Texas, Florida, LSU leading winners, losers

On By Littum

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The top 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, are no shockers either.

But the transfer portal has certainly shaped the way we look at signing day. That so many players will transfer at least once in their careers has taken away much of the hype surrounding what was historically a marquee moment on the annual calendar, as the ease of transferring means a program’s four- or five-star prospects will ultimately become someone else’s recycling 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 up the best signing class in the FBS by signing five-star athlete Michael Terry III, who announced Wednesday for Longhorn over Oregon and Nebraska. Terry seems predestined at wide receiver, but could also help 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 linebackers and loaded with defensive backs, including Williams, four-star safety and former LSU commit Kade Phillips and four-star cornerback Graceson Littleton.

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Florida

Florida’s recruiting efforts began to turn around 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 Gators is locked into a top-15 class. The late wins include keeping wide receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, flipping safety Hylton Stubbs from Miami, snagging former Florida State running back commitment Byron Louis and reeling in four-star defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou, who decommitted from the Gators in late October, but was pulled back to Gainesville by Florida are strong close to the regular season.

Michigan

That Michigan is in the mix for a top-seven class is notable considering the program hasn’t signed a group so highly regarded by recruiting experts since at least 2017 — not that that fact stopped 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’ middle attack.

Oregon

The Ducks were able to retain five-star receiver Dallas Wilson, who was widely expected to return to Florida on signing day. Between Wilson and five-star signee Dakorien Moore, Oregon will add two elite receiving talents to the mix next season. In one of the biggest developments of the day, the Ducks were able to flip five-star Na’eem Offord away from Ohio State, where he had 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 that should bring some needed explosiveness to the Tigers’ running game. But there were misses down the stretch that are sure to sting, starting 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 appears close to backing out of his verbal commitment to North Carolina. However, Penn State has taken a big step for Baker.

The Big 12

TCU is on pace to have the best signing class in the Big 12 thanks to over 20 in-state signees, including four-star receivers Terry Shelton and Ed Small. Next up is Colorado, which lured quarterback Julian Lewis from Southern California by offering the chance to step right in and replace Shedeur Sanders. But while these classes are solid, they are far from the pace set by the Big Ten and the 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

Having 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 they are ranked higher than all but one team in the Big 12 Razorbacks‘ class among SEC peers comes in ahead of only Vanderbilt, which is scheduled to sign just 13 players on Wednesday and lean heavily on the transfer portal. Arkansas signed a pair of prospects capable of contributing from the start, including linebacker Tavion Wallace and junior college interior offensive lineman Bubba Craig.

(This story has been updated with new information.)