Underreported part of the story here: good observation.
This reminds me of 2008 and 2009. Jeremy Pruitt was still wet behind the ears in recruiting and he was getting his ass handed to him in Mobile. Saban changed territories and put Thompson down there.
At the time Auburn, Rev Chette, and a few others had a strangle hold on the Mobile area. It ended that day until ...
Saban resigns.
After Saban announced his retirement Freeze made it a point of emphasis with the boosters, et. al., that Auburn would now take over and RULE Mobile recruiting.
And then Kane Wommack is hired.
It's important to note that while Saban divided areas up with his recruiting staff, I understand DeBoer takes a different approach. His is more about a single coach targeting a single individual. IE: Wommack may recruit a kid in Mobile and at the same time is after a kid in Wisconsin.
I don't have the full picture. But I understand it to be a lot like ESPN's recruiting model where they focus as much on need as talent. DeBoer and Morgan like the idea of having coaches focused on players versus focused on regions.