National Signing Day - Winners, Losers and Surprises in College Football
Although college football's first early signing period in December had proven to be the main day to see where top recruits would land, yesterday still brought plenty of action and shuffling of class rankings.
In this post I'll take a look over some of the most surprising classes now that they've been finalized, whether for impressing or disappointing fans.
Georgia
Though an overtime loss in the national championship to Alabama was hard to swallow for Bulldog fans given how close they were, Kirby Smart's rebuild of the program has been coming along faster than many could have expected. Georgia had the best early signing period, that included 5 stars at OG, OT, and strong side DE. Their second signing day was just as good, especially considering they beat Alabama to get 5 star CB Tyson Campbell and flipped 5 star OLB Quay Walker from Tuscaloosa to Athens. The future is bright for the Dawgz.
Florida State
Turmoil at head coach is never a good thing for a recruiting class, and it looked like the Seminoles might have truly struggled to bring in a solid 2018 class. From a #3 preseason ranking to an unceremonious Walk-On's Independence Bowl bid, and Jimbo Fisher ditching the school where he won a championship for big bucks, Willie Taggart had a lot on his hands. That said, he pulled off a miracle on the recruiting trail. The Florida native turned a class once ranked 64th by 247 Sports to 11th. Solid talent like Tre'Shaun Harrison signed on Wednesday to round out Taggart's impressive run.
Alabama
It had nearly been a given that Nick Saban brings in top recruiting classes, but even before this signing day, it was clear that someone else would hold the top spot for the first time in 7 years. That being said, there wasn't just one or two schools ahead of them, but six. This is their worst ranked class since 2007. Pretty crazy considering Nick Saban brought home another national championship. Although they signed the highest ranking recruit remaining in Patrick Surtain Jr., they lost out on battles for other 5 stars like Nicholas Petit-Frere. That said, no one's betting against Bama for the time being.
Michigan
If one event has summed up Harbaugh's recruiting efforts this cycle, it would be top 100 OLB Otis Reese, who committed to Michigan in June 2016, decommiting and signing with Georgia on Wednesday. This Michigan class finishes outside of college football's top 20, and takes some steam out of one of the pro-Harbaugh crowd's best arguments that the coach is setting the Wolverines up to succeed.
Among other winners, USC closed on a solid class, Texas is finally keeping top talent in-state, and Ohio State's class would've been the best most years.
As for losers, at Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt couldn't pull off what Taggart was able to at FSU. LSU losing out on Patrick Surtain Jr. hurt, and Herm Edwards still seems lost.
Good analysis! As an Alabama fan/alum I felt good about the class. One reason they were a little lower had to do with not signing a top RB or QB because that wasn't a need for the team, and those are often some of the highest ranked positions on the big boards; so, I definitely don't think the dynasty is over by any means, especially with Tua at the helm for a couple of years and likely his little brother (who is just as good, if not better) coming in behind him in next year's class. That said, it's clear what Kirby Smart is building at Georgia and it's going to be an issue for Alabama, and the nation, going forward. The landscape of college football is definitely changing right now.
You're definitely right about not needing a top QB. That said, Georgia AND Ohio State's classes this year are both ranked higher than Alabama's #1 ranked classes in 2016 and 2015. The days of Saban easily strolling to top recruiting classes are probably over, while the dynasty certainly isn't.