SPOKANE, Wash. -- As a fall afternoon faded toward dusk, Danny Mattingly lingered on the Spokane (Wash.) Mead practice field. He tried to explain what it felt like when the first text message appeared on his phone the night before.

One text was followed by a flood. Each one asked the same question: Did you decommit from Notre Dame?

The rumor started on Twitter. It quickly spread. It caught the 6-foot-5, 218-pound athlete by surprise. It bothered him so much he couldn’t sleep.

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