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Malachi Nelson, a five-star quarterback in the class of 2020, decommit from Oklahoma on Sunday night, one of three class of 2023 commitments the Sooners lost in the hours following the news that Lincoln Riley had accepted the head-coaching job at USC.
Nelson, from Los Alamitos High School in California, decommitting from Oklahoma in light of the recent events and changes.
Gods plan...
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Malachi Nelson posted on November 29, 2021.
Nelson chose the Sooners because of Riley's help in his recruitment.
The stability in the coaching staff and their ability to develop the quarterback position was one of the things that attracted me most to OU, other than the rich history and amazing fans.
The wide receiver and the running back were both ranked in the top 150.
According to the rankings by ESPN, a recruit from American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida, is the No. 6 prospect in the state. He had committed to Oklahoma.
In July, he originally committed to Oklahoma over Georgia and Ohio State.
"First off, I would like to thank the University of Oklahoma and the coaching staff for believing in me and welcoming me with open arms," he wrote on his verified account. I have to do what's best for me at the end of the day, but it has been a wild recruiting process for me to say the least. Due to the recent changes, my family and I have decided to decommit from the University of Oklahoma.
The recruits were not the only ones to react to Riley's departure. Raleek Brown, a running back from Oklahoma who is a member of the 300, told ESPN on Sunday that Riley's move will affect his recruitment.
Brown said that "that changes everything" after it was reported that Riley would be the new USC coach. I had a good relationship with the Oklahoma coaches.
Brown is the second-ranked recruit in California. He's a 5-foot-7, 170-pound back from Santa Ana, California, and has committed to Oklahoma since February.
USC was a school of interest for Brown before he chose Oklahoma, but like other California recruits, he chose to go out of state.
USC has only signed 30 of the 142 recruits from California over the past five recruiting cycles, but Brown believes that could change with the arrival of Riley.
"It's exciting news for everyone," Brown said. He's a great head coach, you could tell what he was doing at Oklahoma. This is a big step for USC, and I think he's going to bring it back to what it was, packed stadiums and all that.
One of the three recruits from California who is committed to Oklahoma is Brown. Nelson's teammates include DeAndre Moore Jr. and Makai Lemon.
After the Riley news surfaced, Lemon wrote "Hmmm" but did not comment on his commitment status.
Moore didn't comment on the hire or if it affects his recruitment.
The early signing period is two weeks away and Oklahoma has 11 commitments in the class of 2022. The Sooners now have three Jr. 300 commitments after Nelson, Inniss and Webb left the class.
