The best teams in the Bowl Subdivision bring in the best future college football players on national signing day — no surprise there.
The nation’s top classes belonging to Texas, Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama, according to the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports.com, is no shock either.
But the transfer portal has definitely shaped the way we view signing day. That so many players will transfer at least once in their careers has taken away a huge chunk of the hype around what was historically a marquee moment on the annual calendar, since the ease of transferring means one program’s four- or five-star prospect will eventually become another’s reclamation project.
Even still, the foundation for College Football Playoff appearances and national championships is laid through traditional recruiting. Here are the biggest winners and losers from signing day:
Winners
Texas
Texas essentially locked down the top signing class in the FBS by bringing in five-star athlete Michael Terry III, who announced Wednesday for the Longhorns over Oregon and Nebraska. Terry seems destined for wide receiver but could also help out in the backfield and in the return game. Texas signed two more five-star recruits in safety Jonah Williams and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett. The class is heavy on defenders and loaded with defensive backs, including Williams, four-star safety and former LSU commitment Kade Phillips and four-star cornerback Graceson Littleton.
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Florida
Florida’s recruiting efforts began to turn with the announcement in November that coach Billy Napier would return for his fourth season. Now, thanks to several key flips and holds leading into Wednesday, the Gators are locked into a top-15 class. The late wins include keeping wide receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, flipping safety Hylton Stubbs from Miami, nabbing former Florida State running back commitment Byron Louis and reeling back in four-star defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou, who dropped the Gators in late October but was drawn back to Gainesville by Florida’s strong close to the regular season.
Michigan
That Michigan is in the mix for a top-seven class is noteworthy given that the program hasn’t signed a group this highly regarded by recruiting pundits since at least 2017 – not that this fact prevented the Wolverines from winning a national championship. No win was bigger than pulling the cycle’s top-ranked recruit, quarterback Bryce Underwood, away from LSU. The local product is expected to step right into a starting role and dramatically improve the Wolverines’ middling offense.
Oregon
The Ducks were able to keep five-star receiver Dallas Wilson, who was widely expected to flip to Florida on signing day. Between Wilson and five-star signee , Oregon will add two elite receiving talents into the mix next season. In one of the day’s biggest developments, the Ducks were able to turn five-star Na’eem Offord away from Ohio State, where he’d been committed since February. Dan Lanning and his staff were unable to flip the nation’s top-rated tight end in Linkon Cure, who signed with Kansas State, but do have another four-star addition at the position in Vander Ploog. And if you want to feel old, the Ducks also added quarterback Akili Smith Jr., son of the former Oregon quarterback and first-round draft pick.
Losers
LSU
Don’t feel too bad for LSU, which will sign another elite class loaded with in-state talent. That includes Louisiana’s top-rated prospect and the nation’s top running back recruit in Harlem Berry; he’s a plug-and-play addition who should bring some needed explosiveness to the Tigers’ running game. But there were misses down the stretch that definitely sting, beginning with Underwood, Phillips and four-star receiver Derek Meadows, who is expected to sign with Alabama. The Tigers are in the mix to replace Underwood with Bryce Baker, who seems close to backing off his verbal commitment to North Carolina. Penn State has made a major move for Baker, however.
The Big 12
TCU is on track to sign the best class in the Big 12 thanks to over 20 in-state signees, including four-star receivers Terry Shelton and Ed Small. Next is Colorado, which pulled quarterback Julian Lewis from Southern California by offering the chance to step right in and replace Shedeur Sanders. But these classes, while solid, are way off the pace set by the Big Ten and SEC. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Horned Frogs’ class is ranked No. 22 nationally and the Buffaloes come in at No. 34, according to 247Sports.
Arkansas
To have a class hovering around No. 30 nationally is pretty much par for the course: Arkansas’ past five classes ranked No. 28, No. 27, No. 22, No. 28 and No. 29. Again, this shows the overwhelming flow of talent into the SEC. While ranked higher than all but one team in the Big 12, the Razorbacks’ class among SEC peers comes in ahead of only Vanderbilt, which is scheduled to sign only 13 players on Wednesday and lean heavily on the transfer portal. Arkansas did sign a few potential impact players capable of contributing from the start, including linebacker Tavion Wallace and junior college interior offensive lineman Bubba Craig.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football signing day: Texas, Florida, LSU lead winners, losers
