The day of the national signature has arrived. Ari Wasserman, The AthleticThe national recruiting reporter and our team of classic writers will provide updates and analysis on all major developments throughout the day.
First, follow some recent recruitment stories from our team.
• Ari details the five most intriguing stories on the day of the signing and makes some predictions about where some of the best unsigned players will end.
• Josh Kendall recalls the courtship of Jadeveon Clowney, who is one of five candidates in the era of modern recruitment to receive a perfect rating of 1,000.
• De’Anthony Thomas was another great recruit in 2011 and a major signer for the Oregon Ducks. Tyson Alger has this story.
• Alabama had an excellent year (again) and did particularly well in the state of Texas. Aaron Suttles with the details.
• Bill Landis reviews some of the Ohio State’s December signers with 15 thoughts and 15 clips about the Buckeyes’ first subscribers.
• Christian Caple did the same for the 15 Washington signatories.
• Scott Dochterman profiles Deavin Hilson, a rare Des Moines native who will play for Iowa.
• Antonio Morales explains how the USC managed to hire two four-star defenders in the same cycle.
• Joseph Person in a North Carolina signatory who maintained his family roots – and declined an offer to play for Nick Saban.
• Andy Staples and Bruce Feldman revisit the 2017 Miami Northwestern team, which produced 26 players who made the First Division list.
Today, in case you have forgotten, and perhaps you have forgotten, it is the second period of football subscription. Georgia hired 20 players in December, 16 of whom are already signed up, so today it is estimated to focus on one recruit: Terrion Arnold, a defensive full-back ranked No. 50 overall in the 247Sports Composite. Arnold is expected to announce his decision, probably in Georgia or Alabama, later this afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida. – Seth Emerson (8:15 ET)
Don’t look to Georgia Tech to hire someone else in this class. The Georgia Tech class has 24 players, including transfers. – Daniel Shirley (8:40 ET)
Rayshaun Benny, a four-star defensive tackle from Oak Park, Michigan, has just moved from Michigan State to Michigan. Benny committed to the Spartans after they defeated Michigan in October, but did not sign in December. At 6-5 pounds and 275 pounds, Benny provides some size that Michigan class lacked. – Austin Meek (8:45 ET)
Expect a boring day of signing for the state of Ohio. The team’s Twitter account tweeted “That’s it, guys” at around 7am. They don’t expect to add anyone today, which means that LB Raesjon Davis should go to USC. OSU gave a strong boost to Davis, LSU’s ex-commit. So the Buckeyes will have the 21 players they signed in December and will wait for JT Tuimoloau’s decision later this spring. – Bill Landis (8:50 ET)
Although Michigan let some of the state’s best players escape in 2021, breaking up with Donovan Edwards and Rayshaun Benny leaving the state of Michigan at the end of the process means that the Wolverines will sign four of the state’s seven best players. Given Jim Harbaugh’s new structured deal and a renewed technical team at UM with ties to the state, it is good for the Wolverines to see that it paid dividends with a player who was sad to lose a few months ago. Benny is a big win for Michigan, and convincing him to abandon a rival in the state is the kind of early return you want to see from a redesigned technical team trying to fix the ship. – Ari Wasserman (9 ET)
Four-star CB and former Minnesota sign Avante Dickerson of Omaha (Neb.) Westside announces that he will sign with Oregon. This is another great talent in the stellar Ducks class. Thirteen of the Ducks’ 23 commitments / signatories are ranked in the top 200 nationally – just in case you’re wondering when the Pac-12 will make it to the Playoff again. Minnesota will probably lose sleep over failing to catch Dickerson because he was a leader of that class. But it also affects Nebraska, which needs to sign the top 125 players when they are in the state (which is rare). – Ari Wasserman (9:15 ET)
Four-star LB Trevin Wallace of Jesup (Georgia) Wayne County, the number 140 general player in the 2021 class, signs with Kentucky. They are two of the top 150 players in Kentucky’s class, while Mark Stoops continues to recruit like crazy. Wallace chose Kentucky over Auburn and Ole Miss. – Ari Wasserman (9:20 ET)
Another addition on the day of signing for Michigan: the three-star defensive Ikechukwu Iwunnah from Garland, Texas. Iwunnah (6-4, 275) was delivered to Colorado. Michigan D-line coach Shaun Nua has been very busy. – Austin Meek (9:30 ET)
This seems to be a difficult day for South Carolina, as Gamecocks currently have a class that is ranked 94th in the country and the last in the SEC, with little prospect of improving that position today. Gamecocks’ strategy to deal with this adversity seems to be focused on the future. The football team’s Twitter account announced on Wednesday morning a full day of online content apparently designed to launch the product for the prospects of the future. An additional benefit? It also gives fans of the team something to think about, in addition to the lowest ranking hiring class of the South Carolina ranking era. – Josh Kendall (9:40 ET)
There was some drama about whether the five-star runner Camar Wheaton of Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial would step out of Alabama’s class before signing the contract because he was a lean old from Oklahoma. It looks like this is not going to happen. – Ari Wasserman (9:50 ET)
Tennessee signed with Jeremiah Crawford, a Kansas offensive three-star game. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound striker is the country’s third offensive juco defender. – David Ubben (9:50 ET)
Clemson’s 2021 class is and was complete going for today, the school confirmed. Tigers have three 5 stars and hired players from 10 different states. Georgia was Clemson’s main state this year, with five candidates signing to play for Dabo Swinney. – Grace Raynor (9:55 ET)
DE Davon Townley, of Minneapolis North Senior, four stars, player number 321 overall and 19th place in defense, committed to Penn State. Lions of Nittany currently occupy the 24th overall position of the national class. – Ari Wasserman (10:10 ET)
Defensive side four-star Saivion Jones of Saint James (La.) High, player number 161 overall in the 2021 class, will sign with LSU. The Tigers had some difficult interruptions during the initial hiring period, but Ed Orgeron is still hiring an elite class, the top five. – Ari Wasserman (10:40 ET)
Iowa announced two signings today: central Mike Myslinski and running back Deavin Hilson. Myslinski, a three-star, originally promised to go to Texas last summer, but gave up shortly before Texas coach Tom Herman was fired. Hilson, a two-star athlete from Des Moines North, was offered late last week. His varsity played just two games after the season ended. – Scott Dochterman (10:50 ET)
New Orleans’ four-star Destyn Hill receiver Edna Karr is committed to the state of Florida. This is a huge gain for Mike Norvell, who adds his first top 200 player to the 2021 class of the Seminoles. The hope is that this commitment will gain momentum by 2022, which is a great start for the state of Florida. – Ari Wasserman (11:30 ET)
USC achieved a commitment to the prospect of the top 50 and four-star OLB Raesjon Davis, who had been committed to LSU for more than a year. Davis, a Mater Dei prospect, is the third top 100 defensive prospect to sign with the Trojans in this cycle. In the 2020 recruitment cycle, the USC signed only one of California’s top 25 candidates. With the addition of Davis, the Trojans will end up signing nine of the state’s top 25 candidates in the 2021 cycle. This is the kind of internal recruitment turnaround that the USC needed to have this year. – Antonio Morales (11:35 am ET)
Nebraska announced the signing of its first and perhaps only addition today to the 2021 recruiting class – the four-star linebacker Wynden Ho’ohuli of Mililani, Hawaii, ranked No. 153 on the 247Sports Composite. It raises the number to 20 in this class for Huskers. – Mitch Sherman (12:15 ET)
Arizona State has announced the signing of cornerback Isaiah Johnson, kicker Eddie Czaplicki and North Carolina transfer Triston Miller. From a four-star perspective, Johnson is the ninth corner of the country and the highest ranked player in the Arizona state class. Miller (6-4, 290) has four years of eligibility and must compete for an initial job at the center. – Doug Haller (1:30 ET)
Mario Cristobal completed four recruitment cycles in Oregon and has now signed four of the five most important classes in the program’s history. Oregon’s top five classes for 247 Sports: 2021 (287.38), 2019 (277.98), 2018 (260.22), 2020 (259.4) and 2011 (257.09) – Tyson Alger (1:45 ET)
Signature Day Statistics: Kentucky now has 27 players who have been recruited 4 or 5 stars by 247Sports, Rivals or both. QB (2) – Gatewood, Allen RB (1) – McClain ATH (2) – Robinson, Drennen WR (2) – Crowdus, Lewis OL (5) – Kinnard, Young, Flax, Burton, Buford DL (6) – Paschal , McCall, Rogers, Hayes, Rybka, Oxendine LB (5) – Weaver, Casey, Anaele, Wallace, Fulton DB (4) – Corker, Ajian, Douglass, Williams. – Kyle Tucker (1:50 ET)
(Photo by Jim Harbaugh: Tim Fuller / USA Today)
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