Sting Factor: Kaden Dudley decommits from CU
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 SITUATION
When Kaden Dudley committed to Colorado, he had a great relationship with the new coaching staff in Boulder although they had only been there a short time.
Still, the three-star athlete from Colorado Springs (Colo.) Palmer Ridge loved Mel Tucker’s pedigree of working with defensive players and he had developed a quick bond with everybody on the staff.
Then Tucker left for Michigan State after one season and Dudley saw his recruitment start all over again in many ways. Colorado hired Karl Dorrell, but because of the coronavirus travel ban and other issues, Dudley has not met with Dorrell or anyone else on the new coaching staff.
And because of that, the three-star prospect wanted to take a step back and review all his options instead of staying locked into this class. On Monday, Dudley backed off his pledge to the Buffaloes and said he wants to review all his options moving forward.
So far, Dudley has received offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas and Washington State. Many other programs are showing interest. Dudley will still seriously consider Colorado, but many others will also be in the mix.
LOCAL REACTION
Dudley was Colorado’s first commit for the class of 2021, making the decision last October when Tucker was still running the show. After Tucker’s departure for Michigan State in February, Dudley reeled in offers from Washington State and Kansas.
His de-commitment from CU seems indicative of him wanting to take things slow and weigh all of his options, some of which are fresh on his plate. Dudley being a local recruit should make a re-commitment to Colorado at some point plausible. In his announcement, Dudley cited a desire to want to get to know the coaching staff in Boulder, with whom he’s yet to have an in-person meeting, better, but with the ongoing coronavirus situation, Dudley will ultimately have to wait some time before he can sit down face-to-face and get to know coaching staffs, whether that be Dorrell’s at Colorado or elsewhere.
The Buffaloes lost a versatile, two-time state champion in Dudley, but he ultimately has recruiting ties to Colorado dating back to Mike MacIntyre’s administration. Whenever applicable and possible, Dorrell and his staff shouldn’t face too much of an uphill battle in working to establish a new relationship with Dudley. Colorado’s not out of the race and may very well reclaim him. - Justin Guerriero, CUSportsNation.com
Sting Factor: 4
NATIONAL REACTION
“Dudley was a nice local commitment and is a good athlete, so he projected at numerous spots if needed. But with a coaching change, this isn’t a surprise. I have no doubt Colorado will be in this until the end however and they could end up welcoming him back in the class. Because of that hope, this isn’t a big deal.” — Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting Factor: 2