Shyheim Carter, a 2016 four-star cornerback from Kentwood (La.) High School, has decommitted from Alabama. The Bayou State prospect confirmed the news via his Twitter account on Monday morning. Carter had been committed to the Crimson Tide since July of last year.

Carter's mentor and coach Vincent Sanders talked about the decision.

"He's just wanting to keep his recruitment open," Sanders told BamaOnline. "I let my kids make their own decision. He talked to his mom, he talked to me, he talked to his coaches, and he just wanted to revisit everybody and see where everything was at. Everything is so competitive. It kind of shocked me. I told him whatever he decided to do I was going to back him 100 percent.

"We do pros and cons, and there were a lot of schools that were so competitive and equal in a lot of stuff. So he just wanted to go back, visit some schools, and just talk with everybody and see what's what."

Sanders talked about recruiting in today's climate and what he's started to tell his players.

"I've got eighth graders that are being recruited and I've started telling them to go on all of their visits and talk with all the coaches from ninth grade to senior year," Sanders said. "This is a big decision. It's an opportunity that can change your life. You make life-long friends. It comes down to your relationship with the school."

I asked Sanders if any certain program had the biggest influence on Carter decommitting.

"Right now it's too early to tell," Sanders said. "If you look at all the schools, everybody produces great athletes. All the programs have great graduation rates, all the coaches are excellent, and all of them are good guys. LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State. With me looking at my kids, that's the problem. The SEC has such great coaches that really care about these kids. People don't understand how difficult for a child to make this decision. Can you imagine the coach being your best friend at every school? Every school wins the same amount of games pretty much, every school has a great campus, a great weight room, and then you have to sit there and decide?"



Carter's close friend Joshua Perry, a 2016 three-star safety and Alabama pledge, remains committed to the Tide. I asked Sanders if he expected that to change.

"I can't tell you, because I thought Shyheim was firmly committed. It's just tough," Sanders said.

Carter, a 6-foot, 190-pound prospect is rated the No. 5 cornerback and the No. 51 overall player in the country per the 247Sports Composite rankings, an industry-generated average. He is currently trending to LSU at 40 percent on the Crystal Ball.

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