On this day in history, well, literally every year since 1981, all hell has broken loose across the college football landscape, with the all-important National Signing Day just a week away.

This year, though? All is relatively quiet on the Western front ahead of Feb. 7.

That is, of course, because the early signing period — dead since January 1981 — came in like a wrecking ball in December, with around three-quarters of elite-level prospects inking with the program of their choice before Santa Claus had even come to town.

While Christmas came early for programs such as Georgia and Ohio State, the ESP exacerbated the difficulty of pulling together a respectable recruiting class after a coaching change and has drastically deemphasized the first Wednesday in February.

Still, there are some recruiting battles to be decided. Here are some of the biggest storylines to keep an eye on next week.

New Coaches Are Reeling

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher seems to be doing just fine with the 2019 class — most recently, with a monster commitment from Bishop Dunne (Texas) safety Brian Williams — but the 2018 class has proved challenging. After leaving FSU for TAMU in December, Fisher was met with a decommitment from one the top defensive linemen in the class Kevin Sumlin constructed, with many more prospects choosing not to sign early.

Florida State hit some bumps in the road, as well, despite quickly replacing Fisher with Willie Taggert — notably, missing on mega-quarterback prospect Emory Jones and four-star linebacker Rosendo Lewis, who ended up at Florida and South Carolina, respectively.

Welcome to the Florida Family @eXjones6 #AllBite18 pic.twitter.com/H3nNt7E3Qf

— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) December 20, 2017

Arkansas is in far worse shape. Former head coach Bret Bielema’s 2018 class wasn’t looking great even before the Hogs limped to a 4-8 season and Bielema was relieved of his duties. Chad Morris and his staff were able to retain two of the top three prospects from Bielema’s group — losing four-star cornerback Byron Hanspard II — but there just wasn’t much else there.

Frankly, Morris’ staff has made moves since arriving in Fayetteville, flipping three-star wide receiver Mike Woods and three-star safety Myles Mason from SMU and Mississippi State, respectively, and inking top JUCO running back Rakeem Boyd out of Independence (KS) Community College. But, due to a lack of roster space and a serious handicap out of the gate, the Razorbacks are destined for a class that ranks at the bottom of the SEC.

Patrick Surtain Jr. & Tyson Campbell Remain Unsigned & Uncommitted

Surtain, you might recall, is the highest-rated cornerback prospect in the history of computers and prospect rankings. His teammate, Campbell, checks in at No. 2 at the position — per both 247Sports and ESPN — and stands more than inch taller than Surtain at 6-foot-2.5.

Surtain is said to be an LSU lean, with Florida State and Alabama as trailers. But a few things have happened at FSU in the past month, and all Alabama did was win its 398th national championship. 

Campbell is favored to land at Georgia, which would be an emphatic punctuation mark on an already spectacular class. Bama is also in the mix for Campbell, because of course it is. Meanwhile, Miami is making a serious push for both Campbell and Surtain.

For all the drama that won’t exist on Feb. 7, the decisions of Surtain and Campbell are as big as any that were made in December.

So, Who Else Is Left?

The top remaining prospects, per 247Sports, are as follows:

• Five-star CB Patrick Surtain Jr.

• Five-star OT Nicholas Petit-Frere

• Five-star CB Tyson Campbell

• Five-star CB Olaijah Griffin

• Four-star CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart

• Four-star WR Jaylen Waddle

• Four-star WR Devon Williams

• Four-star WR Justyn Ross

• Four-star QB Tanner McKee

• Four-star OT William Barnes

• Four-star OG Penei Sewell

• Four-star OT Rasheed Walker

• Four-star WR Jacob Copeland

• Four-star DT Michael Thompson

• Four-star S Leon O’Neal Jr.

• Four-star WR JaMarr Chase

• Four-star LB Solomon Tuliaupupu

Petit-Frere is arguably the most talented offensive tackle in the country — but, other than that, he’s no big deal. Waddle, Williams, and Ross are a massively impactful trio of wide receivers. Williams, specifically, does the deep ball better than almost anyone. 

McKee has long been thought to be headed for Stanford, but the Centennial (CA) product is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will head off on a two-year mission trip ahead of his freshman year of college.

The Really, Really Good Player That No One Seems To Talk Much About

Why give you one when we can give you two, both from the Lone Star State:

Spencer Sanders, QB, Denton Ryan — Oklahoma State

Sanders was named the Gatorade Texas Player of the Year, but he rarely comes up in the national conversation. Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields sit on top of the mountain, with mentions of Justin Rogers, the reclassified JT Daniels, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson along the way. But seldom does Sanders get a mention after amassing 14,024 total yards, 124 passing touchdowns, and just 23 interceptions in 53 games at Ryan.

Tevailance Hunt, WR, Texarkana Texas — TCU

Hunt received rave reviews during Under Armour All-America practice after a remarkably quiet recruitment. The three-star wide receiver’s commitment to TCU went virtually unnoticed by the masses. In the meantime, all the Frogs did was tandem what may be the best set of hands in the class with Rogers, the third-ranked dual-threat quarterback.

Obligatory Bold Prediction: A Texas A&M Surge

As much as anyone, Texas A&M has a chance to make a splash next week. The Aggies appear to be a front-runner for three of the nation’s best remaining prospects: wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart, and safety Leon O’Neal Jr. — not to mention quarterback James Foster, defensive end Jeremiah Martin, and defensive tackle Trevor Trout. All six players are rated at least four stars.

If Fisher can bat .833 or better, the disappointment of the ESP will quickly turn to fascination at how quickly the Aggies righted the ship.