Sting Factor: Deion Colzie's decommitment from Notre Dame
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from 1-10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
RELATED: Rivals100 WR Deion Colzie re-opens his recruitment
THE SITUATION
Deion Colzie called Notre Dame his dream school. The four-star receiver admitted, though, that maybe he rushed his commitment as well.
The Athens (Ga.) Athens Academy standout who’s ranked as the No. 11 receiver nationally, backed off his pledge to the Irish on Thursday night by calling coach Brian Kelly and he now says his recruitment is wide open again.
It cannot go unnoticed that Colzie recently took a low-key visit to nearby Georgia and the Bulldogs are looking for playmakers, especially at receiver. Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and others continue to pursue Colzie and more are expected now that he has reopened his recruitment.
In an interview with Southeast Recruiting Analyst Chad Simmons, Colzie said he would also continue to consider Notre Dame. It’s often difficult to land a re-commitment, but Notre Dame is Colzie’s favorite school and he could have an immediate impact in that offense.
The Irish are still looking strong with their 2021 recruiting class including on the offensive side of the ball with quarterback Tyler Buchner, receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., tight end Cane Berrong and offensive lineman Blake Fisher leading the way. All of them are currently high four-star recruits.
LOCAL REACTION
This decommitment has been brewing for a few months, as Colzie visited Georgia a couple months ago, which was kept very quiet. I had no idea that it happened until very recently. Notre Dame loves Colzie as a fit on and off the field, so this one stings quite a bit. Colzie is a big-time playmaker on the outside and fits the mold of Chase Claypool, who had a dominant 2019 season at Notre Dame and will be picked high in the NFL Draft.
Apparently Colzie will still be considering Notre Dame, but it's an uphill battle for Brian Kelly and Co. to land him once again. Notre Dame isn't involved with that many other 2021 receiver prospects at this time either, which makes Colzie's decommitment sting more. — Mike Singer, BlueandGold.com
Sting factor: 8
NATIONAL REACTION
This one hurts because Colzie is a talent and a big receiver who would have fit well with what Notre Dame needs and wants in the 2021 class. He was also a pull from the state of Georgia, which is an important recruiting territory for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish try to hit the Southeast. Colzie is unlikely to end up at Notre Dane now as Georgia is the team to beat and the Irish will need to play catch-up with some wide receivers in this class. — Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 7