Manac, Yarbrough commit to UL on wacky recruiting day

The Daily Advertiser

Former SMU commit Max Yarbough and ex-Georgia redshirt Chauncey Manac both committed to UL on Sunday.

A wild weekend for the Ragin’ Cajuns yielded new commitments from at least two recruits, a decommitment from a longtime commit and the decision by a former commit to pick a different place.

It was a roller-coaster ride that spans the map in the heart of UL’s recruiting territory, and beyond.

One commitment came Sunday from former SMU pledge Max Yarbrough, a 6-foot-4, 286-pound offensive lineman from Friendswood High in the small Texas town of Friendswood between Houston and Galveston.

According to his Twitter account, the other came from former SEC signee Chauncey Manac, a defensive lineman from Garden City (Kansas) Community College.

The decommitment came from Mississippi defensive end Jaylen Whitaker.

And the headed-elsewhere recruit is Alabama defensive back Malcolm Magee Jr., who tweeted out a commitment to Colorado State on Sunday night after reportedly saying earlier in the day that it down to the Mountain West's Rams and the Cajuns.

Manac redshirted at Georgia as an outside linebacker in 2016, then left. He also committed to Cincinnati last month, then decommitted.

Manac told The Daily Advertiser via direct Twitter message on Sunday night that he chose the Cajuns for "a lot" of reasons, one of them being that "the coaching staff is one of the best."

Another, he said, is "just the family vibe that the players & coaches showed" on his visit and yet another is the fact "the school is only 7 to 8 hours away from" from his family home in Georgia.

According to DawgNation.com, which covers Bulldogs football, Manac was the No. 114 recruit in the country coming out of Clinch County High in Homerville, Georgia, and exited the SEC program late last August.

He was offered by Mississippi State last October; Ole Miss, Memphis, Cincinnati and Middle Tennessee in early November; and Florida in early December.

The 6-3, 252-pounder had 25 tackles including five sacks in seven games for Garden City last season.

Tweeted Yarbrough, who visited UL over the weekend: “After an awesome official visit, Im excited to be Committed to University of Louisiana Lafayette! Something special goin on here!”

Yarbrough, a first team selection on The Galveston County Daily News’ all-county honor squad, was an SMU commit until Jan. 12.

His first offer of several offers came from the Mustangs, who had a coaching change after last season.

Yarbrough also received an offer from FCS Southland Conference-member Central Arkansas last week, and one from fellow Sun Belt Conference-member South Alabama in December.

An invitee to the Blue-Grey High School All-American Bowl, he had early offers as well from Navy, Air Force, UL Monroe, Bowling Green, North Texas, Texas State, New Mexico and Abilene Christian.

Whitaker – from St. Alyosius High in Vicksburg, Mississippi – tweeted Sunday afternoon that he has decommitted from UL.

He originally committed to the staff of former UL head coach Mark Hudspeth, and the new staff of new Cajuns head coach Billy Napier had continued to recruit him.

The 6-5, 237-pounder made an official visit to UL earlier this month.

“I would like to thank Coach Napier and his staff for giving me an opportunity to further my education and my athletic career,” Whitaker posted on Twitter.

“I also want to thank the Ragin Cajun Family for all the support through this Recruiting Process and After thinking and … praying with my parents about the situation I would officially like to announce that I have De-committed from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

“This has been a stressful journey but I have to make the best decision for me and my family,” he added. “My recruitment is open to all Schools.”

Whitaker didn’t immediately respond to questions about his decision, including if UL had pulled its offer to him.

Ocean Springs (Mississippi) High’s Magee decommitted from UL last Monday, shortly after having returned home Colorado State.

More:UL recruiting football weekend yields Magee commitment

Magee told The Biloxi Sun Herald on Sunday it was down to UL and Colorado State because he wanted to stick "with the ones that were throwing mad love to me," and then a few hours later he chose CSU.

Recruits cannot make their non-binding pledges official until the NCAA’s National Signing Day on Feb. 7.

Also among UL’s visitors over the weekend, according to their Twitter accounts, were Josh Smith, a defensive end from Landry-Walker High in New Orleans, and Jeremiah Garner, a cornerback/receiver from Eastern Hills High in Fort Worth, Texas.

Tweeted Garner, who was offered by UTEP last week and Stephen F. Austin last November, on Sunday: “Official Visit to UL was a blast.”

Smith’s early offers included ones from Southeastern Louisiana, whose former head coach is new UL defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, and Oregon State, which visited him at his school earlier this month.

According to 247Sports.com, the No. 34 recruit in Louisiana was a Kansas commit from last June up until Dec. 7.

More:Big-time SEC target Gooden plans UL recruiting visit