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.
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MIDWEST SPOTLIGHT: Emerging prospects from 2022 class
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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THE SITUATION
Oregon State scored a big recruiting win in early August when the Beavers dipped into Florida and landed a commitment.
Three-star defensive back Jaylen Martin committed to the Pac-12 school and the Tampa (Fla.) Chamberlain safety was going to be a big piece of the Oregon State defensive back class.
But Martin backed off that pledge in recent days - only about two months after making it - and said his recruitment is 100 percent open again.
Iowa State, Kansas, South Florida, UCF, Washington State and others have offered and it would not be shocking to see Martin end up staying somewhere closer to home and probably in-state.
It is expected to be a smaller class for the Beavers and right now only three-star Arnez Madison is expected to play defensive back. Martin’s commitment was not only important to help fill a DB role but also to give Oregon State some in-roads into the state of Florida.
LOCAL REACTION
"This situation was one that you had to keep a close eye on from the beginning, especially seeing that Martin committed only two months after the offer. While that is a great testament to coach Blue Adams’ recruiting abilities, it made it a lot less surprising to see him back off of his decision and explore different, closer opportunities.
The Beavers still have a promising defensive back in the fold with Madison, so all is not lost here. They also added some top JUCO talent in Rejzohn Wright, Alton Julian and Ron Hardge last cycle, so things are still trending upwards for Oregon State's secondary." - Jared Halus, BeaversEdge.com
Sting factor: 6
NATIONAL REACTION
“Every program wants to hit Florida and get value out of the state so this one hurts. It was a bit of a long shot in this dead period with no visits, but he was a key part of this class.” - Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 7
