Four-star safety says he's "not flipping" then decommits from Tennessee

Tennessee football capped off its season with another rivalry win over Vanderbilt, giving the Vols another ten-win season in the Josh Heupel era. It is the second time in three years that Tennessee will finish the year with double-digit wins. 

Despite the success on the field, Tennessee suffered a loss on the recruiting trail on Sunday afternoon. Four-star safety Lagonza Hayward announced he is de-committing from Tennessee only two weeks after claiming he wasn't flipping from the Vols. 

Hayward, whose nickname is Shaedy, posted on X that he appreciates the Tennessee coaches and Vol Nation but has decided to de-commit after praying over the decision for a long time.

This comes only a couple of weeks after Hayward indicated he was all in on the Vols. There was some social media hype building around Hayward potentially flipping to Georgia, but he put that talk to bed and went to X to tell everyone, "I'M NOT FLIPPING."

Heupel and the Vols have had great success recruiting over the past couple of cycles, so it's surprising to see what seems to be a random de-commit on Sunday afternoon. 

Hayward is a consensus four-star safety in the 2025 recruiting class. On3 has him ranked as the No. 3 safety in the class, the No. 5 player in Georgia, and the No. 53 overall player in the class. 

Expect Georgia to play a heavy favorite in Hayward's recruiting process from this point forward. The Lyons, Georgia, native has been heavily recruited by the Bulldogs as well as Florida, Florida State, and Alabama.