As expected, there was some drama during the early signing period. There were some notable flips — plus a few notable non-flips — and some late jockeying for spots in the top five of the national team rankings.
Antonio Morales, Ari Wasserman, Grace Raynor and Manny Navarro of
The Athletic’s recruiting staff share their thoughts on some of the most intriguing storylines in the Class of 2024.
Most interesting development of the early signing period
Navarro: The late flips of several top-100 recruits, including five-stars Dylan Raiola (Georgia to Nebraska), KJ Bolden (Florida State to Georgia) and Armondo Blount (Florida State to Miami) and four-stars Amaris Williams (Florida to Auburn), Adarius Hayes (Florida to Miami), Jeremiah McClellan (Ohio State to Oregon), Ryan Pellum (
USC to Oregon) and Kevin Riley (Miami to Alabama).
For as much time as recruits are “committed” or how often they visit a particular school over and over again, decisions often still come down to the very end. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The fact so many schools are in different financial spots based on the amount of money their fan bases can raise for NIL is fascinating.
Raynor: Jordan Seaton eventually signed with
Colorado, after all. The five-star offensive tackle said last week at the Under Armour All-America Game’s media day that he signed his letter on the first day of the early signing period but
waited until the final day, on Dec. 22, to send it in to ensure he was making the right choice. It sounds like
Maryland — which picked up late buzz in the final hours — had a real shot. But
Alabama and
Tennessee ultimately finished tied for second place in the race for Seaton, followed by
Ohio State.
Seaton’s commitment to Colorado is significant in that it gives Deion Sanders one of the best players in this class at a crucial position of need. It also shows that even after going 4-8 in his debut season, Coach Prime is still resonating with five-star talent in his own way.
Morales: Colorado but for a different reason. The Buffaloes signed only six players, which suggests Sanders is going to dip heavily into the portal once again in order to fix Colorado’s roster deficiencies. We’ve already seen him bring in a bevy of transfer offensive linemen, but signing only six high school players is quite the pivot from traditional roster building. There are certainly plenty of people who will doubt the method, so we’ll see how it works.
Wasserman: As Manny illustrated, there were some big-time flips, which is what you come to expect during the early signing period. What I didn’t expect was watching
five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith announce at a ceremony at his high school in the morning that he was going to sign his NLI with Ohio State and then keep everyone on their heels for nine more hours. Miami’s big splash is another pleasant surprise, but sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if Smith was going to actually sign with Miami after announcing in favor of Ohio State was tremendous. Smith wound up sticking to his long-time commitment, but I cannot imagine what was going on
behind the scenes as we anticipated his final decision.
Luke Fickell is closing in on a top-25 class at Wisconsin. (Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
Most surprising class
Navarro: I’m going with
Wisconsin. Luke Fickell’s first season in Madison was a bit underwhelming from a record standpoint (7-6), but the Badgers emerged from the early signing period with the No. 23 class in the 247Sports Composite — a 35-spot improvement from Fickell’s transition class in the 2023 cycle. The Badgers have signed a top-25 class only one previous time in the modern recruiting era (2021).
Among the big wins for Fickell were a trio of four-star prospects — defensive lineman Ernest Willor Jr. from Maryland, running back Dilin Jones from Maryland and offensive tackle Kevin Heywood from Pennsylvania, who are all top-200 players. The Badgers signed one top-200 player in the previous two classes combined.
Raynor: Auburn. We knew Hugh Freeze was a strong recruiter, but I thought it’d take a little longer for him to make waves with top recruits, given that Nick Saban still very much owns the state of Alabama and the Tigers went just 6-7 this season. Freeze’s class ranks No. 7 nationally, and the average player rating of 91.99 is more than two-and-a-half points higher than the program’s 89.36 mark from a year ago. This also marks the first time since the Class of 2020 that Auburn has topped the 90 mark. The Tigers landing five-star receiver Cam Coleman after Coleman decommitted from Texas A&M following Jimbo Fisher’s firing was among the flashiest pickups for any school this cycle.
Morales: Stanford. Troy Taylor wasn’t exactly a high-profile hire and the Cardinal didn’t have a great season on the field, but they still managed to sign a class that ranks No. 31 in the nation. Now, 31st might not sound all that impressive, but Stanford lost a ton of players to the portal last year and can’t replace them as easily as other programs, so the Cardinal needed to add talent and depth. This class was a necessary first step.
Wasserman: I know
Texas had a rough exit from the College Football Playoff on Monday, but there is a lot to like about where the program is headed as it makes its move to the SEC. The only team to sign more five-star prospects in this cycle than Texas (four) is Ohio State (five), and the Longhorns’ average player rating for their 23-person class (92.33) lines up well when compared to Alabama,
Georgia and the Buckeyes. Texas has a strong foundation on its roster and it’s adding a deep and talented group of freshmen. What’s surprising is Texas did this without dominating its own state, signing only three of the top 35 players in the Lone Star State.
Most disappointing class
Navarro: Colorado. Six signees just do not feel like enough of a foundation to build upon whether Sanders is the coach long-term or not. Can any coach really build a Power 5 roster by relying solely on transfers? Colorado tried to sign more high school recruits. It had six commitments decide to head elsewhere including four-star athlete Aaron Butler (Texas signee), three-star quarterback Danny O’Neil (San Diego State) and three-star offensive lineman Talan Chandler (Missouri) late in the process. But signing nine players wouldn’t have been enough either. This feels like coaching malpractice.
Raynor: I’ll go with USC. The Trojans had a rough year on the field, going just 8-5 in Lincoln Riley’s second season, but this is still Southern Cal we’re talking about. It’s a storied program with competitive resources in one of the biggest media markets in the world. USC signed only two of the top 25 players in California and none of the top five. Alabama, meanwhile, landed the No. 1 player (five-star quarterback Julian Sayin) and No. 5 player (four-star cornerback Zabien Brown) in the state. Brown played at perennial powerhouse, Mater Dei, which sent zero players to USC despite being about 50 minutes away from the Trojans’ stadium.
Morales: Had a couple of thoughts here but I’ll go with
Florida, mainly because of what the class was at one point and what it ended up being. Everyone had doubts about whether Billy Napier could keep this class together if the Gators struggled on the field, and those concerns became a reality. Florida did sign two five-star prospects in quarterback DJ Lagway and defensive lineman LJ McCray, but it lost commitments from six top-150 players since the start of November and eight blue-chip prospects total. The class is 16th nationally, but the way the cycle ended will only raise more questions about Napier’s future with the Gators.
Wasserman: I wrote a column about Florida’s rough finish, but I’m going to go with USC because the Gators did hold onto two five-star prospects in the 2024 cycle. What the heck is going on in Southern California? The Trojans’ class is No. 17 overall right now. Some of that has to do with the size of the class (19 prospects), but they got smoked on elite-level in-state prospects — missing on all of the top-six players in California — and the class has a real lack of star power. Lincoln Riley was supposed to dominate the state and turn this program into the Pete Carroll years revival show. Instead, the Trojans wasted this season with
Caleb Williams at quarterback, lost former five-star QB
Malachi Nelson to the portal and signed a recruiting class completely devoid of star power.
USC’s recruiting results have been underwhelming under Lincoln Riley. (Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)
Most intriguing five-star
Navarro: Lagway. It feels like there’s so much riding on Lagway’s shoulders in Gainesville when it comes to Napier’s future there.
Graham Mertz is returning for another season, but how long does Napier ride the veteran when clearly he’s going to need something to build upon for the future to get Florida fans and the administration excited? Florida’s recruiting class fell apart down the stretch — yet Lagway stuck it out — so it almost feels like Napier owes his star recruit an opportunity to get on the field early and potentially save himself from the chopping block.
Morales: Texas Tech receiver signee Micah Hudson.
It’s rare for the Red Raiders to sign five-star prospects, so it’ll be fun to see a talent like Hudson in Texas Tech’s offense. Hudson is only one of two five-star prospects who signed with a team that’ll be in the Big 12 in 2024. So it’s a win for the Red Raiders, but also for the league, which has questions about how it’ll add elite-level talent on the recruiting trail.
Raynor: Lagway and Hudson were my first two picks, but for the sake of variety I’ll go with wide receiver Ryan Williams. Williams, originally a member of the Class of 2025, reclassified last month and will sign with a program in February. His speed is undeniable and he had 1,324 receiving yards as a junior at Saraland (Ala.) High this season, with 19 touchdowns and an average of 18.4 yards per catch. Who will ultimately land him — Alabama (whom he committed to in October of 2022), Auburn or Texas? Seeing how his recruitment shakes out will be a ton of fun to watch.
Wasserman: Seaton at Colorado. Most people probably would have gone with Lagway or Hudson, but I am genuinely intrigued to see where Seaton’s career goes. He could have played at any school in America, but he chose to go to Boulder to fix the Buffaloes offensive line and play for Deion Sanders. This is a major risk for a player because he is going to a place that hasn’t won in the recent past and is playing for a coaching staff with no experience developing top-level offensive linemen. That’s not to say he won’t make it or that this was a bad decision. I am just fascinated by the Prime Time sales pitch for an offensive lineman and can’t wait to see if it’s something that makes sense.
QB most likely to start in Week 1 next year
Navarro: Answering this question a year ago felt like throwing darts in the dark. The list of true freshmen who made significant impacts at quarterback was relatively short: Arkansas State’s
Jaylen Raynor, FIU’s
Keyone Jenkins, Virginia’s
Anthony Colandrea and Cal’s
Fernando Mendoza. This year, though, you could go with Lagway or Ohio State’s Air Noland and have a real shot at being right. But I think the right answer is Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola. He left Georgia at the altar and the red carpet was laid out for him to play right away for the Cornhuskers.
Morales: It’s impossible not to go with Raiola here.
Jeff Sims and
Chubba Purdy entered the transfer portal.
Nebraska reportedly backed off recruiting
Kyle McCord. Yes,
Heinrich Haarbergremains on the roster, but the path is pretty clear for Raiola to earn the starting job.
Raynor: What about Lagway? Mertz is back, but he could be on a short leash, and Lagway’s senior season at Willis (Texas) High School was so elite that I think it’s possible the Gators give the true freshman an early shot to get this program back on the right track. Lagway threw for 4,604 yards this year and completed 72.1 percent of passes for 58 touchdowns against eight interceptions. He’s among the best quarterback prospects in this class and looked the part at Under Armour practices last week. He could very well be the hero the Gators need — right away.
Wasserman: The answer is Raiola. There is no other answer.
QB outside the top 100 you are most excited to watch
Navarro: Considering how overrun the transfer portal is year-to-year with quarterbacks, it’s hard to answer this question and know for sure if any of these guys will see the field with the school they signed with. But I’ll go with
Mississippi State signee Michael Van Buren, who was handpicked by new coach Jeff Lebby. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Baltimore St. Frances Academy product was committed to Oregon initially and ends up in a situation in Starkville with
Will Rogers gone, the often-injured
Blake Shapencoming in via the portal and two older scholarship quarterbacks on the roster who weren’t as highly rated as he was. Van Buren is the kind of dangerous dual-threat Lebby loves and has won with before.
Morales: Marcos Davila was a pretty good get for
Purdue when he
committed to the Boilermakers in March. Ryan Walters’ first full recruiting class at Purdue was pretty good (currently 29th) and includes four blue-chip prospects. If Walters is going to build something at Purdue, this class will have to be the foundation, and the quarterback is always at the center of that. So Davila will be interesting to watch.
Raynor: Will Hammond at Texas Tech. That dude was a blast to follow in the high school ranks this past season, as he threw for 3,910 yards and casually rushed for 1,094 more. His team lost quite a bit this year — seven games — but he had six 100-yard rushing games (including a 191-yard performance in October) and seven games in which he threw for 300-plus yards. On one occasion, he even threw for 719 yards in a wild 82-80 Week 2 loss. Sign me up.
Wasserman: Hauss Hejny at
TCU.
When I first saw him at an Elite 11 Regional camp, he was just a small three-star prospect. Now he’s a small four-star prospect. Why? Because every single time he gets on the field he wins, and in the camp setting, he looks like one of the most polished and poised prospects in the country. If he weren’t 5-10, we’d be talking about a five-star prospect. He led Aledo (Texas) High to back-to-back state championships. He has the “it” factor. And though his height could haunt him down the line in NFL Draft discussions, TCU doesn’t need him to be 6-4 to be lethal in a college system. Watch out for this kid.
Non-blue-chipper you are keeping an eye on
Navarro: There always seems to be an under-the-radar receiver who ends up at an ACC school and puts up huge numbers as a true freshman. This past season, there were two:
NC State’s
Kevin Concepcion (3-star, No. 567) and
Georgia Tech’s
Eric Singleton Jr.(3-star, No. 1,072). For this upcoming season, I’m going with
Syracuse’s Jaylan Hornsby, a 6-2, 195-pound former Texas A&M three-star commitment (No. 560) from Atco, N.J. He could become a weapon early in his career for Kyle McCord to throw to and a big part of Fran Brown’s squad.
Raynor: Three-star wide receiver Channing Goodwin. He teamed with top-100 quarterback Jadyn Davis at Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, and now the two of them are heading to Michigan together. Goodwin is a Michigan legacy and had other offers from ACC schools, plus Kentucky, Cincinnati, South Carolina, West Virginia and several Group of 5 schools.
Michigan was by far his biggest offer, but you’ve got to think he’s already got an instant chemistry with Davis.
Morales: I wrote about him back in the summer: Three-star wideout Jordan Ross, who signed with
Colorado State, is an intriguing prospect. He’s a true speed threat, and the Rams and Jay Norvell have a really good track record with receivers. Ross was a blue-chip prospect earlier in the cycle and had P5 offers, so that’s a good talent to have in the Mountain West.
Wasserman: Georgia tight end Colton Heinrich. The three-star prospect is a 6-4, 232-pounder from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who ranks No. 628 overall nationally. He’s the highest-rated three-star prospect in Georgia’s 2024 class — and one of only four three-stars in the Bulldogs’ 28-man class. I’m always fascinated when big-time programs take a stab at three-star kids. Georgia, obviously, has been incredible at developing tight ends. I can just see Heinrich catching touchdowns in a national title game two or three years down the line.