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6 Biggest Stories Of 'Early' (But Not Really) Signing Day

6 Biggest Stories Of 'Early' (But Not Really) Signing Day

In many ways, tracking the early signing period is like drinking water through a fire hose, so here’s a nice and tidy compilation of the big stuff.

Dec 19, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
6 Biggest Stories Of 'Early' (But Not Really) Signing Day

In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past year and change, college football’s early signing period has become the new National Signing Day, with over 70 percent of prospects inking their name to a national letter of intent.

In a lot of ways, tracking the early signing period is like drinking water through a fire hose—and it’s safe to assume that you’ve all been expertly tracking your own team’s progress along the way—so here’s a nice and tidy compilation of the biggest stories across the country thus far.

1. Nakobe Dean Chose Georgia

The top linebacker in the class of 2019 was also one of the biggest unknowns as Wednesday morning arrived.

Dean capped a monster career at Horn Lake (MS) with a state championship and over 40 offers to his name, but really hadn’t offered up much of a lean in terms of where he’d be assuming a starring role over the course of the next three years.

His pledge of allegiance to Georgia was a massive boon to what will likely finish as the second-ranked class in the country.

Dean is one of the most intelligent, instinctive defenders in the class and his hit stick is unparalleled. But it’s ultimately his athleticism that sets him apart as a prospect. 

The 6-foot, 220-pounder lined up as the wildcat quarterback situationally for Horn Lake and flashed the speed and explosiveness to play inside, outside or even safety at the next level. More than likely, however, he’s Georgia’s next Roquan Smith.

2. Trey Sanders Stuck With Alabama After All

Trey Sanders re-opened his recruitment in January and made Georgia fans hearts flutter with this tweet a little over a week ago:

But, when it came time to put pen to paper, he rolled with the Tide after all.

Sanders is the No. 1 running back in the country and joins an embarrassment of riches in an Alabama backfield that also includes former top-ranked runner Najee Harris.

The IMG (FL) product is so Alabama it hurts (opposing tacklers), with a 6-1, 215-pound frame and remarkable explosiveness. His ability as a pass catcher is noteworthy, as well, and will undoubtedly be utilized in a suddenly wide-open offensive attack down in Tuscaloosa.

3. Daxton Hill Flipped On His Flip

The quiet if not earnestly enigmatic Daxton Hill originally committed to Michigan in September before giving the Maize and Blue the blues less than two weeks ago when he flipped his commitment to Alabama.

That was no doubt a fun—though fleeting—few days for the Tide, but Hill flipped back to the Wolverines on Wednesday. So that’s a new one.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Hill boasts elite speed and the sort of aggressiveness that Michigan has become known for defensively under defensive coordinator Don Brown, so his ultimate destination makes complete sense.

It was just sort of a nonsensical scenic route to get there.

4. ’Bama Bounced Back Because Of Course They Did

Don’t cry for Alabama.

Virtually simultaneous with Hill’s flip back to Michigan, four-star safety and Ohio State commit Jordan Battle flipped to the Crimson Tide—so that was definitely a sweet turn events for Wolverines supporters.

Battle isn’t necessarily an across-the-board equivalent to Hill, who is widely regarded as the top safety in the class, but 247Sports ranks him 77th in the entire class and No. 6 at his position, so he’s one hell of a consolation prize.

Battle is one of three commitments lost by Ohio State since Urban Meyer announced his retirement.

Speaking of which…

7. Dwan Mathis Bailed On The Buckeyes

Four-star dual threat quarterback Dwan Mathis is headed for Georgia rather than Ohio State, who he’d committed to back in June, which is, um, interesting.

Why?

Well, because last year’s No. 2 overall recruit, quarterback Justin Fields, is reportedly very interested in taking his talents Ohio State after mostly riding the pine during his freshman year at Georgia.

5. Signing Day Graphics Remain The Not-So-New Hotness

Listen, if there’s one thing everyone knows, it’s that you can’t announce a signee without a super slick motion graphic queued up.

Most of the time, they look something like this:

But, what once was a sweet, cutting edge social media play, is now merely acceptable. Programs like Oklahoma, Ohio State and Oklahoma State really took things to the next level this year.

6. Arkansas Signed Its Best Class In School History

If you know me at all, you had to know this was coming.

Arkansas finds its 2019 signing class ranked No. 12 by Rivals, sandwiched between Notre Dame and Florida State. The Hogs currently hold autographed NLI’s from 13 four-star prospects.

Since folks began grading and ranking prospects on the World Wide Web back in 2002, neither of those things have ever happened on The Hill.

The combination of Trey Burks, TQ Jackson, Hudson Henry and Shamar Nash is as good a pass-catching quartet as you’ll find at any school in this year’s class, four-star quarterback KJ Jefferson has been a rising star for a minute now, and the defense now has a massive youth movement on deck, headlined by four-star cornerback Adonis Otey.

For head coach Chad Morris and his staff to put together this sort of class is nothing short of remarkable on the heels of a 2-10 season—and is something Bret Bielema never even remotely approached during his five years in Fayetteville.