. It sounds like Alexander is going to take a step back in his recruitment and let things play out a little longer before he makes another decision.
Some schools like the 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect as an outside linebacker; Minnesota saw him more as an edge rusher. How coaches see him fitting into the defense could be a factor when picking his next school.
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LOCAL REACTION
“This is a spot that Minnesota shouldn't have a problem replacing moving forward in this year's class. Alexander's decommitment was a bit of a surprise considering he was very vocal and prideful about being a part of the Gophers' class on social media since he committed on April 22. While listed as an outside linebacker, Minnesota saw him as a defensive end in its scheme. The Gophers are currently in a good spot with a handful of other defensive end targets, so Alexander's loss shouldn't hurt too much.” - Sean Williams, TheGopherReport.com
Sting Factor: 3
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NATIONAL REACTION
“I like Alexander’s upside and had just named him as a three-star to watch in the Big Ten because of his versatility and athleticism. But it’s not a huge loss as he’s not a local recruit.” - Mike Farrell, national recruiting director
Sting Factor: 3