Not only did Tennessee lose one of their higher-rated defensive commitments on Friday night, but he’ll be playing for one of the Vols’ biggest rivals in the future.
Four-star defensive back Mordecai McDaniel out of St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C. announced on his Twitter on Friday night that he is flipping his commitment from Tennessee to the Florida Gators in the 2020 class.
“Though I really appreciate everything that Tennessee have offered me, I must follow my heart,” McDaniel wrote before announcing his commitment to the Gators.
Though I really appreciate everything that Tennessee have offered me. I must follow my heart ♥️ and with that being said …I would like to say that I will be attending the University of Florida ? #GoGators pic.twitter.com/l9S1pLap2v
— Mordecai McDaniel (@HunnitBandCai) December 14, 2019
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back enjoyed a strong senior season and earned his fourth star this fall. He’s the No. 204 overall prospect and No. 15 cornerback in the 247Sports ratings and is a four-star in the composite rankings as well, coming in at No. 333 overall.
McDaniel originally committed to Tennessee back on August 21st, just 10 days before Tennessee’s 2019 season began. The Vols offered McDaniel back on January 18th, and he took an official visit to campus on June 7th and decided to commit a couple months later.
Florida and McDaniel had been flirting for a while, and McDaniel seemed like a flight risk for weeks. Now, he’s gone ahead and pull the trigger and announced his flip.
With McDaniel leaving Tennessee’s 2020 class, the Vols currently have 17 commitments in the 2020 cycle. One potential replacement for McDaniel is already on campus on a visit, however.
Three-star safety Doneiko Slaughter is taking an official visit to Knoxville this weekend, and he arrived on Friday. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete out of Roswell, Georgia committed to Arizona State over the summer on June 28th, and Tennessee officially offered him on August 1st.
On Friday, Slaughter announced his decommitment from the Sun Devils hours before he arrived in Knoxville.
After talking with my family. I would like to announce my de-commitment from Arizona State University. I sincerely thank all of the coaches at ASU for recruiting me, especially coach White. Please respect my decision. ?
— Doneiko Slaughter (@Neikoslaughter) December 13, 2019
Slaughter is the No. 669 overall prospect and No. 49 safety in the 2020 class per the 247Sports rankings. He’s a four-star on Rivals.com and is the No. 27 safety in their rankings.
On both 247Sports and Rivals, Slaughter has received a number of crystal ball predictions and “FutureCast” predictions in favor of Tennessee over the last 24 hours.
