Winners and losers on college football signing day: Rich get richer; Oregon and Texas also score big
We associate the week of Christmas with gift giving and receiving. For college football coaches, they receive their biggest presents of the season just a few days before the holiday when the early signing period begins.
Most of the elite recruits confirmed their choices by putting pen to paper Wednesday, while others made late announcements or surprising flips to new school. The ramification of these decisions will be felt for the next three to four years as those that have evaluated correctly and successfully pursued their right targets are in position to benefit when those players hit the field.
While recruiting is always going to be an inexact science, there is inarguably a higher correlation of success for those rated at the top of the charts. With that in mind, we break down the winners and losers of the 2023 class.
Winners
Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State
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Yes, it’s a big shocker this trio again leads the way with three of the best classes. The Crimson Tide are the consensus No. 1 finishers helped by some late additions. Defensive lineman Keon Keeley – a former Notre Dame commit – came aboard last week and Kadyn Proctor, a longtime offensive lineman pledged to Iowa, flipped this week. Samuel M’Pemba could be the next defensive line standout for the Bulldogs, who have a class that is unusually short on the very top talents but has impressive depth throughout. The Buckeyes, unsurprisingly, landed two of the best wide receiver signees – Brandon Inniss and Carnell Tate – both from Florida.
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Texas
The Longhorns were the surprise winners of the long and highly publicized chase for Arch Manning’s signature and his commitment powered an impressive group of newcomers to Austin. Also jumping on board later in the process were two in-state defenders – linebacker Anthony Hill and defensive lineman Colton Vasek, who decommitted from Texas AM and Oklahoma, respectively. The offensive side of the ball gets a boost from wide receiver Johntay Cook and running back Cedric Baxter. Both could see immediate playing time next fall.
Oregon
No program experienced the highs and lows of the recruiting season in the final week more than the Ducks. They appeared to have their quarterback of the future resolved when five-star Dante Moore committed this summer. The departure of offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham for the Arizona State job helped persuade Moore to join Pac-12 rival UCLA. Oregon moved quickly to add longtime Baylor quarterback commitment Austin Novosad from Texas on signing day. The Ducks then sprung two five-star surprises in a matter of minutes Wednesday by getting Notre Dame defensive back commitment Peyton Bowen to flip and successfully pulling defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei from finalists Ohio State and Southern California. There is some drama surrounding Bowen, who had yet to sign as of Wednesday evening.