College football recruiting is based on so many factors, but one of the major ones is relationships. Position coaches recruit players, and relationships are made. When coaches move on, players reconsider their commitments. Oklahoma running back coach DeMarco Murray left for the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving a void.
Now, Murray's departure may have impacted the 2028 class, as a running back from the class has decommitted, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.
Micah Rhodes, the number two-ranked running back in the class of 2028, has decommitted from the Sooners after committing to them in January. He initially chose Oklahoma over multiple top-end programs going after him. After Murray left Oklahoma, Rhodes spoke to OU Insider Parker Thune.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know, man,” Rhodes told OU Insider’s Parker Thune when reacting to Murray’s departure. “It’s a lot of emotion going on right now. I’m happy for Coach, stepping his career up and going to do something that’ll help his career and help his family out and stuff like that. So I’m happy for him, but I obviously don’t know what to do… Me and my dad, we were talking about it. We’re talking to our agents, trying to get some closure on what’s going on right now and ideas on what to do. But to be honest with you, we don’t know yet.”
It seems like Rhodes has now decided what he is doing by reopening his recruitment. Texas and Texas A&M, both of whom recruited Rhodes heavily before his commitment, are expected to be active again.
