Auburn football: Gus Malzahn-recruited Class of 2021 WR recruit decommits

The Auburn football Class of 2022 shrunk in size with a decommitment late Thursday afternoon from wide receiver Hal Presley.

The 3-star recruit from the Dallas Metroplex backed out of his commitment to the Tigers program and opened his recruitment back up to the rest of the NCAA.

This offseason is the best of any to transfer, as the NCAA is granting immediate eligibility for players that choose to move schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic that severely disrupted the 2020 season.

Presley never suited up for the Tigers, joining the team in June after the A-Day spring game before leaving his second program in as many years (per Nathan King):

"The No. 63 receiver prospect in the nation out of Mansfield Summit in Arlington, Texas, Presley committed to Auburn last November before coming on board with the program during the following month’s early signing period.Presley originally committed to Baylor last May and was for five months until he reopened his recruitment. He chose the Tigers over USC."

Evidently, Presley is non-commital and may still not know where he will be playing collegiate football in the fall.  He enters the transfer portal after signing his letter of intent, making him an option for just about everyone in the nation.

UCF HC Gus Malzahn, the coach he originally signed up to play for on the Plains, could be in play for the Arlington product.

Given Presley’s wide-ranging pool of schools across the country he has been interested in, projecting where he will go next is a difficult endeavor. Where Auburn football goes next is also an interesting question for discussion.

Their receiving corps was already depleted due to the NFL departures of Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz, and Eli Stove (Stove’s NFL dreams are on pause due to injury), and the WR room loses yet another in Presley’s departure.

Given their transfer portal success so far, Bryan Harsin and co. are unlikely to be slowed down much by this decommitment.