Sting Factor: September's biggest recruiting burns

As the football season ramped up in September, so did de-commitments as 16 players backed off their Power Five pledges. Here is a look at the top 10 with the others mentioned below:

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The biggest decommitment of the month happened to the two-time national champions. After landing a commitment from the high four-star receiver from Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County in July 2022, Georgia lost Carr in recent days as Auburn, Miami, Florida and Tennessee are now the programs mentioned. The Bulldogs are not going to give up, either, but it could be a challenge to get him back in the class.

Sting factor: 8

Penn State scored a big, early recruiting win in January when the 2025 four-star from Toms River (N.J.) North committed to the Nittany Lions over Georgia, Tennessee, Rutgers and others. Even with Penn State playing well this season, Matthews decided to back off and it’s pretty clear Georgia is now far-and-away the team to beat. He’s a local prospect who had rave reviews for the Penn State coaching staff - and they won’t stop coming after him - but the Bulldogs are the team to watch.

Sting factor: 8

In late July, Boireau was still locked in with Florida but by mid-September, the massive three-star defensive tackle from Fairburn (Ga.) Creekside was back on the market. Georgia, Auburn and Ole Miss never slowed down recruiting him and after visits to Athens the rumor is now that the Bulldogs are way out front in his recruitment. This one especially stings because SEC East foe Florida had Boireau in the class only to potentially lose him to UGA.

Sting factor: 7

Family matters. Michigan did nothing wrong in the recruiting of the twin brothers but with grandmothers in Kentucky, their mom in Kentucky and reportedly their father will be retiring from the military and will live in the state, it just made sense for the Smith twins to flip from the Wolverines to the Wildcats. After some time at Windsor (Conn.) Loomis Chaffee, the Smiths transferred to Corbin, Ky. for this season so it all made sense.

Sting factor: 6

In light of the Mel Tucker scandal at Michigan State, Powers backed off his pledge in recent days as the uncertainty moving forward in East Lansing is not something he wanted to be involved with as his senior season goes on. The high three-star safety from Centerville, Ohio might not be an immediate take by Ohio State but that’s something to watch as he originally picked the Spartans over Pitt, Northwestern and others.

Sting factor: 6

Booker finally looks settled. The high three-star linebacker from Desoto, Texas was originally committed to Baylor but then flipped his commitment to Stanford in early June. That pledge lasted about three months until Booker backed off the Cardinal and then had Houston and SMU as his two new front-runners. He chose SMU nine days after his Stanford decommitment and should see his recruitment quiet down now.

Sting factor: 6

Mensah made a commitment over the summer to Virginia Tech but Ohio State position coach Larry Johnson would not stop recruiting the three-star defensive tackle from Stafford (Va.) Mountain View. He worked out in Columbus this summer and Johnson took a liking to Mensah and after the Hokies’ struggles early this season and because it’s Ohio State, the flip happened in recent days. Virginia Tech deserves credit for IDing a top defensive line prospect that the Buckeyes wanted but the Hokies need to find ways to keep them in the fold.

Sting factor: 6

After a visit over the summer to Vanderbilt, general manager Barton Simmons listed a bunch of reasons why a player should choose the Commodores. All of them resonated with Williams and so the three-star receiver from Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton committed. But about three months later, Williams is back on the market and “taking a minute to look at all the options.” Kentucky was in hot pursuit prior to his pledge and others could get involved, too.

Sting factor: 6

Michigan State was Campbell’s first offer and after a visit there over the summer, the three-star athlete from Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Bay Tech committed to the Spartans on the same day as Reggie Powers. But just like Powers, Campbell backed off his pledge to Michigan State as the Mel Tucker coaching upheaval continues in East Lansing. Even though the Spartans were his first offer, many other Power Five teams have now gotten involved so Campbell should have a nice selection to choose from.

Sting factor: 5

Oregon State has really turned a corner under coach Jonathan Smith as the Beavers are one of the more dangerous teams in the Pac-12 so it was a surprise when Abajian backed off his commitment that he made on July 4. The West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade standout could now be leaning toward Kansas with Cal also very much in the mix.

Sting factor: 5

Three-star safety Ty Hudkins decommitted from Northwestern and flipped to Purdue, three-star defensive end Martreece Dillard backed off his Vanderbilt commitment, three-star tight end Eric Ingwerson went from Pitt to Nebraska, three-star receiver Josiah Martin backed off his Boston College pledge and three-star OL Marc Nave and Ohio State parted ways.