Decommitments and flips that have shaped the 2025 recruiting cycle

The final few months of the college football recruiting cycle for 2025 are here, and while the first two-thirds months of a recruiting cycle are dominated by commitments, the final few months are all about the opposite — decommitments and flips.

Less than a month remains until National Signing Day, when thousands of prospects will put pen to paper and make their commitments official. As of this moment, 286 of the top 300 prospects in the On3 Industry Ranking are verbally committed to a school.

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, and the last stretch of the cycle will surely see more.

As we close in on National Signing Day, On3 breaks down the biggest decommitments and flips thus far in the 2025 cycle.

Caleb Cunningham opts for in-state Ole Miss over Alabama

There was no bigger target on Lane Kiffin and Co’s board this cycle than in-state five-star wideout Caleb Cunningham.

The Rebels have been involved in his recruitment for more than two years, but he chose Alabama in July amidst a huge recruiting month for the Tide. Cunningham never truly shut the door on other programs though, taking visits to multiple other SEC schools this fall.

No school worked harder than Ole Miss though, which brought him to campus at least four times between July and November. And that persistence paid off Wednesday when he announced that he’d flipped his commitment to the Rebels. Landing him is arguably Lane Kiffin’s biggest recruiting in Oxford, and it doesn’t hurt that it comes at the expense of an SEC rival.

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. He visited LSU earlier this month again, but will be a tough flip from the program in Eugene.

Alabama had its own 5-star flip

While the Cunningham news no doubt stings Alabama, the Tide have been on the right side of a number of flips this cycle. Atop that list is Moore’s teammate: 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 one of the crown jewels of Alabama’s 2025 class.

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. 32 overall prospect in the country, took several trips to Auburn — beginning with ‘Big Cat Weekend’ in late July and culminating in four game day 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.

Florida State’s class is being decimated after 1-9 start

After putting together the No. 12 class nationally in 2024, Florida State had high hopes for 2025 coming off last year’s 13-1 season that ended outside the College Football Playoff. At one point early in the cycle, the ‘Noles had the highest average rating per commitment and were trending toward a top-10 class.

But amid a disastrous season on the field, they recruiting class has taken multiple hits. Four-star defensive lineman Myron Charles was the first to go, flipping his commitment from the Seminoles to Texas on Sept. 7.

Elite EDGE Javion Hilson followed suit by decommitting a day later. And then FSU’s top three wide receiver pledges — Daylan McCutcheon, CJ Wiley and Malik Clark — all decommitted in October. Mike Norvell and Co. will have to work hard to keep the rest of the class together, including five-star offensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

USC saw four top-100 decommits

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.

Auburn and Miami have made life difficult for other programs

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 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. 66 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. The aforementioned 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-150 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 became the latest to defect from another school and join the ‘Canes. 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.

Early 5-star flips helped shape multiple classes

At this time a year ago, Jacksonville Mandarin five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench was 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 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 five-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. Impressive showings over the summer and early in his senior year saw 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 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, which culminated in him flipping 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. That pledge only lasted a few months though, as Earls flipped from UGA to Michigan in early November.
  
• 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. Now the Wolverines are trying to hold off Alabama, which is favored to flip him once more.
  
• 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.