Hours before what was supposed to be a drama-free National Signing Day, Northwestern has lost one of its 15 commits for the class of 2014. Hamilton Anoa'i, a two-star linebacker/safety/wide receiver who committed to NU in December, has reportedly flipped his commitment to Cal.
It's unknown what caused the decommitment, but it's certainly surprising for it to happen this late in the game. NU had held the class together pretty well up until November despite the losing season. However, even though the class is still impressive, there has been some drama as of late:
Four total de-commitments for Northwestern's 2014 recruiting class. It's a bad look.
— Nick Medline (@NickMedline) February 5, 2014
Anoa'i joins Dareian Watkins, Noah Westerfield and Jordan Thomas as decommits from NU. Four decommits is a pretty crazy number for a program that prides itself in securing strong commitments.
What's even crazier is this is the third commit in the past two years that NU has lost to Cal. Westerfield also flipped to the Golden Bears this year, and 2013 recruit Ray Davison did the year before. That should make for an interesting game in Evanston this season.
Greyshirt commit Jared McGee will likely receive a full scholarship now, brining NU's class to its original 15.