Sting Factor: Ten biggest decommitments of December

The busy month of December with all the movement around signing day is now in the books and by our count there were 115 Power Five decommitments during the month. It would be impossible to review them all but here’s a look at the 10 biggest.

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The fastest player in the country committed to in-state Boise State this summer mainly because of his relationship with then-coach Andy Avalos and position coach Matt Miller. But Avalos got fired late in the season and while Miller has been retained by new coach Spencer Danielson, the word is that the Burley, Idaho, four-star receiver will only consider Michigan and Oregon heading into a February decision.

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The five-star defensive end who reclassified down to the 2024 class was committed to Miami for a brief period early in his recruitment. Then he chose Florida State and it looked like the Seminoles had landed one of the best players in the class.

But as signing day got closer – and the Hurricanes kept recruiting him – Blount kept talking to those close to him about the community and staying closer to home. It was not a shock on signing day when he flipped to The U.

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All the talk leading up to signing day was that if Bolden was to flip it would be to Auburn since coach Hugh Freeze and that staff made the five-star safety such a top priority. But in the shadows lurked Georgia and the Bulldogs flipped him from Florida State.

When the Buford, Ga., standout chose FSU in the summer, it was between the Seminoles and the Bulldogs. With all the speculation leading up to signing day, Bolden said he made his decision to pick UGA a few weeks before announcing it and let the talking heads do their thing.

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On July 4, Texas A&M beat out Auburn for the Phenix City (Ala.) Central standout who would go on to earn a five-star ranking but the Aggies would look much different come signing day. When coach Jimbo Fisher and then position coach Dameyune Craig were let go, Coleman basically ruled out the Aggies. Auburn kept him a top priority and he lives less than an hour away, so it made sense to flip to the Tigers.

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It was a mild surprise when the 2025 high four-star offensive tackle picked Georgia over Alabama last January but the Prichard (Ala.) Vigor standout stuck with the Bulldogs for nearly a year before reopening his recruitment.

The word now is that Auburn has the most momentum with DeBose as LSU, Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan are within striking distance as well.

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The high four-star safety who could be moving up in the final rankings release was not looking for drama in his recruitment but when Florida fired position coach Corey Raymond, Filsaime began seriously looking at Texas again.

The Longhorns had been involved for years with the McKinney, Texas, standout and while Filsaime liked new DB coach Will Harris with the Gators, he felt there was just more stability in Austin.

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The Largo, Fla., high four-star linebacker had been committed to Florida since last January and talked highly of the Gators and his future in Gainesville, but things started turning late in his recruitment as Miami never relented and finally got him to flip. The long, rangy linebacker who can play all along the second level took a late visit to Coral Gables before signing day and decided to pick the Hurricanes to close things out.

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In the days leading up to signing day, I asked the four-star receiver what hats he would have on the table. At the time he was committed to Ohio State and his response was: “O-H”. But even the St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers standout was unsure of what he was going to do and after talking things over with his family closer to decision time, McClellan flipped from the Buckeyes to Oregon.

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McKinley waited until literally the last minutes of December – and the year 2023 – to flip his commitment. The Lafayette (La.) Acadiana standout had been committed to Texas A&M since Sept. 1 but through a coaching change and a ton of movement on that roster, McKinley decided not to sign in December and had LSU, Tennessee, Texas and others involved again.

It seemed like the Vols had some momentum but in the closing minutes before the New Year, McKinley flipped to the in-state Tigers.

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Georgia probably had its future quarterback in the five-star who played his senior season at Buford, Ga., as everything lined up for him to be a star at the next level. But then Carson Beck had a surprisingly great season and plans to return to Athens which means it would’ve been unlikely Raiola started.

About 10 days before signing day, Raiola reached out to Nebraska coach Matt Rhule and the Huskers juggled some things. It looked like former Ohio State starter Kyle McCord would head to Lincoln but he got pushed aside as the Huskers flipped Raiola, a Nebraska legacy.

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