Recruiting: Pine Forest senior defensive lineman Elijah Douglas decommits from Georgia Tech
Following a visit to the Peach State late last spring, Pine Forest's Elijah Douglas was among the area's first Class-of-2023 players to commit to a Power 5 school.
However, coming off a stellar senior campaign nearly six months later, the Eagles defensive lineman has changed his decision.
Douglas announced his de-commitment from Georgia Tech on Sunday. In a statement from his personal Twitter account, the Pine Forest star stated, "With plenty talks with my family and the man above, I will be decommitting from Georgia Tech and opening up my recruitment 100 percent."
He originally committed with the Yellow Jackets on June 12.
Among Class of 2023 players, he is ranked as the 128th defensive lineman in the country by 247Sports.com. That site also has rated him as a three-star prospect.
Tallahassee Bound: Northview battles past Union County, advances to first state title since 2012
Cast your vote: Who should win PNJ Athlete of the Week for Nov. 28-Dec. 3?
Douglas has received more than 20 Division I offers, including from the likes of Memphis, Georgia State, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss, which he made an official visit to this past weekend.
Selected as a PNJ Super Senior, the defensive end helped the Eagles achieve an undefeated regular season, finishing with 39 tackles, five sacks and an interception return touchdown. Relinquishing just 9.1 points per game, Pine Forest posted a 10-1 record and reached the regional semifinals.
Georgia Tech had a 5-7 record in 2022, which includes a 4-4 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. On Sept. 26, Geoff Collins was fired as the team's head coach after more than three seasons at the position. Last week, Brent Key was announced as the team's head coach after serving as interim head coach over the final eight games.
Byrd commits to North Greenville University
Pensacola Catholic's Aidan Byrd is headed from one Crusaders program to another.
The senior quarterback announced his commitment to Division II North Greenville via his Twitter account on Tuesday. He said in a statement, "I would like to thank the coaches at NGU for gifting me with this incredible opportunity to continue my athletic and academic career."
Leading Catholic to wins in its first nine games, a 10-2 record and a regional-semifinal appearance, Byrd posted an area-best 31-3 interception ratio. He completed 53 percent of his passes for 2,240 yards.
North Greenville finished this past season with a 3-8 overall record. The team was 2-6 in the Gulf South Conference, the same conference as the University of West Florida.
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Football: Pine Forest lineman Elijah Douglas de-commits from Georgia Tech
