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.
ESPN 300 athlete Bru McCoy and ESPN 300 wide receiver Kyle Floyd both committed to USC, helping to move the Trojans to No. 15 in the Class Rankings, up from 23 after the early signing period.
Alabama also added to its No. 1 ranked class ESPN 300 defensive end Khris Bogle and four-star defensive back Marcus Banks. Florida added to its class ESPN 300 receiver Arjei Henderson and ESPN 300 defensive back Chris Steele.
Oklahoma landed one of the bigger prospects overall, though, when five-star receiver Jadon Haselwood chose the Sooners. That added to an impressive offensive haul in 2019 that now includes the No. 1 ranked dual-threat quarterback, the No. 1 and 3 ranked receivers and the No. 1 tight end in the class.
Georgia added ESPN 300 athlete Tyrique Stevenson to its No. 2 ranked class as well.
Haselwood, McCoy, Steele, Stevenson and Banks decided to announce in January, but actually signed in December, which means they can't be swayed by other coaches to change their minds post-commitment.
What happens next?
Recruiting was in a dead period from Dec. 17 to Jan. 10, which meant that there could be no in-person contact between coaches and recruits. No in-home or on-campus visits were allowed, but coaches still could call, text and message prospects.
That dead period is now over, which means official visits and in-home visits will ramp back up until Feb. 3, when we enter another dead period for signing day.
Class rankings
Alabama is still holding on to the No. 1 ranked class, and with 22 ESPN 300 prospects signed or committed it seems unlikely anyone will catch the Tide.
Georgia sits at No. 2, Texas A&M at 3 and Michigan and Oregon round out the top five. Because there are so many prospects signed already, it isn't likely we will see a ton of movement in the rankings on signing day.
There are a few schools that have targets left on the board who could improve their classes, though, including LSU, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida.
Big names unsigned
For other programs looking at landing a few more recruits, there are 10 unsigned ESPN 300 wide receivers, seven defensive ends, seven safeties, six defensive tackles, four corners and four offensive tackles. There are only three ESPN 300 recruits listed as athletes who haven't signed, two quarterbacks, two running backs, two linebackers and a tight end as well.
Among those unsigned, 23 are uncommitted, while 25 are committed but unsigned.
That means those 23 uncommitted recruits are going to have a ton of attention and a lot of coaches coming after them for the next month leading up to the February signing day.
The highest-ranked recruit still uncommitted is five-star offensive lineman Darnell Wright, who is ranked No. 5 overall.
Wright said he is going to take visits in January to North Carolina and West Virginia, but the other three of his five allowed officials are still to be determined. Tennessee is a school in the mix for Wright, but he said he isn't planning on making a final decision until February.
The only other five-star left unsigned is defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher, who is also not announcing a decision until signing day in February. LSU has been very much in the mix, along with Alabama, Oregon, FSU, Ole Miss, Texas and Texas A&M.
Jaquaze Sorrells is the No. 45 ranked prospect and the next-highest uncommitted recruit. Sorrells, also a defensive lineman, is focused on South Carolina, Alabama and Penn State, but recently said Florida State could also get in the picture.
Running back Jerrion Ealy decommitted from Ole Miss on Jan. 8, which leaves the coaching staff scrambling to either try to get the No. 49 ranked prospect back on board or find another talented running back in the class.
Linebacker Henry To'oto'o is also unsigned at No. 52 overall. The California prospect is planning visits before February and has a top five of Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington and Cal.
Athlete Kaiir Elam remains uncommitted and is currently ranked No. 67 overall. The North Palm Beach, Florida, recruit has already taken one official visit to Miami and is planning to visit Florida and Georgia. He is debating between visiting Ohio State, Colorado or Oregon for the two remaining visits.