West Spotlight: Flip candidates for 2021
More than half of the 2021 prospects rated four stars or higher are currently committed to a college program and many of those commitments have come since the start of April. This uptick in spring commitments from previous years is likely to be mirrored by a higher percentage of decommitments when the NCAA re-opens recruiting and allows campus visits to take place.
With that in mind, we look at five prospects from the West who are potential flip candidates.
RELATED: Midwest flip candidates for 2021 | Southeast
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
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Damuni’s father, Jack, is on the staff at BYU, so it makes a whole lot of sense that the three-star defensive back is sticking with the Cougars. But there has been a lot of talk that the Provo (Utah) Timpview standout is at least looking at other schools and a lot of offers are coming his way. Oregon, Utah, Nebraska, Arizona and Oregon State are all being considered by Damuni, who has seen his recruitment pick up in recent months. There are ties to BYU that could make it difficult to flip somewhere else, but a lot of schools are now involved and Damuni has many more options.
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Davis is a really interesting one because he’s been committed to LSU since New Year’s Day and he recently said he’s recruiting hard for the Tigers and he's trying to get five-star defensive end Korey Foreman (a former Clemson commit) and many others in LSU’s recruiting class. But there continue to be rumors about USC not giving up, trying to keep him home and making him a centerpiece of that Trojans defense moving forward.
On top of that, if USC QB commit Miller Moss ends up at Mater Dei, then he will be in Davis’ ear the whole time to flip to the Trojans. For his part, Davis has given no serious indication he’s looking around - and he said Ed Orgeron is a big reason why he picked LSU - but USC and others have not stopped pursuing him.
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Gaoteote was a talented linebacker and one of the keys to St. John Bosco’s outstanding defense last season, but he said a move to Las Vegas Bishop Gorman is in store for his senior year, which also will call into question his commitment to USC. There are rumors that other schools are heavily pursuing him, and Gaoteote said that Michigan State, Nebraska, Kansas State and Colorado are all getting seriously involved in his recruitment. His brother, Palaie, was a five-star out of Gorman who went to USC and could have a breakout season, but he has been slowed by injuries. The Trojans are right in the thick of things, but a move to Bishop Gorman for Gaoteote could reset some things in his recruitment.
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Let’s be clear: Garcia has given no serious indication that he is looking at other programs or that a flip to another school is imminent, and with the coronavirus travel ban in place until at least August no other visits are even possible at this point. The high four-star quarterback has been committed to USC since September, but the Trojans just landed another QB pledge in Miller Moss, who is rumored to be transferring to Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. Two-quarterback classes are often tough to swallow. Miami and many others have been making a run at Garcia, so this could be an opportunity for Garcia to at least investigate other options and look at other schools.
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McGee was committed to Oregon early in the recruiting process. Then he decommitted. Soon after, he picked the Ducks again. He was at Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne, but then transferred back home to Rochester (N.Y.) East. Then he was going to play his senior season at Corona (Calif.) Centennial, but is now back in Rochester working out and could attend East again or possibly a school in the Bronx.
For the time being, it looks unlikely he will spend his senior season on the West Coast, which means a lot of schools in the Northeast and that region could get much more involved in his recruitment. Throughout this whirlwind high school experience, McGee has said time and again that Oregon is the right place for him to play college football. But it’s a long way until he gets to Eugene, and many other programs are interested in the four-star athlete.