Four-star linebacker Ellis Brooks (6-foot-2, 233 pounds, Richmond, VA) was the biggest name in Duke's 2017 recruit class. Keyword there: was. On Friday, Brooks decommitted from Duke, citing the ambition to "explore more colleges".
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It is good for Brooks to examine all of the opportunities available to him, but this is a huge loss for the Blue Devils. Their program has been on the rise lately, and getting a blue-chipper like Brooks was a sign of the successes that the program was having.
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Brooks also had offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Michigan State before he committed to Duke back in March.
The loss of Brooks drops Duke down to eight commitments for their 2017 class. Duke's class rating over at 247Sports also dropped from 35 to 37 with the decommitment.
