Monday Serves as Moving Day in College Football Recruiting
The Early Signing Period begins on December 16, when senior college football prospects can begin signing a National Letter of Intent.
Some 17 days prior, it was a momentous Monday of movement on the recruiting trail when it comes to top prospects backing off of longstanding commitments. As of this writing, a half-dozen prospects committed to Power 5 programs each took a step back.
Two are preseason SI99 members, one is an Elite 11 quarterback and the nation's No. 6 slot receiver flipped between Pac-12 programs before nightfall out west.
SI All-American breaks down the five biggest moves made.
LB Terrence Lewis Decommits from Tennessee
SI99 linebacker and Miami (Fla.) Central standout Terrence Lewis is back on the market as of Monday evening. Pledged to UT since April, he was openly recruiting for the Vols class as much as any longstanding commitment, and he says Jeremy Pruitt and company are still in it. Lewis, a one-time Florida commit, will have no shortage of programs inquiring about his signature next month. LSU, Clemson and Miami were each once tied at or near the top of his list at one point. UT was joined by Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Penn State and Nebraska the last time Lewis released a list of top schools. It's worth noting that the Aggies recently added two of his high school teammates to the 2021 group in SI99 running back Amari Daniels and two-way talent Yulkeith Brown.
RB Armoni Goodwin Decommits from Auburn
The Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville all-time leading rusher says his year-plus pledge to Gus Malzahn and company will keep the Tigers in it, but you don't back off of a pledge that longstanding to turn around and stick with them, right? Time will tell, but the compact running back talent told SI All-American programs like Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida State are heavily involved. UA and FSU have yet to gain a running back on the commitment list to this point in the cycle. No word yet on whether or not Goodwin will sign in December, but the clock is ticking either way for the SI99 member. Auburn is down to just 12 commitments in the 2021 class, second-fewest in the SEC only to South Carolina following the firing of Will Muschamp.
QB Luke Altmyer Decommits from Florida State
The rough first year ride for Mike Norvell hit another off-the-field low point on Monday with the morning news of the incoming QB opening the process back up, crippling a Seminole recruiting class clinging to a top 25 spot in the November SIAA recruiting rankings. Not only will this push FSU out of the mix without a considerable rebound, but it strikes a potential instant-impact prospect at the game's most important position from a program desperately in need of one to build the program around. Ole Miss has all of the knee-jerk reaction buzz with the Starkville (Miss.) talent and he would stand as Lane Kiffin's biggest early-tenure recruiting win thus far in Oxford.
USC Flips Slot WR Kyron Ware-Hudson
The Trojans saw their game vs. Colorado canceled this past weekend, but all wasn’t doom and gloom in Troy today. USC pulled off a Pac-12 recruiting double whammy by flipping No. 5 Nickel prospect Kyron Ware-Hudson from conference foe Oregon. Ware-Hudson is a SoCal native, hailing from national powerhouse and USC-friendly Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei HS. To add, it appears Ware-Hudson is set to play receiver for the Trojans, instead of covering them. This is a bit of a shock to many in the recruiting space, with Ware-Hudson’s brother, Keyon, currently at Oregon and his family being such staunch Duck supporters. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic influenced the former Oregon commit to opt to stay close to home. Ware-Hudson’s pledge gives USC 22 commitments, recently checking in at the No. 14 in the SI All-American recruiting class rankings.
DL Victory Vaka decommits from Texas A&M
Texas A&M lost its commitment from IDL Victory Vaka on Monday. The Aggies went to California and plucked the space-eater earlier this year in May. At 6-foot-2 and 350 pounds, Vaka is a natural nose-tackle who excels against the run with strength, mass, power and two-gapping ability. Schools such as Florida, Oregon State, Michigan and Oregon will be thick in the mix for Vaka, who was initially slated to be in College Station this past weekend. Keep a keen eye on the Nittany Lions, who offered moments after he posted the news, in this one.
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