When all the dust settled from the early signing period, 252 of the ESPN 300 prospects had signed. That number is up by nearly 30 recruits from the 2018 cycle and a good example of how important this December signing period will be going forward.
An even better example is that only two five-stars, four top-50 prospects and 18 of the top 100 are still available in this class.
Those are jarring numbers, especially if a team has fallen behind or is going through a coaching change and needs to scramble to close up its recruiting class during the February signing period, which begins Feb. 6. With 2,152 Class of 2019 FBS prospects already signed, there just aren't many left, whether they're in the ESPN 300 or not.
Programs already behind the eight ball are also very likely going to be behind for 2020 prospects as well. Most coaches are now viewing the December signing period as the only signing day and using January as an opportunity to move forward with 2020 and 2021 recruits. With that in mind, here is where we stand and what we expect to happen between now and Feb. 6.
Commitments in early January
The beginning of January has been busy with prospects announcing their college decisions at high school all-star games.