Top recruits choosing college over delayed high school football season

By Zack Poff Aug 5, 2020, 3:30pm

Ohio State pledge Jordan Hancock and 4-star linebacker Keith Brown latest blue-chip recruits to announce they are not going to play senior season.

A handful of states have already pushed high school football season to 2021, forcing top recruits to make difficult decisions. Stay and play senior year? Graduate in December and enroll early in college? Transfer to a state playing in the fall? Reclassify?

North Gwinnett's (Suwanee, Ga.) 4-star cornerback Jordan Hancock became the first player to announce he is sitting out his senior year even though Georgia plans to play in the fall. Both of his parents have an underlying health condition and he wants to limit his interaction with other people.

The final option is what 5-star cornerback Tony Grimes of Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) did, announcing on Twitter a switch from the Class of 2021 to 2020 with plans to enroll at North Carolina on Aug. 1. IMG Academy's (Bradenton, Fla.) 4-star defensive back Kamar Wilcoxson joined Grimes and plans to enroll at Florida later in August.

After the California Interscholastic Federation announced they are pusing back its fall season championships to April, some 4- and 5-star recruits said they plan to enroll into college in January and not play in the spring.



California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and Washington have all moved football to the spring as of August 5.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS RE-START: Updates from all 50 states

Expect to see more announcements in the coming weeks. See the list below for players who have already weighed in on the matter.
Korey Foreman, Corona Centennial
Korey Foreman, Corona Centennial
File photo by Louis Lopez
Anthony Beavers Jr., Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.): After the CIF announced its plan to move forward, the USC pledge tweeted, "Time to get ready for college."

Keith Brown, Lebanon (Ore.): The top-rated player in Oregon announced on Twitter he will not be playing his senior season after the announcement of football getting moved to the spring. The future Duck tweeted, "I will be foregoing my senior season due to fall sports being pushed to the spring. Thank you high school football. KB out."

Marcus Bradley, Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.): After the Montgomery County Board of Education and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced the cancellation of fall and winter sports the 2021 Maryland commit tweeted, "See you in January College Park."

Akili Calhoun, Liberty (Brentwood, Calif.): The 4-star defensive end released a statement after the CIF announcement that indicated he will graduate early and enroll in January at Cal.

Beaux Collins, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.): The 2021 Clemson commit told Tigernet.com, "It was a pretty big decision but I wanted to stay on track to getting to college early and adapting to the academics and things like that played a huge role in it."



Jaylin Davies, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.): The 2021 Oregon commit told us back in June that his plan has always been to graduate in December and head off to college in January. He tweeted earlier, "Gonna miss it."

Korey Foreman, Centennial (Corona, Calif.): The No. 1 high school football in the country according to 247Sports, Foreman tweeted, "If they make me choose between my senior season or going to college ... please believe I'm headed to my first camp." The star defensive end is uncommitted.

Xamarion Gordon, Warren (Downey, Calif.): The 2021 USC commit tweeted, "I will be foregoing my senior season and be jumping straight to the big stage, thanks for all the love and support."

Jordan Hancock, North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.): He is the first to announce he will sit out his senior season in a state that is playing in the fall. The 2021 Ohio State commit told 247Sports that both his parents have underlying health conditions and he wants to limit his interaction with other people in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sam Hart, Cherokee Trail (Aurora, Colo.): The 3-star tight end announced on Twitter he plans to enroll at Ohio State in January. He tweeted, "I am so heartbroken by this decision, however I plan to enroll early... therefore I will not be participating in my senior season for football or wrestling."

TreVeyon Henderson, Hopewell (Va.): The top-rated running back in the Class of 2021 announced he will not transfer to another high school to play in the fall after Virginia announced it was moving football to the spring. He will enroll at Ohio State in January.

Julien Simon, Lincoln (Tacoma, Wash.): The 2021 USC commit released a statement on Twitter stating he will be enrolling at the University of Southern California in January and skipping his senior season after the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced its moving football to the spring.

Jermaine Terry, Kennedy (Richmond, Calif.): The nation's seventh-rated tight end announced on Twitter he will enroll early at California as planned.

Xavier Worthy, Central (Fresno, Calif.): The speedy Michigan commit tweeted, "I've decided to forego my senior season and head straight to the Big House."