The Blue Devils lost one of their top commits for next year Dec. 12 when four-star tight end Tyler Petite decided to stay in-state and play for Southern California, and a day before national signing day, Duke got more bad news.
Three-star wideout Flynn Nagel announced on Twitter Tuesday morning that he would flip his commitment from the Blue Devils to stay in the state of Illinois and play for Northwestern.
Nagel committed to Duke last June before enjoying a prolific senior season in which he caught 93 passes for 1,433 yards and had 27 touchdowns. The No. 66 ranked receiver in the country by 24/7 sports set the all-time career receptions mark in Illinois with 254 and was second in receiving yards and touchdowns with 3,610 and 54, respectively.
The Blue Devils play Northwestern Sept. 19 in their third game of the season and will get to see what they lost if Nagel impresses early in his career for the Wildcats.
With his decision to withdraw his commitment, Duke's recruiting class has plummeted to 47th in the nation and 10th in the ACC according to 24/7 sports after being ranked as high as 24th by ESPN Aug. 27. The Blue Devils still have multiple options at wideout, though, as T.J. Rahming, Keyston Fuller and Aaron Young are all three-star players that are still committed.
Keep up with the Blue Zone for all your Duke football and recruiting news as more news breaks before national signing day.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.