Sting Factor: Keveon Mullins decommits from Memphis

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

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, regional and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1 to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

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Memphis lost a major part of its 2019 recruiting class on Wednesday when four-star Whitehaven High School athlete Keveon Mullins backed off his pledge to the Tigers. Mullins just committed last month, surprising many when he chose the Tigers over Georgia, South Carolina and several other offers. At the time, Mullins said he wanted to stay close to home and play in front of friends and family on a weekly basis.

But on Wednesday, he said he rushed his decision and decided he wanted to open things up to take another look around. So how much does the loss of Mullins truly hurt the class? We ask our experts to weigh in on just how much losing him stings and also take a look at which schools might benefit going forward.

“There's a couple of ways you can look at the decommitment of Mullins. I can easily say it stings a lot since he's a local kid and you want to keep the top talent home. When he committed to Memphis last month, he made it known to us that he was 100 percent solid on his commitment. He was actively trying to get others in the Memphis area to come to Memphis. In that sense, I can say the sting factor is a seven.

On the other hand, the perception is that Memphis isn't the type of school that normally gets four-star players. The Tigers have only had two classes in the past eight years that had at least one four-star signee. It really doesn't sting since you're not expected to get four-star prospects. Sting factor would be a three if you view it through that lens.

I'll even it out and say the sting factor is a five because even though historically Memphis isn't a school that gets a lot of four-star recruits, Mike Norvell has raised the expectation in Memphis after he nabbed three four-stars in his 2017 class and Mullins is a local standout.” – Bryan Moss, TigerSportsReport.com

Sting score: 5

“Mullins was a huge addition to the class, but even when he made his decision, he surprised a lot of people in the city of Memphis. With so many schools coming at him and more likely to join the mix, it’s not exactly a surprise.

But having a four-star from in the city committed is much better than having him not committed and the loss of Mullins also hurts from a perception perspective. It’s not out of the question that he ends up back at Memphis, but for now the loss does sting.” – Wommack

Sting score: 8

“For Memphis to lose such a talented prospect, this one hurts.” – Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director, Rivals.com

Sting score: 10

Mullins said when he decommitted that he will be taking lots of visits, with South Carolina, Georgia, Ole Miss, Louisville and Florida State all on his agenda. His trip to Columbia will be an official visit, so obviously the Gamecocks have a chance to jump out to an early lead. Ole Miss is also an intriguing option, especially considering its proximity to Memphis. Mullins has also called Georgia his dream school, so this summer’s camps and visits will go a long way toward clearing things up before it’s time for him to make another commitment.