Recruiting can be a wild ride for players, families and teams in college athletics as there is sometimes an added pressure for those to make their final decision and pick a school. Sometimes players “flip” to other teams due to multiple circumstances which can make recruitment very interesting.
It’s never really over until a recruit signs that letter of intent, and then coaches can finally take a deep breath and stop stressing. Throughout each recruiting cycle there are always flips as a player commits to a program and then changes his mind, eventually signing with another program. Yeah, those hurt the fanbase but if it’s in the best interest of the recruit, then we certainly cannot be mad.
With college football in its offseason and the 2021 class all wrapped up, John Garcia Jr. of Sports Illustrated released his “All-Decommit” list for offense, spotlighting the top players who were committed to one program before flipping. Among his list are two Florida Gators:
- TE Nick Elksnis
- OL Austin Barber
Elksnis was named honorable mention at tight end as he was originally committed to Penn State before flipping to Florida. He’s one of two tight ends that signed in the 2021 class and will make that position stronger.
As for Barber, he was committed to Minnesota for a while but after the Gators made a strong push, he ended up changing his mind. In the end, he stayed in-state and the Gators are certainly happy he did.
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