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 STORYLINE
Patrick Payton has length. He has athleticism. And he was exactly what Nebraska was looking for as an outside edge rusher. So the commitment he made in May to the Huskers was a big win on the recruiting trail in South Florida.
But in recent days, the Miami Northwestern three-star standout reopened his recruitment and committed to Florida State, seemingly ending his recruitment with only days left before the early signing period.
Nebraska is left looking for his replacement – if there is one out there fitting his style of play since Payton is long, lean and can cover ground. It does not come as a massive shock that Payton backed off his Nebraska pledge, especially as the Seminoles and Hurricanes stepped it up recently.
LOCAL REACTION
“Patrick Payton’s commitment to Nebraska early last May mostly came out of the blue. While his decommitment from the Huskers didn’t come as a complete shock, it still hurts quite a bit. The Blackshirts desperately need to keep adding talented pass rushers at the outside linebacker position for its 3-4 defense and Payton fit that role wonderfully.
"His combination of size and playmaking ability at the position will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replace this close to signing day.” – Nate Clouse, HuskerOnline.com
Sting Factor: 8
NATIONAL REACTION
“The frustrations in Florida continue for the Huskers and this is a superior talent getting away and a kid who was a fit for the scheme. It’s important to recruit Florida for any Big Ten team and the fact a struggling and simply awful FSU team can steal him away adds to the sting factor.” — Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director, Rivals.com
Sting factor: 9
