By Dave Miller, National Football Post
Robert Nkemdiche, the top overall prospect in the Class of 2013, has decommitted from Clemson.
A report of his decommitment first surfaced on Wednesday night from Neal McCready of RebelGrove.com, but Nkemdiche denied in separate text messages to two reporters that he had rescinded his verbal pledge, stating that nothing was final yet and that he was just undecided.
But the star recruit's high school coach, Mickey Conn, told MaxPreps in a Thursday morning email that the nation’s top-ranked recruit had indeed decommitted from Clemson.
The Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.) five-star defensive end's decommitment comes after weeks of speculation that he would back off of his verbal pledge. He has felt pressure from his mother to attend Ole Miss with his brother, Denzel, a freshman defender for Hugh Freeze's squad. Nkemdiche's mother recently publicly opposed his commitment to Clemson, as she wants him to become a Rebel. It also certainly doesn't hurt that Freeze is having an outstanding first season in Oxford.
The 6-5, 265-pound Nkemdiche, who racked up 78 tackles (including 36 tackles for loss) and 18 sacks in 2011, is not quite to the Jadeveon Clowney level, but he could have a similar freshman impact no matter where he ends up.
Nkemdiche made headlines this past summer when he intimated that he would like Clemson to also sign safety Ryan Carter, a high school teammate, as well as for posing for a photo while wearing an Ole Miss jersey.
At this point, the speculation surrounding the recruitment of Nkemdiche is ridiculous, so waiting until National Signing Day in February would be in everyone's best interest. But, of course, the popularity of college football and social media will only make recruitment sagas such as this one all the more common.
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