De-commitments are a part of recruiting life in college football and are even more so these days given the accelerated cycle and trend of early commitments.

In fact, you could compile quite a list of underclassmen who de-committed, but for the purposes of this piece, we will stick to the top five de-commitments in the Southeastern Conference for the 2016 cycle since the start of the season.

Two successful programs, one of which fired a successful coach and one of which was considering it, account for four of the top five, which generally should come as no surprise considering instability is the silver bullet to a good recruiting class. That being said, each situation was and is unique so there wasn’t blanket reasoning.

1. QB Feleipe Franks de-commits from LSU

Franks backed out of a pledge to the Tigers, who still need to add quality depth at quarterback, to commit to in-state Florida, another program in desperate need of depth at the most important position on the field. The controversy surrounding Les Miles did not have as much to do with this as the push by the Gators did.

2. WR Quartney Davis de-commits from Texas A&M

The talented Davis, from Langham Creek (Texas) High, backed out of a pledge to the Aggies in mid-December. His de-commitment was sandwiched between the departure of five-star quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, who both transferred out. Oklahoma State is a very good possibility now as is UCLA. He is scheduled to visit both officially in January.

3. RB Devwah Whaley de-commits from Georgia

Whaley de-committed from the Bulldogs shortly after the departure of head coach Mark Richt. It’s difficult to keep a prospect located this far from your campus (he’s from East Texas and Georgia isn’t a program that has consistently recruited the Lone Star State at a high level) pledged overall, but in particularly when you undergo a coaching change. Other programs, particularly Arkansas in the SEC, are now trying to land the four-star back.

4. LB Michael Divinity de-commits from LSU

Chances are, the Tigers get Divinity, the nation’s fourth-ranked outside linebacker prospect, back in the fold rather quickly. He de-committed in mid-December, but is scheduled to enroll early and all signs point to the Marrero, La., product staying in-state and playing for the Tigers.

5. CB Malek Young de-commits from Georgia

Young, a U.S. Army All-American from Pompano Beach, Fla., de-committed from Georgia following the departure of Richt. Miami (Fla.), Louisville and Clemson are the three programs