2018 NCAA Football Recruiting Results

SoxJox

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Updated 12/21 to reflect de-commitment of 5* DB Jaiden Woodbey from Ohio State and flipping to Florida State. That dropped OSU from #1 to #2, and there were 3 additional signings for Georgia after I posted.

I know many don't put much stock in these things, but after Day 1 of the early signing period, here is 247Sports' ranking of the Top 25.

The entire ranking is here.

Of note, while most commits signed, there are still a number that did not - some or most of whom are either:

  1. Waiting to announce at the Under Army All-American Game on January 4
  2. Waiting until January 15 to see what potential roster implications (and sooner playing opportunity) may develop after underclassman declare for the NFL draft
One oddity that struck me is that USC signed only 11. As far as I know, the NCAA sanctions ended in 2015, so I am quite surprised by that.

 
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Kremlin Watcher

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Very pleased with Texas’ class. Signed seven out of the top ten players in Texas, halting the exodus of our best HS players. Got another Aussie punter as well as a PK that should finally plug that hole. Herman said they will end up signing probably 29 guys when it’s all said and done. Now if he could only coach ...
 

SoxJox

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Agreed, Texas has done a fine job. But, not sure how he can sign 29, as the yearly class limit is 25. Unless some are early enrollees and will count against 2017's class. And, noting NCAA allowances for oversigning up to 28 (the SEC has been notably active in this area).
 
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Kremlin Watcher

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Agreed, Texas has done a fine job. But, not sure how he can sign 29, as the yearly class limit is 25. Unless some are early enrollees and will count against 2017's class. And, noting NCAA allowances for oversigning up to 28 (the SEC has been notably active in this area).
You can roll over to next year if you sign fewer than 25 in any one season. We have headroom for 31 this year because last year was so bad. But Herman wants to roll some into 2018/19 to take some more DLs. This class includes no DLs.
 

Infield Infidel

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I know many don't put much stock in these things, but after Day 1 of the early signing period, here is 247Sports' ranking of the Top 25.

The entire ranking is here.

Of note, while most commits signed, there are still a number that did not - some or most of whom are either:

  1. Waiting to announce at the Under Army All-American Game on January 4
  2. Waiting until January 15 to see what potential roster implications (and sooner playing opportunity) may develop after underclassman declare for the NFL draft
One oddity that struck me is that USC signed only 11. As far as I know, the NCAA sanctions ended in 2015, so I am quite surprised by that.

I figure a few more will sign Thursday or Friday after seeing how today shook out. IIRC, they can only sign an NLI these three days, or after national signing day in February

Edit-weird, the list numbers in SoxJox's post changed somehow
 
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SpokaneSoxFan

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USC only signing 11 in the early signing period doesn't surprise me. Their M.O. has always been to go for 4 & 5 star guys and compete with the big players out there for them, and when they miss, they poach the cream from the other Pac 12 schools at the last moment. As a fan of a second tier Power 5 team, I am a big fan of this early signing period just for this reason.
 

Bosoxen

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And this means what in the Big 12? Are there pick 40’s waiting? Do you have a good punter?
Surely you jest. The most points they allowed this season (in a non-OT game) was 29 to the playoff-bound land thieves. Say what you will about the futility of defense in an air-it-out conference but adding six of the top 25 defensive back recruits to that defense can't be considered a bad thing.

Fun fact: the Aussie punter they signed is Michael Dickson's cousin.
 

MuzzyField

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Surely you jest. The most points they allowed this season (in a non-OT game) was 29 to the playoff-bound land thieves. Say what you will about the futility of defense in an air-it-out conference but adding six of the top 25 defensive back recruits to that defense can't be considered a bad thing.

Fun fact: the Aussie punter they signed is Michael Dickson's cousin.
I do jest, and thank you for keeping at least a couple of players away from Georgia! What kind of "scholarship" is Kirby offering in Athens?
 

PaulinMyrBch

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My understanding of this early signing period is its now essentially going to be the normal signing day. There are roughly 2800 scholarships handed out each year. ~1800 signed this week, ~550 are solid verbals to sign in Feb, which leaves about 450 kids to get fought over like never before. I don’t think anyone anticipated this amount would sign early. But with so many kids enrolling in January, this is probably the smart move long term.

As for Clemson, they hauled in 4 of the top 9 and also signed the #1 player from 5 different states. FL, NC, SC, GA, OH. Pretty sweet
 

Infield Infidel

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Most reports I read beforehand said to expect 50-80% would sign this week, and it hit right in that zone. Most teams were aiming for 20 players. Most players are set before December so for them they won't get needless calls and contacts over the next 6 weeks. And coaches can focus on filling out the last 5 or so in their class.

Realistically, how much can you recruit when there are so few players available? Some schools have hit their limit, and are completely done. The last two weeks were crazy, especially for bowl teams and for teams with coaching changes, the next phase should be easier and more focused than the past. And teams with new coaches can try to catch up.
 

SoxJox

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You can roll over to next year if you sign fewer than 25 in any one season. We have headroom for 31 this year because last year was so bad. But Herman wants to roll some into 2018/19 to take some more DLs. This class includes no DLs.
I don't believe this is true. From the 2017-2018 NCAA Rulebook:

13.9.2.3 Limitation on Number of National Letter of Intent /Offer of Financial Aid Signings—Bowl Subdivision Football. [FBS] In bowl subdivision football, there shall be an annual limit of 25 on the number of prospective student-athletes who may sign a National Letter of Intent or an institutional offer of financial aid and student-athletes who may sign a financial aid agreement for the first time.
Nowhere in the rulebook does it refer to an ability to "carry over" unused scholarships into the next recruiting year.

You may be referring to early enrollees from the subsequent recruiting cycle counting against the previous under-signed class. But if they don't make up the deficiency with early enrolled, they cannot carry those unused scholarships and go over 25. So, as an example, if University of YouWHo signs 20 NLIs for the 2018 class, they can early enroll as many as five in January of 2019 to count against the 2018 class. However, if they early enroll only three, they cannot carry over the remaining balance of two and increase their 2019 class to 27.
 

SoxJox

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They really didn't do that in accordance with 13.9.2.3. They did that in accordance with...

13.9.2.3.2 Exception—Agreement After Second Year. [FBS] A student-athlete who has been in residence at the certifying institution for at least two academic years may sign a financial aid agreement for the first time without counting toward the annual limit on signings.
That's a somewhat different scenario than to what KW is referring
 

Infield Infidel

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I may be wrong, but if they enrolled January 2016, if seems like that rule wouldn't come into effect until January 2018. In any event, it doesn't matter, the NCAA made some exceptions anyway for eligibility and not having to redshirt.
The NCAA made two concessions for the Blazers. It allowed UAB to sign larger recruiting classes in effort to help the Blazers get back to the 85-player scholarship limit. It also said players who spent the 2016 season with UAB would not have the year count against their eligibility clock.
https://247sports.com/Article/The-UAB-Blazers-are-back-next-year-and-a-city-rejoices-48887586