Sting Factor: The Arjei Henderson decommitment from Oregon

The situation: Class of 2019 five-star wide receiver Arjei Henderson de-committed from Oregon following an unofficial visit to Oklahoma over the weekend. Henderson previously committed to the Sooners in the spring following a visit on the team’s first junior day event in February. Shortly before former head coach Bob Stoops chose to step down, Henderson and fellow five-star receiver Theo Wease nixed their respective commitments within a week of each other. Henderson quickly shaved down his long list of offers back down to a Top 4, and committed to the Ducks following a visit to Eugene over the summer. His commitment coincided with the heavy focus the staff has placed on recruiting the state of Texas. In his tweet announcing his latest decision, he also declared that he won’t make his next commitment until National Signing Day 2019.

The Oregon Ducks desperately need wide receivers and this season they found themselves dipping into the second- and third-units due to injuries. Going into 2017, they only had seven players at the position on scholarship to begin with. Losing a five-star wide receiver like Arjei Henderson does indeed sting, although the pain is lessened significantly by the fact he is class of 2019, not 2018. They have time to make up for it, and Henderson himself has time to re-choose the Ducks. So although it could be worse, losing a Rivals100 prospect at any position is not desirable and Henderson is no exception. -- A.J. Jacobson of DuckSportsAuthority.com

Sting Score: 7

Henderson has now officially proven himself to be a risky target for teams looking to add a premier wide receiver. His talent certainly makes him worth the gamble, but his state of mind is not something that can be completely trusted at this point. Even as he proclaimed that he won’t make his next commitment until Signing Day of his senior year, he is just as likely to commit somewhere else by the end of next spring. It appears as though he may have had an inkling changes were going to take place with the Sooners when he made his first commitment, but it also seems that his affections change based on how well visits go to the schools that he’s involved with. Oklahoma appears to be the frontrunner yet again, but he has been on record as calling Texas his dream school, and Oregon is certainly not out of the picture - nor would I expect the Ducks staff to write him off. -- Nick Krueger, Rivals.com Texas Recruiting Analyst

Sting Score: 5

Any time you lose a five-star prospect it hurts badly, especially when Oregon dipped into Texas to get Henderson, the third-best receiver in the 2019 class, but this is not entirely devastating for the Ducks. Head coach Willie Taggart and his staff have been recruiting well, signing the 2019 class is still far off and Oregon should be just fine getting top-notch players. Still, keeping a commitment from a five-star in Texas would have been huge for the Ducks and it does hurt. -- Adam Gorney, Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst

Sting Score: 7

Average Sting Score: 6.3

The best decision for Henderson seems to be to wait until Signing Day 2019 if he can help it. Based on his recruitment to this point, the temptation to take all of his official visits during his senior year is going to be strong, and he'll have no shortage of teams looking to be on that list. As a five-star prospect, he shouldn't feel rushed to make his next decision, as any program would surely find a way to make room for him, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him make another commitment before then based on his impulsive nature thus far.