Sting Factor: Luke Griffin decommits from Georgia

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 de-commitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

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In the summer of 2016, shortly after Luke Griffin completed his freshman year, he was in Athens camping at Georgia. He impressed head coach Kirby Smart and Sam Pittman enough that day to earn an offer. Griffin, being a lifelong Bulldog fan committed on the spot.

Griffin went on to have a strong sophomore season and looked destined to become a Rivals250 prospect, but just a few weeks after football season, Griffin tore his left ACL in a basketball game. He went on to recover from that, but then in game nine of football season in 2017, he tore his right ACL. Not one, but two setbacks due to knee injuries raised some questions about Griffin’s future.

On Sunday, Rivals broke the story that Griffin had de-committed from Georgia, so how much does this hurt Georgia? Did it see this coming? 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.

In the not so distant past, losing a player of Griffin's talents on the offensive line would have been a major sting for the Bulldogs. The times have changed quite a bit, however.

The reality is that when Georgia coaches accepted his pledge almost two years ago, there were little to no indications that Georgia would reel in two of its best back-to-back offensive line classes in history. Now, the Bulldogs have young, talented depth at each spot across the front and a pair of five-star tackles dueling for reps in spring practice.

You hate to see it happen where a promising in-state player loses an opportunity he'd long hoped for, but Griffin's injury history and the successes of the Bulldogs really set up a perfect storm for just that. He'll land on his feet and may still be bound for great success. It just won't be in Athens. – Jake Reuse, UGASports.com

Sting Factor: 2

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If you cover recruiting, you kind of expected this to happen at some point. Griffin had not had too much communication with Georgia coaches in recent months, so that pointed to the two parties going separate ways. Griffin grew up a huge Georgia fan, so this was tough for him at first, but he figured out really quick that recruiting is a business, and he is happy to move on.

Georgia has signed two elite offensive line classes in 2017 and 2018 and they now likely will only sign two, possibly three in this class. They need tackles more than guards, so with Griffin likely sliding inside on the next level, they appear to have others higher on their board. This one does not look to sting Georgia too much. – Chad Simmons, Rivals.com Southeast Recruiting Analyst

Sting Factor: 2

I’ll give it a 3 just because of the level that Georgia is recruiting at right now. They will undoubtedly find someone as good or better at the position without much trouble. This is but a mere speed bump in the 2019 class. – Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director

Sting Factor: 3

Despite the injury late last season, Alabama and Florida have extended offers to Griffin in recent weeks. He has already visited the Gators and he is talking with the Crimson Tide coaches about a visit to Tuscaloosa.

Clemson, Kentucky and Ohio State among others are showing interest and likely monitoring Griffin’s recovery. He has dropped close to 40 pounds, he is in great shape and he is very close to being fully cleared. If he shows he is healthy, his offer list will grow quickly. It will be a very big next six months for Griffin as he looks to make his final decision before it gets too late in the recruiting process.