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 one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Before making his commitment to LSU on July 4, Ohio State was the school to beat earlier in Darron Reed’s recruitment.
But after the high three-star defensive end from Columbus (Ga.) Carver visited LSU, he fell in love with the coaching staff. When his commitment date came, the Tigers won out.
That pledge lasted until the last few days when Reed flipped his pledge to Auburn, despite no head coach being in place at the time (Hugh Freeze has since been hired).
Despite the coaching upheaval on The Plains, Reed visited Auburn numerous times this season - actually more than LSU - and the Tigers never stopped trying to flip him from the SEC opponent.
It finally worked and Auburn added a major piece to its recruiting class as Reed joins four-star Wilky Denaud and former Nebraska pledge Ashley Williams, another four-star recruit, as the defensive ends currently committed to the Tigers.
RELATED: Gorney on Auburn's hiring of Hugh Freeze | Five recruiting trends from Freeze | Top prospects he should target | What will Freeze do in his SEC encore? | Best recruits at Ole Miss
LOCAL REACTION
LSU’s 2023 defensive line haul is quite impressive but it did take a bit of a hit with the decommitment of Reed. Prior to his LSU pledge, there was always talk about Reed popping for Auburn due to the close proximity to home. It’s never great to lose a commitment this late in the process but Brian Kelly and Jamar Cain still have a strong group with Dashawn Womack, Jaxon Howard, Joshua Mickens and Dylan Carpenter. We’ll have to continue monitoring Mickens though as he visited Ohio State again last weekend.. – Julie Boudwin, TigerDetails.com
Sting Factor: 6
NATIONAL REACTION
If LSU keeps its defensive line class intact then losing Reed is not optimal but it should just be a blip on the radar of a very strong group for the Tigers. Womack could be a superstar and plays with the intensity and toughness Kelly likes to see, Howard is an exceptional athlete, Carpenter could be a legit sleeper in this class nationally after being committed to Louisiana early on and Mickens definitely should be monitored after Ohio State makes another run at him.
Reed is a very talented player who should do well at Auburn – and it does sting a little more that he committed to another SEC West opponent – but LSU is loading up on the defensive line with or without him. – Adam Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director
Sting Factor: 5
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