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The whispers started a while ago before growing into full blown speculation. BYU's top recruit in the 2016 class, junior college offensive lineman Garett Bolles, was shooting up recruiting boards -- and recently was rated the second-best JUCO prospect nationally for 2016 by 247Sports. The Snow College lineman was picking up offers from virtually every big name in the sport and his 247Sports rating shot up to 94.00, on the fringe of becoming a five-star recruit.
Now, what many had suspected has happened, as Bolles has decommitted from BYU and has opened up his recruitment.
Snow College OT Garett Bolles joined the podcast last night to discuss his de-commitment from #BYU. http://t.co/Eb1rGpWH7r @1320KFAN
— CougarCenter on 1320 (@Cougar_Center) May 6, 2015
Bolles currently has offers from blue chip programs like Oregon, Auburn, Arkansas, Ohio State and Alabama. While Bolles would likely project to be an immediate starter for the Cougars, it completely makes sense for him to reevaluate his options. If Nick Saban comes calling, it's hard not to listen.
Bolles has not eliminated BYU from contention, and we expect the Cougars to continue to still recruit him heavily.
"I love the coaches, they have done great things for me, they are a great influence in this. I am not ruling them out" – Bolles #BYU
— CougarCenter on 1320 (@Cougar_Center) May 6, 2015
BYU has held on to talented prospects who have decommitted before, most recently with Dayan Lake in the last recruiting class. Of course, while Lake did have some interest from the likes of Alabama early, his decommitment was too late for someone like Saban to still have interest.
With the decommitment, BYU tumbles to 53rd ranked class by 247. It's barely May though, and an awful lot will change in recruiting by then.