The second day of signings is in the books and almost all of the top prospects are now signed, sealed and ready to be delivered, if they’re not already on campus. Here’s a look at the winners and losers from February’s signing day.
WINNERS
Alabama
Alabama He didn’t do anything on the second day of signing, and even so, the Crimson Tide retained the highest class in the country and nearly a complete lockout, even if five stars. duce robinson ends in Georgia – that they would remain No. 1 in Rivals.com’s team recruiting rankings.
What an amazing run for Nick Saban As Georgia is coming off back-to-back national titles, there is a lot of talk about the transfer portal and NIL. Yet here is Saban charging again, not to be pushed aside by smart kirby, Deion Sanders or anyone else yet.
*****
arizona state
The transfer portal was a crucial and instrumental approach for the first-year coach. Kenny Dillingham like the Sun Devils tied Colorado for most portal additions and still when the four star quarterback Jaden Rashad was available, arizona state ran at it and landed it on Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh, California quarterback was involved in an NIL mess with Florida and came out of his national letter of intent as an ASU and TCU made it a priority. After a visit to Tempe and much consideration, plus his father’s connection to the school, the Sun Devils won when he joined the Portal Quarterbacks. drew pyne (notre dame) Y jacob conover (BYU) in the class.
*****
Georgia
After a busy signing period in December, it was quiet for Georgia’s class of 2023 that appears to finish in second place even if the Bulldogs end up with five stars. duce robinson. but coach Kirby Elegant and his staff got a big one in the 2024 four-star defensive back ellis robinson.
He completely fits the Athens mold as an aggressive, physical and tough player who won’t back down. Alabama and many others were looking at former New Rochelle (NY) Prep standout Iona, who now plays at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, but Georgia won. And with a four-star tight end walker lyon harvest USCthat could be good news for Georgia and Robinson once he’s ready to decide.
*****
mississippi state
Don’t miss out amid lots of big five-star news on Wednesday, the solid finale mississippi state had to this class, as the Bulldogs could have added one of the biggest sleepers in the entire group.
Three Star Defensive Tall Tackle jonathan davis of Monticello (Mississippi) Lawrence County was being heavily persecuted by Texas, Florida, old miss and others down the stretch, but the Bulldogs won. They also added Theodore, Ala., cornerback William James.
*****
Oregon
The fact that Oregon coach dan lanning and his staff entered Gardena (Calif.) Serra and removed rodrick nice away from USC was one of the biggest recruiting coups of this recruiting cycle. Serra has sent many of the best players to play for the Trojans and many have been very successful.
Plus, Pleasant was already so close to many USC prospects that it seemed like a foregone conclusion, until it wasn’t. Pleasant was a big win, but he lost the five-star tight end Nyckoles Harbor a South Carolina hurts
*****
South Carolina
It was a battle to the bitter end, but South Carolina won for the five-star tight end. Nyckoles Harborholding off mainly Oregon and Maryland as prominent Archbishop Carroll of Washington (DC) described the last few days as “chaos.”
The Gamecocks held on, however, and now the coach Shane Beamer he’s got a huge weapon on offense, and one with Olympic-level speed to work with. Harbor’s engagement was arguably the biggest story of the day and another massive building block for Beamer and his staff, as the Gamecocks are trending heavily.
*****
South Florida
first year coach Alex Golesh put some nice finishing touches on his opening class in South Florida by adding a three-star quarterback israel carter of Corona (Calif.) Centennial, who committed to Arizona State, along with receivers jey quan smith Y kelly tyree.
Not only were those players added, but Carter and Smith discussed Golesh as a recruiter and his vision for the program, as he convinced both of them to come across the country to help the Bulls.
*****
USC
It was a little confusing for USC on signing day as a longtime favorite rodrick nice ended up choosing Oregon over the Trojans, but the addition of the four-star tight end walker lyon It’s huge for the Trojans’ offense.
The four-star from Folsom, California, who was at one point engaged with stanfordwas being heavily persecuted by Georgia, Utah and others, but USC was always in the back of his mind. He decided to pull the trigger Wednesday after giving no indication in recent weeks that he was ready to play. Lyons will have a mission, but down the road, the four-star could be a big asset in USC’s offense.
*****
LOSERS
The late signing period
Doesn’t it feel like February signing day went the way of the dodo bird?
Some college coaches would rather have just February signing day like the old days, but now December has taken all the glitter and shine with only a few stragglers waiting to make their decisions so late.
It feels unnecessary. Almost everyone makes their pick in December, then a handful more do so at the main events, and only a select few make visits in January and make their final calls in February.
February could be reinvigorated if it’s the only game in town again (or if the NCAA moves the early signing period to the summer), but right now it seems unnecessary and not nearly as important as the December signing period.
*****
purdue
Not the biggest loss in the world but four stars kendrick gilbert he had been committed to the Boilermakers since the summer, is an in-state prospect and survived the coaching change. But when it came time to sign, the prospectus for the Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral changed to Kentucky.
He had been flirting with that show for months, but never made the final decision to bide his time until Wednesday. Purdue now has the next-to-last class in the Big Ten and is one of two programs in the conference, joining rutgersno four star confirmations.
*****
stanford
It was a tough day, but somewhat expected, for Stanford as the Cardinal lost a talented three-star defensive lineman. cameron brandt a Michigan and mighty runner LJ Martin to BYU. Late January was very productive for the Cardenal as a first-year coach. troy taylor takes control, but especially losing Brandt, a Chatsworth, California-based Sierra Canyon prospect, to the Wolverines wasn’t ideal.
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