Decommitments and flips that have shaped the 2025 recruiting cycle

As the college recruiting landscape continues to change year by year, more and more recruits are choosing to announce their college decisions early on in the process. Hundreds of prospects are coming off the board in May, June and July. As of Oct. 8, 282 of the top 300 prospects in the On3 Industry Ranking are verbally committed to a school.

While the first eight months of a recruiting cycle are dominated by commitments, the final third of the calendar is all about the opposite — decommitments and flips.

The 2023 class saw its fair share of those between September and December, and 2024 was possibly even more volatile. The 2025 class has already seen several elite prospects back off their pledges or flip their commitments with still two months until the Early Signing Period.

As we begin the home stretch of the 2025 cycle, On3 breaks down the biggest decommitments and flips thus far in the 2025 cycle.

Dakorien Moore twice chose an out-of-state program

Still the highest-rated prospect to back off of a pledge this cycle, Duncanville (Texas) Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Dakorien Moore decommitted from LSU after initially committing to the Tigers in August 2023.

Texas was a major player for Moore before and after his LSU commitment, but the Longhorns were not the only team involved. Oregon and Ohio State also made plays for the nation’s No. 4 prospect and No. 1 wide receiver. The Ducks became serious contenders for Moore when they hired running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples. Samples is the son of Duncanville High head coach Reginald Samples and is well-connected in the Dallas area.

Moore took official visits to Oregon, Ohio State, LSU and Texas in June before committing to the Ducks on the Fourth of July.

Alabama flipped prolific passer Keelon Russell from ACC newcomer

While Dakorien Moore has been busy putting up video game numbers at wide receiver at Duncanville, someone had to be delivering those passes to the elite wideout. That someone is Duncanville five-star quarterback Keelon Russell.

Russell, a onetime SMU pledge, flipped from the Mustangs to Alabama on June 4. When he pledged to SMU in September of last year, Russell was the No. 233 overall prospect and No. 16 quarterback in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 was especially high on Russell — ranking him No. 81 overall in the On300 at the time. After a stellar season and camp circuit, Russell has risen to No. 13 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking — and is now the crown jewel of Alabama’s 2025 class.

Over in Dallas, new ACC member SMU was not left in the dark at the quarterback position. The Mustangs were able to flip IMG Academy QB Ty Hawkins away from rival TCU on July 3.

Deuce Knight flipped to Auburn after several recent visits

In the 2024 recruiting class, Notre Dame landed top-70 quarterback CJ Carr, the grandson of legendary Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. The Irish hoped to keep that QB recruiting momentum going in the 2025 class — and they did when they landed elite George County (Miss.) passer Deuce Knight last September.

However, the allure of playing close to home in the SEC never quite went away for Knight. Knight, the No. 33 overall prospect in the On300, took several recent trips to Auburn — beginning with ‘Big Cat Weekend’ in late July and culminating in four gameday visits through the first half of the season. Not long after Knight’s Sept. 27 official visit to the Plains, he flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn on Oct. 2. According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Knight’s relationships with Hugh Freeze, Kent Austin and Kenyatta Watson ‘made him feel at home’ with the Tigers.

USC lost pledges from four top-100 recruits

Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson four-star safety Anquon Fegans was one of the earliest additions to USC’s 2025 recruiting class, committing to the Trojans in May 2023. That pledge lasted until August 2023. This past June, Fegans took official visits to Clemson, Miami, Georgia and LSU — but it was ultimately in-state Auburn that Fegans chose on July 29.

Aside from the Fegans decommitment, things progressed rather well on the 2025 recruiting trail for Lincoln Riley’s staff. USC added five-star quarterback Julian Lewis last August before an explosive March 24 saw commitments from Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Justus Terry, five-star EDGE Isaiah Gibson and top-100 safety Hylton Stubbs.

Unfortunately for the Trojans — Terry, Gibson and Stubbs left the class nearly as rapidly as they joined it.

Gibson decommitted from USC on June 18 before pledging to Georgia a week later on June 24. Stubbs backed off of his Trojans commitment on June 27, soon after committing to Miami on the Fourth of July. Terry — a onetime Georgia commit himself — decommitted from Southern Cal a day after Isaiah Gibson. His recruitment remains open, but the home-state ‘Dawgs are the major favorites in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine to bring Terry back into the fold.

Beware of Auburn and Miami

Hugh Freeze’s staff has been a bit of a menace to other programs around the country in the 2025 cycle. The Tigers have flipped several commits away from other schools — most notably three headliners in elite quarterback Deuce Knight, Selma (Ala.) four-star athlete Derick Smith and Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick four-star defensive lineman Nate Marshall.

Smith was yet another visitor for Auburn’s ‘Big Cat Weekend’ in late July who ended up in the Tigers’ recruiting class. After committing to Alabama back in March, Smith flipped to the Iron Bowl rival on July 29.

Marshall committed to Michigan on April 22 and did not make a trip to the Plains in late July for BCW. The No. 59 prospect in the class, Marshall took an official visit to Auburn in June despite his April pledge to the Wolverines. His relationship with defensive line coach Vontrell King-Williams ultimately pushed the Tigers over the finish line on Aug. 23.

Miami has also taken advantage of a handful of decommitments among the senior class. As we mentioned above, top-100 safety and Florida native Hylton Stubbs committed to the in-state Hurricanes on the Fourth of July after decommitting from USC days prior.

Mario Cristobal’s staff added to the defensive secondary on July 20 by landing New Iberia (La.) Westgate top-100 cornerback Jaboree Antoine. Previously an LSU commit, Antoine backed off his Tigers pledge on June 23. The Purple and Gold made another late push to keep Antoine home, but his relationships at Miami with Mario Cristobal, Chevis Jackson and Lance Guidry won out in the end.

Pembroke Pines (Fla.) West Broward four-star wide receiver Joshua Moore is the freshest decommitment in this entire story. Pledged to Florida since June 26, Moore flipped to rival Miami on Oct. 8. On3 ranks Moore much higher than the other recruiting services — slotting him in at No. 41 overall in the On300.

Change of scenery for two more 5-stars

It may feel like eons ago after what was one of the most exciting recruitments in the class, but Jacksonville Mandarin five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench was once committed to Alabama. Ffrench, the No. 3 receiver in the class, pledged to the Tide in July 2023. He remained solid with that commitment until legendary head coach Nick Saban retired in January.

Following Ffrench’s January decommitment was an ever-fluid arms race between multiple schools battling to bring Ffrench into their respective classes. At one time, Ohio State was the On3 RPM leader in Ffrench’s recruitment. Then, Ffrench said Texas had taken over the No. 1 spot. That did not last, either, as Ffrench stated he no longer had a leader among Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Tennessee and LSU.

Ultimately, Ffrench did in fact choose the Longhorns on Aug. 30.

When West Jordan (Utah) Corner Canyon four-star wide receiver Jerome Myles decommitted from Ole Miss on June 24, he was a four-star prospect ranked No. 119 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. An explosive senior season has seen Myles rocket up the recruiting rankings to five-star status and No. 27 overall in the nation.

After taking an official visit to USC on Sept. 7, Myles joined five-star quarterback Julian Lewis and committed to the Trojans 11 days later.

Tennessee, Oregon trade flips

Derby (Kan.) four-star tight end DaSaahn Brame nearly committed to Tennessee in late June. After a late push from Oregon in the final hours, Brame chose to pledge his commitment to the Ducks on June 29. However, that announcement did not mean that Josh Heupel and the Vols just faded into the background.

Tennessee continued its courting of the nation’s No. 5 tight end and eventually flipped Brame’s commitment nearly one month to the day after he joined Oregon’s recruiting class.

Yet, Oregon did eventually get a bit of revenge.

Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star interior offensive lineman Douglas Utu committed to Tennessee on June 24 not long after taking official visits to Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, Alabama and Tennessee.

But the Ducks continued to battle for Utu, one of the country’s most talented interior linemen. Fellow Bishop Gorman offensive lineman Alai Kalaniuvalu committed to Oregon on July 10 and Utu followed two months later on Sept. 26.

Other major recruiting decommitments and flips

Among the other newsworthy moves so far this cycle:

• Elite running back Akylin Dear decommitted from Ole Miss during a particularly rough stretch for Rebels recruiting. Dear then committed to Alabama on Aug. 20
• South Carolina won a massive recruiting battle when it landed elite cornerback Shamari Earls over Michigan and others. But Georgia turned up the heat on Earls in June, and he eventually flipped to the Bulldogs in early July.
• Once one of the highest-rated commits in Notre Dame’s 2025 class, four-star safety Ivan Taylor — the son of former NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Ike Taylor — flipped to rival Michigan on July 8.
• Adding to a brutal start to the 2024 season for Florida State, four-star defensive lineman Myron Charles flipped his commitment from the Seminoles to Texas on Sept. 7.
• Flips giveth and they taketh away. Just over a month before Texas flipped Myron Charles from Florida State, four-star cornerback Kade Phillips flipped his own pledge from the Longhorns to LSU on Aug. 18.