Only nine leads stopped participating in Pac-12 programs during this hiring cycle because the number of engagements was also lower during the conference. Historically, there will be many others before the signing date.
Today, we conclude a week-long series looking at the most influential factors to date in Pac-12.
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Caleb Bryant’s decommitment from Utah
The Utes not a regular Mississippi State recruit, but it looks like the coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff found a gem in Bryant, a four-star defensive solution from Vicksburg, Miss., who committed to the Pac-12 powerhouse in June. But about two months later, others also discovered Bryant, with new offers from USC and Oregon Plus, schools in the state were more involved, and after a brief commitment — but an impactful one — Bryant was back on the market.
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RJ Jones ‘discontinued from Cal
Safe four-star from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco is committed Cal in February and was with the Golden Bears until mid-August, but his hiring has now reopened. Cal has had an unfortunate streak of declines in recent months, led by Jones, who is currently reviewing Colorado, UCLA, Louisville and Oregon State. Jones also still has Cal on the list. A pipeline to the Bosco power plant would be nice, but it’s unlikely to go through Jones.
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Maliki Crawford quits UCLA and commits to USC
It feels like a long time ago Crawford committed to Bruins when he made that decision in July 2021 and it lasted until the end of January, but that’s when he reopened his hiring and looked around. Rumor is USC would play too much of a role in his recruitment and that was the case when the long and solidly armed defender picked up Trojan in early August. It wasn’t a turning point as it was almost half a year between the squads. committed, but it was really harmful when Crawford was staying in town.
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Naquil Bertrand abandons Colorado and commits to Texas A&M
An early commitment to Colorado didn’t exist as more SEC teams started coming in after him in the off-season, and the Philadelphia Northeast’s three-star offensive lead narrowed his picks to Georgia, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Auburn, Kentucky and Penn State. In early August, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound prospect committed to Aggies as his earlier commitment to Colorado seemed like a distant memory.
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Amos Talalele moves from Cal to USC
Talalele visited Cal and commitment. That could be the end of it. But USC The coaching staff persisted with the attacking three-star striker from Santa Clara, California, and convinced him to continue his visit with USC a few weeks later. Talalele decided to take the trip, and that’s when he moved his two-week-old commit from Cal to Trojan. Standing 6 feet-5 and 320 pounds, the Northern California offensive lineman is bringing a lot of skill and mass to the USC’s strike line. The Trojan’s persistence paid off in getting him to school.
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Armel Mukam’s flip from Stanford to Notre Dame
Mukam’s decision is not only surprising because he was only committed Stanford for about two months and not many people often pass up the opportunity to study there, but also because the three-star defensive end never publicly reported an offer from Notre Dame. The flip is very important because Mukam is a talented player with attack and Stanford needs to reload the defence. But the Cardinal is doing very well with commitments from Cameron Brandt, Clegg Hunter and Gavin Geweniger through the line of defense.
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Ashton Sanders ‘discontinued from Cal
Three-star defensive save from the committed Los Angeles Cathedral Cal end Wisconsin at the end of June, and it was a big win for the Golden Bears by beating a perennially powerful Big 10. But Sanders’ pledge won’t even last two months when the three stars withdrew their pledge in mid-August, and it’s still unclear which school is actually the hardest behind him.
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Johnny Thompson’s is shutting down from USC
Thompson is committed USC running from October 2021 to the end of January, but in between there was a change of coach and Thompson considered other options. Oregon caught the attention of the prominent Westlake (Caif.) Oaks Christian Village and then Cal made a run for him, but the three stars have been quiet on the recruiting path in recent months. Indiana, Colorado and Fresno State have had three participating schools recently.
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Carson Mott Gives Up Cal And Commits To Colorado
