College Football Recruiting: Top stories through Week 8

3. A pair of elite defensive backs open up their recruitments

Earning a recruitment is only half the battle, keeping it is another. The non-major schools live in constant fear of being poached by top programs, but even the top dogs have no guarantees that a verbal commitment is going to turn into a signature on the dotted line. That was the case for two big programs this week.

Former LSU commit Marcus Banks and former USC commit Chris Steele have reopened their recruitments.

Banks said there was “no love lost with LSU” but he had to “do what’s best for myself and for my future.” Steele’s sentiments were similar. He wrote that he was “ready to use this little time that I have to find the school that will fit me best as a player, student, and most importantly, a young man.”

At this point 247 Sports Crystal balls project Steele, a California native, will choose to rejoin the Trojans before his recruitment ends. Banks, on the other hand, could be staying in-state. Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M have made significant headways and could land the Texas product sooner rather than later.