Who will have college football's top decommitment class?

The class of 2021 is the most unique in the history of modern recruiting thanks to the extended dead period brought on by the pandemic. Prospects have committed at record rates, but with less information available to both schools and prospects due to the quarantine shutdown.

Many prospects have scrambled to secure spots in classes even if they have never visited those campuses.

All this sets up for a potentially amazing season of decommitments.

In keeping with that idea, I am tracking the race for the top decommitment class in the country. Players who recommit to a class will not be counted against a school. There’s no algorithm here. The formula is simple: Total stars of a school’s decommits. Updates will come monthly.

No. 1 Miami Hurricanes: 17 stars

The Miami Hurricanes are typically the school which suffers the most decommitments in a given year. They effort to get the jump on the local talent in their area, only to usually have it lured away later on, or part ways with it in other cases if those prospects do not develop.

But the last month was actually a good one for Miami on the decommitment front, as four-star receiver Romello Brinson recommitted to the Hurricanes.

Still, Miami has the narrowest of leads. Already in the 2021 cycle the Hurricanes have lost a five-star prospect and four three-stars. The leader of the group is five-star athlete James Williams, though Miami could get him back in the fold as well.

No. 2 Florida Gators: 16 stars

The Florida Gators are nipping at the heels of the Miami Hurricanes. But like Miami, June was actually a good month for Florida recruiting, as four-star safety Kamar Wilcoxson decommitted from Tennessee and recommitted to the Gators.

Five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis was once a UF commit, as were two other four-star prospects in defensive end Bryce Langston and safety Dink Jackson. Most of these decommitments happened in calendar year 2019, which does beg the question of Florida’s staying power near the top of this list. However, Florida’s elite start will likely keep the Gators in the top ten all season.

No. 3 (tie) Ole Miss: 15 stars

The drop from Miami and Florida to our No. 3 team in the June rankings was pretty substantial. But now the gap has narrowed. Ole Miss has lost commitments from five players, and all of them are rated three-stars. The best are receiver Adonai Mitchell and safety M.J. Daniels. Mitchell flipped to Georgia in July. With A new coaching staff, Ole Miss has not been in a rush to take new commitments, and so the Rebels might not stay this high all year.

No. 3 (tie) Boston College: 15 stars

Boston College makes the list thanks mostly to the decommitments which naturally come with a coaching change. The Eagles have lost five commitments from three-star players, three of whom committed to the prior coaching staff. But the Eagles do have 15 commitments in their current class, which is one of the higher numbers in the country. But without any four- or five-stars, BC is unlikely to end up at the top on National Signing Day due to a lack of quality. 

No. 5 Virginia Tech: 14 stars

The Hokies are the big mover over the last month and may have some staying power. Virginia Tech is now down two four-stars and two three-stars, including QB Dematrius Davis and four-star linebacker Aaron Willis. 

This is a pivotal year for coach Justin Fuente. It is not hard to imagine prospects jumping ship if things do not go well and they have doubt about the future of the head man. But do the Hokies have enough quality prospects committed to take home the crown? As of this writing, Virginia tech doesn’t have any four-star or better recruits committed.

No. 6 (tie) Minnesota: 13 stars

In the previous month’s edition of the Race for the No. 1 decommitment class, Minnesota was listed in the “lurking” section. It didn’t take long for the Gophers to emerge. Three prospects, all from out of state decommitted from the Gophers over the last month. The headliner of the group is four-star defensive end Sam Jackson. In all, Minnesota has had four decommitments. And due to the number of prospects committed to the Gophers from out of region, and the extended dead period preventing those players from visiting, Minnesota will continue to be a team to watch. 

No. 6 (tie) Mississippi State: 13 stars

Mississippi State makes its debut on this list due to the decommitments of three-star athlete Kadarius Calloway and three-star defensive end Thomas Davis. Calloway flipped to Alabama and Davis is expected to pick Miami in August. In all, the Bulldogs have four decommitments, including one four-star in athlete Deion Smith. But with only ten remaining commitments, most of whom hail from nearby, Mississippi State might not be able to capture the crown this cycle. 

No. 8 Texas: 10 stars

In June, Texas was the No. 5 team in the decommitment rankings. And while the Longhorns might have some staying power, UT had a quiet month.  But they have already lost commitments from four-star receiver Quaydarius Davis, and three-star tight ends Lake McRee and Landen King. With Texas in a major prove-it year for coach Tom Herman, any sort of disappointing year on the field could give Texas some serious staying power.

No. 9: Clemson: 9 stars

At no point over the last five years would Clemson have been on this list. Since Dabo Swinney got things rolling, a commitment to Clemson was a virtual lock to stick. And to be clear, the Tigers are not losing a large volume of players. But the quality of player they have already lost includes the No. 1 player in the nation on the 247Sports Composite Rankings in defensive end Korey Foreman and the No. 77 player in cornerback Jordan Hancock. 

No. 10 (three-way tie) Alabama, Notre Dame, and Oregon: 8 stars

Alabama is typically going to be high up on the list due to the quality of player it recruits. It doesn't lose that many, but when it does the losses are pretty substantial. The Tide have two members of their decommitment class to this point with QB Drake Maye and cornerback Latrell McCutchin, both four-stars.

Notre Dame makes the list due to the decommitments of four-star receiver Deion Colzie and center Greg Crippen. But the Irish typically do not have many decommitments, so it will be worth watching to see just how high they end up.

Oregon checks in with two decommitments. Both are four-star prospects in athlete Anthony Beavers Jr. and guard Josh Simmons. The Ducks typically have a lot of decommitments as prospects often have to come from far away to play for Oregon, but this year only four of the remaining 17 commitments the Ducks have are from east of the Rocky Mountains.

SOURCE: Elliott, Bud. "Who will have college football's top decommitment class?" 247Sports.com, 17 July 2020, https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/college-football-recruit-decommit-class-race-for-rank--149249489/#149249489_1