The first day of college football's early signing period is over, and despite all the restrictions and abnormalities because of COVID-19, a significant number of big-name prospects signed their national letters of intent.
This isn't the final day prospects can sign, and some highly ranked recruits will announce their commitments at later dates. Those include five-stars Korey Foreman and Terrence Lewis and ESPN 300 prospects Tristan Leigh, Ceyair Wright and Elijah Jeudy, who are all planning to announce Jan. 2.
Still, there have been enough signings to determine who has been a winner in the early signing period and who has missed out. Some of the winners are on this list because of whom they already landed or whom they have left, but each team made a big impression on Wednesday.
Who won signing day?
Lane Kiffin and his staff had a really good few weeks leading up to signing day, landing commitments from four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe and wide receiver Brandon Buckhaulter, as well as flipping ESPN 300 quarterback Luke Altmyer, who had been committed to Florida State.
On signing day, Ole Miss flipped three-star cornerback M.J. Daniels from rival Mississippi State. No matter the ranking, stealing an in-state prospect from Mississippi State is always a good thing for Ole Miss. The staff also got a commitment from ESPN 300 cornerback Markevious Brown, the No. 231-ranked prospect overall.
The coaches have made a big push late in this recruiting cycle to go from outside the top 50 in the class rankings to inside the top 20.
The Trojans lost a commitment from ESPN 300 linebacker Ma'a Gaoteote, who flipped to Michigan State. But that didn't come as a surprise, as Gaoteote's older brother, who is on the USC roster, recently entered the transfer portal.
The Trojans added ESPN 300 quarterback Jaxson Dart, the No. 73-ranked recruit overall, an important target for the staff following the decommitment of QB Jake Garcia. Dart is the second quarterback in the class, joining ESPN 300 quarterback Miller Moss.
The staff didn't sign a quarterback in the 2020 cycle after it lost a commitment from Bryce Young. Bringing in two quarterbacks in this class was important for depth and competition, as starter Kedon Slovis will enter his third season and could declare for the NFL draft after that.
USC still has a shot to bolster its defense, as five-star defensive end Korey Foreman is signing early but will announce his decision Jan. 2, and he still has the Trojans on his list. LSU linebacker commit Raesjon Davis decided not to sign in December, and USC could flip him as well.
One year after finishing with the No. 54-ranked class overall, USC has a shot at a top-10 class, with a handful of big-name prospects still on the board.
Alabama had the No. 1-ranked class heading into signing day, so naturally the Crimson Tide have to make the list. With 17 ESPN 300 commitments and three five-stars coming into the day, Alabama already had a lead.
The staff flipped ESPN 300 defensive end Keanu Koht and ESPN 300 wide receiver JoJo Earle from LSU and kept the rest of its big names intact.
The Ohio State Buckeyes will have an opportunity to contend for the top class overall, but the Crimson Tide will make it very difficult for OSU to pass them, given who is already in their class.
As it stands now, Alabama has three top-12 commitments and 10 commitments ranked inside the top 100.
Although the Tigers lost Koht and Earle to Alabama, which is never a good thing, they did a tremendous job recruiting in this cycle, especially considering their on-field struggles this season.
The biggest recruit to commit to LSU on Wednesday was ESPN 300 defensive tackle Maason Smith, the No. 56-ranked recruit overall. The Tigers held off Georgia and Alabama, among others, to keep the in-state recruit home.
In addition to Smith, the staff signed ESPN 300 running back Armoni Goodwin, the No. 100-ranked prospect overall. Goodwin only recently decommitted from Auburn, so he's still a Tiger -- just a different Tiger.
LSU also got a commitment from junior college linebacker Navonteque Strong, who could provide immediate defensive help.
The staff flipped wide receiver Malik Nabers from Mississippi State and added four-star athlete Damarius McGhee. The class is ranked No. 6 overall and has a chance to move up, with a few targets still to announce in early January.
The Sooners make the list because of not only whom the program added Wednesday but also whom they could land in the coming weeks.
Lincoln Riley and his staff received a commitment from ESPN 300 offensive lineman Savion Byrd, the No. 27-ranked recruit overall. He adds to an already excellent offensive haul in a class that includes the No. 1-ranked dual-threat quarterback, Caleb Williams, and the No. 1-ranked wide receiver, Mario Williams Jr.
The staff still has a shot at ESPN 300 running back Camar Wheaton, the No. 41-ranked recruit overall, as he's down to Oklahoma and Alabama. ESPN 300 offensive linemen Tristan Leigh and Bryce Foster are also still considering the Sooners, and adding any of the remaining prospects would be a cherry on top of an already talented class.
The only area in which the Sooners are lacking is defense, where the staff has only three ESPN 300 prospects.
New coach Deion Sanders promised that he would bring in big-name players, and he did that in this class. Jackson State made big splashes with what Sanders and his staff did Wednesday.
Sanders added the No. 4-ranked junior college prospect, De'Jahn Warren, flipping him from Georgia. He's a 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from Lackawanna College, and he joins ESPN 300 quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, in the class.
Deion Sanders talks about recruiting at Jackson State during the dead period and his pitch to land one of the top junior college recruits in De'Jahn Warren.
Shedeur is a four-star prospect, as is Warren, and they are the first four-stars to choose Jackson State since ESPN started its rankings in 2006.
Sanders brought in six prospects ranked as three-stars, and the mere fact that Jackson State and SEC teams were being mentioned in the same sentences on signing day is a big win for Sanders and the program.
The Hurricanes make the list for putting together a strong class and closing their signing day with ESPN 300 quarterback Jake Garcia, the No. 18-ranked recruit overall.
The staff needed a quarterback in this class, and it landed a really talented one in Garcia. He's the No. 2-ranked pocket-passer, and he was committed to USC until he decommitted earlier this month.
Garcia will be able to compete right away if D'Eriq King doesn't return, and if King does come back, Garcia adds great depth. He might be only one commitment, but it was an important one for the future of Miami's offense.
Teams that missed out
Michigan could have made the winners list because the staff landed ESPN 300 running back Donovan Edwards, the No. 66-ranked recruit overall, and the Wolverines kept ESPN 300 wide receiver Xavier Worthy committed after he announced that he was considering Alabama.
The problem is the Wolverines lost a commitment from ESPN 300 linebacker Branden Jennings, the No. 67-ranked prospect, who flipped to Maryland, and also lost a commitment from ESPN 300 defensive end Quintin Somerville, who flipped to UCLA.
Somerville, ranked No. 106 overall, and Jennings were two important prospects on defense, where Michigan needs more playmakers. The class still has eight ESPN 300 commitments total, and leading into February's national signing day, there are opportunities to address major needs at defensive tackle and cornerback.
But without Somerville and Jennings, it's tough to label Michigan as a winner at this time.
The Vols had a tough lead in to the early signing period, losing commitments from five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis, four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe, ESPN 300 cornerback Damarius McGhee and defensive end Darrell Jackson, among a few others.
The staff didn't land any significant additions on signing day and finished the day ranked outside the top 10, despite previously finding itself as high as No. 3 in the rankings during the 2021 cycle. This wasn't how the staff wanted to finish.
This was a strange recruiting cycle for Auburn as a whole. Then the program fired Gus Malzahn only days before the early signing period, and it hasn't hired anyone to replace him.
The staff lost commitments from running back Armoni Goodwin and offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts. The coaching change also likely prevented the program from getting a commitment from five-star Terrence Lewis, who decommitted from Tennessee and seemed set on picking Auburn.
Auburn's class has only 15 total commitments -- four of whom are ranked in the ESPN 300 -- and is ranked outside the top 20. That low standing sets up the next coach for an uphill battle.