Sting Factor: Sam McCall's decommitment from Florida
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
Sam McCall committed to Florida in late October and it was a big 2022 recruiting victory for the Gators since he’s so talented on both sides of the ball, a phenomenal athlete and from an area in the state where Florida has had previous success.
But that pledge lasted only a few months as the Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson standout reopened his recruitment recently and the timing coincided with the firings of Florida secondary coaches Ron English and Torrian Gray.
While the departure of English and Gray were not the only reason for McCall’s decommitment it was definitely a significant factor. The new position coaches in Gainesville now have an opportunity to establish a fresh relationship with McCall in the coming months. That could play in Florida’s favor.
Alabama, Florida State and Oklahoma were the other serious contenders for McCall before he made his Florida pledge.
There’s still a lot of time to get the high four-star back in Florida’s 2022 class but with his recruitment reopen, there will be lots more work to do.
LOCAL REACTION
“McCall is a top-40 prospect and the nation's second-ranked safety, so despite it being very early in the process, this is still a stinger. The Gators are off to a slow start in the 2022 class as well, so reeling in McCall was a great step in the right direction and a building block to build momentum off of. Also, McCall is a teammate of fellow 2022 safety, Jyvonte McClendon, who has been trending toward UF for a number of months. Does that affect the Gators' chances at landing McClendon? Time will tell. Either way, McCall is an All-American who hails from a county that is awfully friendly to UF year-in and year-out, so there is no doubt this one hurts more than others. The decision to part ways with cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray played a significant factor in McCall's decision.” - Corey Bender, GatorsTerritory.com
Sting factor: 8
NATIONAL REACTION
“Florida needs all the momentum it can get on the recruiting trail so this one hurts as McCall was thought to be a lock for this class. They could still get him back and Wesley McGriff’s hiring will help as he’s a solid recruiter but I can’t see McCall making another commitment soon. Until he shows serious interest again, this one is a big one.” - Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 7