On January 1, five-star quarterback
Brock Vandagriff shocked many when he announced his decommitment from
Oklahoma. The junior out of Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue committed to the Sooners in June, and he still loves
Lincoln Riley and the Sooners, but realized over the holiday break that he would feel better about his future if he was closer to his family.
"That call to coach Riley was very tough," said Vandagriff. "I have nothing but love and respect for Oklahoma and the coaches there. Nothing was ever wrong with Oklahoma and I made sure I told coach Riley that this decision was all on my side. "It was a great fit for me as a quarterback at Oklahoma, but I feel I can fit in well other places too. Over the break, I talked with my family about location and how far Oklahoma is from home. I am close to my grandparents and great grandparents that live in Alabama and my parents are in Georgia, so that distance was weighing on me.
"I want my parents to be able to see me play every week like they do now. I want all of my family to be at the games, so that is what it came down to. "Coach Riley is a great guy and we continued to communicate a few days after I decommitted. He is a great guy and neither he or Oklahoma had anything to do with this decision. "It was all about family."
Within 30 minutes of Vandagriff's announcement,
Auburn,
Florida and
Georgiareached out.
South Carolina and
Tennessee did later that day as well. All five schools are hoping to get Vandagriff back on campus again.
The No. 1 quarterback is not sure what's next for him. "I enjoyed my break, I spent time with family and I got in the weight room a lot," said Vandagriff. "Relaxing for me if working out or hunting, so I was in the weight room at the school a lot the last few days. "I did not think about recruiting too much over the break. I don't have any visits or anything scheduled right now. Nothing is locked in. We will see what happens."
Vandagriff had an original list of schools, and outside of Clemson and Oklahoma, all appear to still be on it. Vandagriff has made it clear that he wants to attend a college closer to his family, so expect him to end up in the SEC when he makes his final decision.
