B.J. Diakite explains his decision to de-commit, then re-commit to Vandy

[BrentVU]

From the Trussville (Ala.) Tribune:

Defensive lineman B.J Diakite surprised everyone by re-committing to Vanderbilt. He had decommitted from the Commodores earlier in the 2021 season and received a huge recruiting push from Georgia Tech to join Pyron as a Yellow Jacket.

B.J. Diakite

“When I first got here, B.J. was playing on the offensive side of the ball, was playing wide receiver,” Pinson Valley head coach Sam Shade said. “I stayed on him a little bit. I thought he should be more urgent about some of the things he was doing. I thought he needed to attack things more, and I just kept staying on him.”

That persistence paid off when injuries to the Indians defensive line forced Shade approached Diakite to switch from tight end to defense. Diakite immediately embraced the challenge, and became a force for Pinson Valley, which went on to win the 6A state championship in 2020.

“At the end of the day it was a business decision as to where I really felt at home,” Diakite said. “When I pulled back from committing, I have family in Atlanta and my parents are thinking about moving to Atlanta so that’s what made me reconsider. But checking my boxes and everything, Vanderbilt was really the place. And the coaching staff there, we never lost contact. They were there with me all the way through the process.”

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https://www.trussvilletribune.com/2021/ ... olarships/