The bulk of the big recruiting news now happens in late December thanks to the early signing period. The two-day window from December 20-22 of this year allows high school football recruiting prospects who have already decided where they want to play college football to sign early with their teams and coaching staffs.
Overall, your team’s performance during this period is a good indicator of how your class will finish overall. Therefore, it is a very crucial time for coaches who want to build successful programs.
As we look ahead to the 2024 season, let’s take a look at the programs that need a big early signing period for 2023. The list is subjective but focuses on what’s at stake for each program.
Deion Sanders has taken the college football world by storm with his unorthodox approach to building Colorado’s roster in 2023. Relying too heavily on the transfer portal has led to a mass exodus of Colorado players that Sanders inherited. Colorado started 3-0 and featured a roster of 69 new scholarship players and 58 transfers.
But the Buffs’ lack of depth in the trenches showed as the season progressed, and then Colorado lost six straight to finish 4-8. The Buffs ranked 132nd in sacks allowed, second-to-last in the country.
If the Buffs want to bowl next season, Sanders will need to have a big recruiting class in 2024. He currently ranks 50th nationally, well below the 30th class he had last cycle. It includes just four blue-chip commitments, including 5-star offensive lineman Jordan Sitton and 4-star receiver Drilon Miller, athlete Camron Mikel and defensive lineman Brandon Davis Swain.
247Sports’ Crystal Ball projections list 4-star receiver Lamason Waller as one of Colorado’s potential eventual signees. Sanders has made some gains in the transfer portal, though — in the last few days, he’s acquired transfers for Vanderbilt receiver Will Sheppard and LSU edge-rusher Quincey Wiggins.
Colorado’s class is ranked ninth in the Big 12. The rebuild in Boulder may take longer than Dionne initially thought, but maintaining that momentum with some big wins in the coming days will certainly help.
Billy Napier’s plan to rebuild the Gators program depends largely on his ability to retain most of the recruiting class of 2024. Florida’s class is impressive, ranking fifth nationally, behind Georgia, Ohio State, Florida State and Alabama, respectively.
The class is led by 5 stars in defensive lineman LJ McCray, linebacker DJ Lagway, and cornerback Xavier Filsaime. It also includes big names like 4-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams, linebacker Myles Graham and offensive tackle Fletcher Westphal.
But there were some notable prospects Napier lost from this class in the weeks leading up to the early signing period. 4-star DL Nasir Johnson flipped to rival Georgia last month. 4-star JaMonta Waller also flipped to Auburn, and 4-star Wardell Mack flipped to Texas.
Not to mention, the Gators lost some key playmakers to the transfer portal, including star linebacker Trevor Etienne, safety Kamari Wilson and defensive end Brinsley Omanmilin, who is now at Ole Miss. Florida could use some big-name players from the transfer portal. To compensate for some of these losses.
If Napier wants to stay at Florida, he can’t afford to lose any more big names from the 2024 class. Holding on to the current class and getting some playmakers from the transfer portal would help put Florida in good stead — even with one of the toughest 2024 schedules in The country.
It’s no secret that the Tigers haven’t been where we expect them to be over the past two seasons. After consecutive years of missing the College Football Playoff, Clemson could use some big signings.
The biggest thing coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t use as much as many other programs? Transport portal. Sweeney told reporters last week that he is looking to add one or two players from it this cycle, and Clemson could use help along the offensive line and at wide receiver.
Clemson has missed two players so far. Tigers targets such as Middle Tennessee State offensive lineman Kellan Rutledge and Georgia transfer lineman Austin Blaskey have committed to Georgia Tech and North Carolina, respectively. We’ll see if Clemson can land Texas A&M OL transfer Chase Bisontis, who is listed as one of the top 10 prospects this cycle on 247Sports.
Clemson’s 2024 class includes 12 top-tier candidates, including 5-star LB Sammy Brown, 5-star receiver Bryant Wesco, and 4-star receiver TJ Moore. Clemson’s staff is reportedly trying to flip longtime Florida commit QB DJ Lagway. The 5-star running back was with the Tigers among his last schools before committing to the Gators last December.
We’ll see if Swinney can flip Lagway or get a big receiver out of the gate in this cycle.
Brian Kelly shocked everyone by winning the SEC West championship last season. Instead of doing the same in 2022, LSU finished 9-3 with two division losses to Ole Miss and Alabama. For the Tigers to continue their upward trend, LSU needs to make some noise this week.
LSU’s current 2024 class ranks 12th nationally and is just seventh in the SEC per 247Sports. That’s significantly lower than the top 10 LSU recruits compiled last year.
But the Tigers flipped 4-star Gabriel Reliford earlier this month, and they will reportedly try to flip 5-star ATH and TAMU along with Terry Bossy, as well as JUCO land prospect Jaden Hamlin. Mississippi State transfer receiver Zavion Thomas also committed to LSU late last week.
LSU will need to make some big moves in the coming weeks if it wants to replace future NFL talents like Malik Nabers and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. Its current class is led by 4-star running backs Dashon McBride, Trey’Dez Green, both from Louisiana, and 4-star receivers Jelani Watkins and Kaylan Billiot.
Notice how there’s no 5-star prospect listed here? Look for Kelly to change that either this week or next February.
It’s no secret that the Lincoln Riley era didn’t get off to a hot start. USC finished last season with three losses and an upset to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. The 2023 season ended with three straight losses to Washington, Oregon and UCLA to finish the season at 7-5.
So it’s alarming that USC’s class of 2024 currently ranks 17th nationally. The Trojans haven’t had a class outside of the top 10 since 2020, the year before USC fired Clay Helton. The biggest area of concern for USC under Riley was defense. His teams ranked 122nd and 106th in total defense, respectively, over the past two seasons. If USC wants to compete for national championships, at least a top-10 finish is key.
It helps that the Trojans have the likes of 4-star CB Marcelles Williams, 4-star safety Kameryn Fountain, as well as 4-stars like linebacker Elijah Nebey, CB Isaiah Rubin, and safety Maquis Gallegos in the class. But all these guys have been committed since the summer, and the season hasn’t changed much in the months leading up to the crucial few days in December.
Hopefully flipping 3-star DL Jide Abasiri out of Minnesota like the staff did last week will get some momentum for USC, which just hired a new defensive coordinator in D’Anton Lynn. If USC wants to compete for national titles, some big wins this week will be important. Scoring like 4-star defensive lineman Jericho Johnson would be a great first step.
The Aggies moved on from Jimbo Fisher after six seasons and hired Mike Elko from Duke last month. A first-year head coach’s recruiting class is usually considered a wash, but I think Elko has a chance to get his program off to a strong start by retaining a significant portion of Fisher’s 2024 class.
Unsurprisingly, there have been some losses since Fisher’s departure. Most notably, 5-star receiver Cam Coleman flipped to Auburn, and 4-star 2024 Aggies prospect Coen Echols exited.
But if Elko can maintain the current chapter this week, his tenure will be off to a great start. It is ranked 20th nationally and 11th in the SEC. He is led by 5-star CB Terry Bussey and fellow 5-star DL Dominick McKinley. Elko and his new staff have reportedly been on the road meeting with the current class since his arrival, and are expected to host visitors on campus in the next few days.
We’ll see if Elko can pull off some surprises later this week. According to 247Sports’ Crystal Ball Projections, the Aggies are vying to move Kansas State CB Will Lee III as well as 4-star running back Anthony Curry.
As the college football offseason gets underway, teams are already feeling the pressure to secure top talent for the 2023 season. With the competition for recruits becoming increasingly fierce, coaches and programs are desperate to make a big early signing splash to bolster their rosters and set themselves up for success in the coming years. The early signing period has become a crucial time for teams to solidify their recruiting classes, and the race to land the best prospects is on. As the anticipation and excitement of the offseason builds, college football teams are eagerly vying for the attention of high school recruits in hopes of securing their commitments.