There’s no need to explain the importance of this week, as talent accumulation is king in this sport. After all, stars matter.
Here are 10 intriguing storylines to track as we head into the most dramatic few days on the college football calendar — the start of the early signing period.
1. How is Colorado going to finish this class?
For a normal coach who was hired in December — mere weeks before the early signing period — it’s unrealistic to see a tremendous amount of improvement in the current year’s recruiting class. But Deion Sanders isn’t normal. He’s Prime Time. And because of that, there is the expectation that he will quickly be able to attract talent and flip Colorado’s roster.
Many assume most of Sanders’ roster work will come through the ever-giving transfer portal (Travis Hunter, the No. 1 player in the 2022 class, entered late Sunday evening). But what about the 2023 class? Colorado has already flipped four-star running back Dylan Edwards of Derby (Kansas) High from Notre Dame. This past weekend, Colorado hosted top-tier players such as four-star athlete Malachi Coleman of Lincoln (Neb.) East (a top-100 player in the 247Sports Composite who was originally scheduled to visit Michigan), four-star athlete and South Carolina commit Vicari Swain of Carrollton (Ga.) Central, three-star quarterback and Kansas commitment Kasen Weisman of Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding and three-star receiver Jacob Page of Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman.
Colorado has already seen 13 commitments in this year’s class move on, the assumption being that Sanders is clearing people out to create room on his roster. The Buffaloes’ class has only 11 commitments and ranks No. 61 nationally. What will this class look like on Friday? What will it look like in February? We’re about to see how much of an immediate impact Sanders can have in an otherwise impossible situation for most newly hired coaches.
#WeComing @DeionSanders @TimBrewster @CUBuffsFootball @SwainVicari @kasenweisman12 pic.twitter.com/KorPFcl4qB
— Malachi Coleman (@ChiColeman23) December 18, 2022
2. Will 5-star Peyton Bowen stick with ND?
Marcus Freeman’s first full class at Notre Dame is one of the best the Irish have put together in the modern recruiting era. Notre Dame’s class has 26 commitments, ranks No. 6 nationally and includes 12 prospects who rank in the top 175 nationally. But will it have five-star power?
Notre Dame already lost a commitment from one five-star prospect earlier in this cycle in edge rusher Keon Keeley of Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep, who recently opted to go with Alabama. Now there is concern about whether it’ll hang onto Bowen. Brent Venables and Oklahoma are making a real push.
There is a ton of speculation — as with all big-time recruitments — that NIL is playing a major factor here. Bowen took to his Twitter account to shoot down that speculation. But when it’s all said and done, NIL or not, can Freeman get the jewel of Notre Dame’s class to sign his national letter of intent on Wednesday?
miss information has been leaked about me and my recruitment. Completely untrue i’m picking a school based on program and best fit for me and where I wanna go to school, That simple.
— Peyton Bowen (@PeytonBowen10) December 15, 2022
3. Can Iowa hold onto 5-star OT Kadyn Proctor?
Iowa signed high-end four-star safety Xavier Nwankpa of Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk in the 2022 class. In this year’s cycle, Iowa earned a commitment from Proctor, a five-star prospect from that same school. It looked as though Kirk Ferentz was going to strike in-state gold out of the same high school in consecutive classes.
Proctor, the highest-rated player in state history, came into the weekend still leaning heavily toward signing with Iowa. But he took an official visit to Alabama over the weekend and has the coaching staff in Iowa City sitting on pins and needles. At this moment, you could even say Alabama is the favorite to land Proctor, which shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who is familiar with Nick Saban’s resume.
Proctor’s commitment didn’t get enough attention because he announced it in June roughly 20 minutes after news broke that USC and UCLA were going to join the Big Ten. But make no mistake about it: This the type of commitment can change everything for Iowa, a team that had one of the worst offenses in recent memory this past season. Is he Alabama bound? Maybe.
There’s still hope for Iowa given Proctor is a life-long Iowa fan who wears the same number as former Hawkeyes offensive lineman and current NFL starter Tristan Wirfs. Maybe home will win out. But Alabama is a hell of an opponent with two days before ink meets paper.
— Ty Simpson (@ty_simpson06) December 17, 2022
4. Can UCLA flip 5-star QB Dante Moore?
There are some quarterback fireworks happening at UCLA right now, both present and future.
On Saturday, UCLA earned a commitment out of the transfer portal from former Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee, which may end the Bruins’ flirtation with Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei. But there are bigger quarterback storylines to watch at UCLA this week.
It’s all about Moore, a five-star prospect out of Detroit (Mich.) Martin Luther King and the No. 11 player in the country.
Moore has been committed to Oregon since July, but he took an official visit to UCLA on Dec. 9, and the Bruins are firmly in the picture here. If Moore were to pick UCLA, it would be perhaps the most influential flip of this cycle, and he would be the highest-rated player to sign with Chip Kelly at UCLA.
5. Can Ohio State close strong?
Maybe it’s because five-star 2024 quarterback Dylan Raiola of Chandler (Ariz.) High decommitted from Ohio State on Saturday, but the Buckeyes seems to be lacking some juice on the recruiting trail right now. Yes, Raiola is still a year removed from being able to sign, but his decommitment was the latest domino to fall in a recruiting environment that has Buckeyes fans worried if their school is effectively deploying its resources in NIL.
Still, Ohio State’s 2023 currently ranks No. 7 nationally. It has 20 commitments, and its average player rating of 93.46 is third behind only Alabama and Georgia. It also recently flipped four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz of Pierre (S.D.) T.F. Riggs from Washington. Even so, it seems as though the Buckeyes could really use a splash before its 2023 class is complete. Will they get it?
Ohio State is involved with five-star edge rusher Damon Wilson of Venice (Fla.) High, though that recruitment is now being viewed as a lost cause as Georgia has taken control (cue the NIL discussion). But can the Buckeyes land five-star edge Matayo Uiagalelei of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco? It’s a tight race between Ohio State, Oregon and USC, but if the Buckeyes could pull this off, there would be an entirely different feel about this class.
6. What happens with Louisville?
Louisville’s 2023 class currently ranks No. 28 nationally despite having only 14 commitments. Of those 14 commitments, five are from California, four are from Florida, two are from Georgia, two are from Kentucky and one is from Indiana. That’s a national class.
Coach Scott Satterfield recently left for Cincinnati, and the Louisville class took a major hit when five-star running back Rueben Owens of El Campo (Texas) High flipped to Texas A&M.
The good news for Louisville: Jeff Brohm has returned to his alma mater in what seems to be a home run hire. But can he keep this class together? More importantly, can he keep four-star receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco committed?
Moore, ranked No. 95 nationally, took official visits to Georgia and Texas in November. Both programs have not given up in this recruitment, especially since they smell blood in the water with a coaching change — even if that coaching change seems great for Louisville in the long term.
7. Is Brian Kelly about to hit another home run?
When Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU after last season, the thought was that he made the move because he realized that his new school would give him a legitimate shot to win a national championship. Frankly, it is just easier to land premier talent at LSU.
Ironically, Notre Dame had a higher-rated class than LSU throughout this entire cycle. But on Thursday, LSU landed a commitment from four-star Javien Toviano of Arlington (Texas) Martin, the No. 58 overall player and the No. 6 cornerback in the 2023 class. That gave the Tigers their fifth top-100 player in a class that now ranks No. 5 nationally — one spot ahead of Notre Dame.
The fireworks may not be done. LSU is considered the favorite to land five-star cornerback Desmond Ricks of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG, who is scheduled to announce his decision Thursday. Ricks, who reclassified from the 2024 class, is also considering Florida and Alabama.
Four-star safety Isaac Smith of Fulton (Miss.) Itawamba Agricultural, the No. 174 overall player in the 2023 cycle, also took a recent visit to LSU.
8. What’s Texas A&M’s class going to look like?
Texas A&M is the butt of all jokes right now. After signing the best class in the history of modern recruiting in the 2022 cycle, the Aggies had a disastrous season on the field and have had more than 20 players enter the transfer portal. It seems like the wheels are falling off for Jimbo Fisher in Aggieland, doesn’t it?
But despite having a 2023 class that ranks No. 18 overall, five of the Aggies’ 13 commitments are ranked inside the top 100. The class has an average player rating of 92.44, which ranks No. 4 behind only Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State.
Texas A&M recently stole Owens away from Louisville and is currently trying to flip four-star safety Tony Mitchell of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, an Alabama commit who officially visited College Station over the weekend. There are, however, some concerns about whether the Aggies will be able to hold onto its commitment from five-star defensive lineman David Hicks of Katy (Texas) Paetow, who took a recent trip to Oregon.
This seems to be a critical spot for Texas A&M as it tries to keep its roster together while finishing strong in 2023. How will Fisher do?
9. Who is going to win the recruiting crown?
Alabama currently has the No. 1 overall class with 24 commitments. The class includes three five-star prospects and 11 top-100 recruits. Though Alabama still has to hold onto Mitchell and survive a late push from Ohio State on five-star safety Caleb Downs of Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek, the Crimson Tide are very well-situated.
Saban’s squad is still very much in the mix for two more five-star defensive line prospects — teammates James Smith and Qua Russaw of Montgomery (Ala.) Carver. Both took recent visits to Auburn (which is another story to track now that Hugh Freeze is in charge on The Plains), but it’s hard to bet against Alabama here. If the Crimson Tide land them both, the recruiting crown is theirs.
But don’t sleep on Georgia.
The Bulldogs have one fewer commitment overall and two fewer five-stars than Alabama, but they have nine top-100 players and are still in the mix for some top-level talent. Wilson, a five-star, seems to be Georgia bound. Kirby Smart is also alive with top-100 defensive lineman Jordan Hall of Jacksonville (Fla.) Westside and four-star cornerback Daniel Harris of Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep.
This is Alabama’s recruiting title to lose, but there are still plenty of signatures that need to come in before we place the crown on Saban’s head.
10. Off-the-radar surprises?
A year ago around this time, Hunter flipped from Florida State to Jackson State to play for Sanders. The ground shook, as it was arguably the most shocking signing day development in history.
But that’s why this has become a national holiday in the college football world. It’s not about the nine things that topped this list. It’s about the developments that come completely out of nowhere. What’s going to happen this year?
(Photo of Chip Kelly: Tom Hauck / Getty Images)
