Duke Suffers Second July 4 Loss as Garrett DiGiorgio Stays Home
Duke coaches couldn’t enjoy their July 4 cookouts as much as usual, after a pair of 2021 prospects declared their independence from Blue Devil recruiting and committed elsewhere.
Defensive end Stone Eby decided to stay home in Texas and go to SMU, announcing in the early afternoon on the fourth.
About an hour before that the Blue Devils missed on another long-distance recruit as three-star offensive tackle Garrett DiGiorgio decided to stay home in California and attend UCLA.
The 6-foot-7, 295 pounder from Phelan, California’s Serrano High is the No. 678 prospect in the class, according to 247Sports. He’s the No. 56 tackle and the No. 61 prospect in California.
Duke offered DiGiorgio two months ago and seemed to be doing well. He told 247Sports, “I’ve been building a good relationship with the coaching staff there. (Offensive line) coach (Greg) Frey and Austin Davis are the two guys I talk with the most and I like both of them a lot. We text a lot and I can tell I’m a priority for them. They offered back in late April and have been on me consistently ever since."
DiGiorgio put the Blue Devils in his final eight schools, the only eastern program to make the list, which also included UCLA, Cal, Arizona, Oregon State, Utah, Washington State and San Diego State.
Duke has offered two dozen 2021 tackles and has commitments from two: Pfafftown, NC’s Andrew Jones and Alabama’s Almarion Crim, both three-stars. Just over a half dozen are still uncommitted. Duke’s best bets are with Washington’s William Reed, Iowa’s Tyler Maro and Texas’ Max Merril.
