“Only one thing counts in this life: get them to sign on the line which is dotted.”
Is there anything that embodies the absurdity of college football like National Signing Day?
Unabashed fandom? Check. Entirely too much investment into 18 year-olds? Check. Elite level smack talk to rivals? Check. Recruiting is the microcosm of all that we love about the sport of college football and after the signings yesterday, we celebrate the recruiting wins just a little bit more today.
The coffee has an extra dose of hope this morning so pour a cup and let’s talk National Signing Day.
Dan Lanning, Have Yourself a Day
We’ll get to the Crimson Tide and the number one class in a bit, and we’ve got updates on Georgia, Texas, and Auburn, but it’s not a stretch to say nobody had a better signing day than Dan Lanning and the Ducks. Oregon picked up five big time players on Wednesday, with four of them being late flips away from the likes of Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Baylor.
Matayo Uiagalelei (5 Star – #31 Overall, #5 Edge)
Matayo Uiagalelei is the brother of D.J., former Clemson Quarterback, and a five star prospect in his own right. The 6’5 athlete chose the Ducks over USC and Ohio State.
While the Duck boards seem to take the NIL money jokes in stride, Ohio State and USC fans had quite a different tone.
All in the game yo.
Peyton Bowen (5 Star – #14 Overall, #2 Safety)
Bowen surprised everyone on Wednesday, including his parents. This had supposably been a long time battle between Oklahoma and Notre Dame, but Oregon swooped in at that last minute.
Sooners fans, thoughts?
Any better up in South Bend?
It makes Bowen pretty damn rich. Although we may be visiting this one again because as of 10:00 at night on NSD, Bowen had not sent in his paperwork to Oregon.
Austin Novosad (4 Star – #119 Overall, #10 Quarterback)
Novosad committed to Baylor just over a year ago. In that time the Bears fought off TCU, A&M, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. After a little more flirtation with the Aggies in the last few weeks it looked like Austin was set to go to Waco.
All that changed when Dan Lanning and Will Stein entered the picture.
Austin Novosad committing has made the Duck fans forget all about losing Dante Moore last week.
Jayden Limar (4 Star – #276 Overall, #17 Running Back)
Limar is your prototypical scatback who is an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He has top end speed, competing at the State level in track. This is another flip by the Ducks as Jayden had been a long time Notre Dame commit.
By the time this one came in, the Oregon boards were really feeling themselves.
It’s like negative fifteen degrees where I am so Rudy and a bottle of warm milk (with bourbon) sounds nice, honestly.
Daylen Austin (4 Star – #109 Overall, #12 Cornerback)
One more flip for Oregon on signing day, this one from LSU. Daylen Austin is a track athlete as well but at 6’1, 180 has the size to play physical corner.
This one should be fun for the state of Oregon, Daylen’s brother Alex is a starting corner for Oregon State.
Caleb Presley Flips to the Huskies (4 Star – #166 Overall, #19 Cornerback)
Oregon was grabbing pretty much everyone but Caleb Presley was not one of them. Washington was happy to take the number one player in their state and Presley should be an instant impact starter for DeBoer.
Oregon fans were having too good of a day so they went the classy route after losing out on Presley.
Malachi Coleman Picks the Huskers (4 Star – #84 overall, #2 Athlete)
Originally committed to the Huskers, Coleman decommitted on December 1st. He flirted with Colorado and Michigan but ultimately Nebraska and new coach Matt Rhule won out.
As you can imagine, Husker fans had plenty to say about old Big 8 rival Colorado.
Deion who?
Tausili Akana Picks Texas in Red River Showdown (4 Star – #102 Overall, #16 Edge)
Oklahoma fans were planning on having a good day yesterday, but things don’t always work out like you plan. They (potentially) lost Bowen to Oregon and they (definitely) lost top Edge recruit Tausili Akana to their arch rivals.
Texas adds Akana to a strong linebacker/edge recruiting class that already included Anthony Hill, S’maje Burrell, Derrion Guillete, and another one time Sooner, Colton Vasek.
Imagine, right?
At least one Sooner seems to have a good idea for healthy coping methods.
Akana is from Hawaii, by way of Utah, and joins his sister on the Forty Acres. Keonilei had the match winning ace to help win a National Championship for the Longhorn Volleyball squad. Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski had a simple message when Tausili sent in his letter of intent.
Michigan Adds Two More
While some of the Message Board Geniuses have questioned Harbaugh’s ability to pull in top recruits Michigan fans at least know how to laugh at the little things and keep their priorities in order.
Luckily for the Maize & Blue crowd, they continued to add more top talent on Signing Day.
Karmello English (4 Star – #180 Overall, #25 Wide Receiver)
The first big name to jump on board for NSD was Karmello English out of Phenix City, Alabama.
Good news indeed. English is 5’10, 175 but is a physical wide receiver with excellent hands. He should thrive as a top slot target at the next level.
Jyaire Hill (4 Star – #195 Overall, #25 Cornerback)
The other big time commit came on the defensive side of the ball as Jyaire Hill sent his letter of intent late Wednesday afternoon.
Hill is an athletic 6’1 with top end track speed. He should get playing time at defensive back and as a returner for Michigan.
It’s always good to set expectations low.
Auburn and Hugh Freeze Enjoy Late Flips
The Tigers were able to flip two top recruits on Wednesday, both on the defensive side of the ball. Auburn fans haven’t been the most vocal of supporters since Hugh Freeze was hired but they had plenty to say yesterday.
Keldric Faulk (4 Star – #81 Overall, #10 Defensive Line)
Faulk was all in on Florida State until he wasn’t. Auburn was able to pull this one out on Signing Day and the Tiger faithful had some fun.
Faulk is 6’5 with plenty of room to add weight so he’ll be able to line up at every spot on the defensive line. Florida State fans were none too thrilled to see this one slip away.
Kayin Lee (4 Star – #209 Overall, #25 Cornerback)
The other flip came a little later in the day. Kayin Lee had been committed to the Buckeyes since June but a late push has the Ellenwood, Georgia product staying South this winter.
Ohio State fans handled the flip a tad better than the Seminoles did, though that isn’t saying much.
Besides, NSD was just another day for Buckeye fans to bang the #FireEveryone drum.
Damon Wilson Joins the Dawgs (2023 5 Star – #13 Overall, #2 Edge)
Another recruit that slipped away from the Buckeyes was highly coveted recruit Damon Wilson. Wilson is from Venice, Florida and chose Georgia over Ohio State with late pushes by Texas, Alabama, and Auburn.
Wilson adds to an impressive haul by Kirby including another five star edge rusher, Samuel M’Pemba.
Buckeye fans, any comments here?
Daniel Harris Rejoins the Dawgs (4 Star – #153 Overall, #17 Cornerback)
After a decommit just over a month ago, Harris has rejoined the Georgia class. He flirted with Penn State for a minute, but the 6’2 corner out of Miami stuck with the Dawgs.
Alabama Cements Number One Class with Three Late Additions
Take a bow Crimson Tide. Alabama had already put together one of the best classes in recent history, and yesterday added three more five star recruits. The lowest ranked addition is ranked number 22 nationally. Nick Saban does not mess around.
Those two Redwoodforest is referring to would be James Smith and Qua Russaw.
Qua Russaw (5 Star – #22 Overall, #3 Edge)
Qua is a bit undersized at 6’2, 230 but has athleticism for days. He’ll put his hand in the dirt but has the ability to drop back in coverage and play off the ball as well.
That’s right. Carver High in Montgomery, Alabama produced two five star defensive lineman. Russaw’s teammate also committed to the tide on NSD.
James Smith (5 Star – #18 Overall, #2 Defensive Lineman)
James is a much more typical defensive lineman at 6’3, 310. He’s gonna line up inside for the most part but the dude has plenty of athleticism for his size.
The last of the three recruits Saban picked up this week is the highest rated of the bunch.
Kadyn Proctor (5 Star – #12 Overall, #2 Offensive Line)
Kadyn is out of Des Moines and had been an Iowa commit all season-long. The Hawkeyes fended off a number of suitors including Oregon, Michigan, and Cal, but they were no match for the Tide. Naturally the Hawkeye boards took the news well.
We’re going to assume he meant Bill O’Brien and not Saban…right?
Alabama fans on the other hand know how badly offensive line help was needed so they are celebrating big down in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama fans are probably the only ones who can say something like that and be right more often than not.
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