National Signing Day: What to expect, and maybe a surprise or two
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For many college football die-hard fans, National Signing Day is Christmas in February.
This year, there's a twist.
With the Early Signing Period, in which, players have already signed letter of intent and/or have enrolled early, the impact of Wednesday's announcement doesn't carry the same weight as they once did.
https://www.foxsports.com/west/story/2018-high-school-spotlight-signing-day-special-fox-sports-west-fox-sports-go-jt-daniels-greg-biggins-prep-zone-020518
But, it's still a big deal!
Recruiting classes are how college football powers stay at the top. Programs have since adapted to the 'best player available' system, similar to what NFL teams during the draft.
Greg Biggins of 24/7 Sports gives us some storylines to watch, and maybe a surprise or two, on National Signing Day.
How did Early Signing Period change recruiting?
In what was a surprise to me, 80 percent of the players committed in December ended up signing during the Early Signing Period. I anticipated only about 50 percent of committed prospects would want to follow this practice. My thinking was a lot of the elite players would want to make a big splash with their announcement and wait until Wednesday. And, some of the mid-level prospects would want to wait, as well, in hopes of picking up a late Power 5 offers in January when those Power 5 schools miss on their top targets ...which happens every year.
With all the coaching changes taking place (especially between Dec. and Feb.), I also thought the players would want to wait as long as possible to sign, simply to make sure they knew who their head or position coach would be when they arrived on campus. Turns out, the Power 5 schools did a nice job locking in their top commits and getting their signatures and players who were committed but didn’t sign, were looked at as non-committed and some, even cut loose.
It will be interesting to see if tweaks will be made to the Early Signing Period and one obvious one is the timing. Having the two signing periods just seven weeks apart doesn't make a lot of sense. Ideally, you would have the early period at the end of the summer, since players in the 2019 class are now able to take official visits in the spring of their junior years.
https://www.foxsports.com/west/story/national-signing-day-watch-our-two-hour-show-1-3-pm-fox-sports-west-fox-sports-go-020518
What will Tanner McKee do?
Corona (Calif.) Centennial quarterback Tanner McKee has had one of the most unique and interesting recruitments this season. While most quarterbacks like to commit before the season to lock in their spot, McKee is the rare signal caller waiting until National Signing Day to make his decision. McKee is planning to go on his Mormon Mission right out of high school and essentially counts as part of the 2020 class.
As a result, there was no rush for him to commit anywhere and he took all of his official visits during the fall. McKee checked out Alabama, BYU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington. The Cougars were the early leader back in the summer but Stanford could be the team to beat at this time.
Two more huge decisions to watch
Mission Viejo (Calif.) defensive back Olaijah Griffin and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu are both waiting until National Signing Day to announce.
Griffin is down to Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and USC and our guess is the Trojans have a slight lead over the Crimson Tide right now. Griffin's most visit was to Alabama and he loves the football program and specifically, their ability to develop corners and get them to the NFL. USC is the local school and we know he has a lot of family who would love to see him stay close to home to play his college ball.
Tuliaupupu is down to Notre Dame, UCLA and USC but the Trojans have been a heavy leader for the linebacker for some time. He visited all three schools but the Trojans are his his childhood favorite, he's close with several players on the team and has Monarch teammates Amon Ra-St. Brown and JT Daniels already committed.
Top CIF-SS player committed to USC
St. Brown was the headliner of the USC class, but once Daniels re-classified, the QB took over the top spot. Daniels, rated the No. 6 player in the country by 247Sports, has a real chance to step in and earn the starting job at USC this fall. He's one of the most gifted quarterbacks to ever come out of the Southern Section and his talent as a pure passer, as well as his ability to read defense and make quick decisions with the football, have always been years ahead of his peers.
https://twitter.com/jtdaniels06/status/944266914972307456
Top CIF-SS player committed to UCLA
Gardena (Calif.) Serra athlete Bryan Addison was a huge pickup for the Bruins and signed during the Early Signing Period. Addison, rated the No. 106 player nationally by 247Sports, chose the Bruins over Arizona State, USC and Washington and could play on both sides of the ball in college. He'll start off at wide receiver but has a ton of upside as a rangy free safety as well. He's a long, 6-foot-5 athlete who can run and jump and should be a dynamic college player.
Biggest potential Signing Day surprise
Gardena (Calif.) Serra linebacker Merlin Robertson will announce between Arizona State and Illinois and just about everyone has him pegged for the Sun Devils. Robertson has a good relationship with new ASU LB coach Antonio Pierce, the former LB Poly (Calif.) head coach, the school is close to home and offers early playing time. Saying that, Illinois has done a very good recruiting Robertson, he loves the NFL pedigree of head coach Lovie Smith and LB coach Hardy Nickerson and really connected well with the players on his visit. Although our pick is still ASU, it would not shock us too much of Robertson went against the grain and chose the Illini.
