Sting Factor: Marlin Dean's decommitment from UGA

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 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.

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Marlin Dean lives less than an hour from Georgia's campus.

So it came as no surprise after numerous visits to Athens that the three-star defensive end from Elberton (Ga.) Elberton County committed to the Bulldogs over Tennessee, Penn State and others.

What was unexpected was Dean’s recent decision to back off his pledge to Georgia, a school that has been recruiting better than arguably any other in the country over the last few years.

Rated as the No. 37 strong-side defensive end nationally, Dean is back on the market and many teams should be interested. During the coronavirus travel ban, though, Dean cannot really take any in-depth visits or meet with coaches.

There is some thinking that Georgia is not out of this recruitment and if the Bulldogs continue to push that Dean could rejoin the class.

But Georgia is intensely going after some other top-notch defensive ends in this class including the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2021 class, Corona (Calif.) Centennial’s Korey Foreman.

Dean’s decision to de-commit was a surprise but is it likely the three-star could end up back with Georgia at some point?

"Does Marlin Dean's decommitment sting for Georgia, even as a three-star player? Yes, definitely. This was a guy the Bulldogs got in on early, and the staff feels strongly about his upside. I don't get the sense that one was expected either, which adds to the sting factor.

"What lessens the blow, however, is his proximity to Athens and the early affinity he had for the Bulldogs. Such being the case, I get the feel that there is some confidence that he can land back with the Bulldogs when all is said and done.

"He'll explore his options and see what else is out there in the recruiting world, but in the end, will home prove to be too much to pass up? If I were betting on it today, I'd say yes." –Jake Reuse, UGASports.com

Sting factor: 5

“Dean is a massive defensive lineman who could play end, tackle or even flip to offensive line if needed. Bottom line is that he’s a big, athletic body and a local recruit Georgia liked. So it hurts in that respect. His ceiling is what hurts here because it’s so high.

"However, he could end up back in the fold and if he doesn’t there is little doubt that UGA will replace him with someone equally or more talented. ” — Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director.

Sting factor: 4