Most of the college football recruiting action happened in December's early signing period, but that doesn't mean there aren't still big prospects remaining as we head to Wednesday's national signing day.
Most programs are close to filling their classes, but there are four top-50 recruits who have yet to announce a decision, including one five-star, and 11 ESPN 300 prospects left uncommitted.
To get you caught up on what might happen and what has already happened, here is a look at what to expect on Wednesday and where most of this class currently stands.
Who's still left and where do they stand?
The highest-ranked uncommitted recruit is five-star defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau at No. 4 overall. Tuimoloau, according to a source, will not make a decision until the spring, so the schools in his top group -- Ohio State, Alabama, Washington, USC and Oregon -- will have to wait to hear his decision.
Beyond Tuimoloau, the next-highest-ranked uncommitted recruits are defensive tackle Tywone Malone at No. 45, linebacker Raesjon Davis at 46 and cornerback Avante Dickerson at No. 49.
Because of COVID-19, the NCAA's recruiting dead period has been in place since March 2020, and the restrictions have made recruiting a different (to say the least) process for Malone and many other recruits.
Florida State, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC are in Malone's top group. Ole Miss is a likely landing spot, but because the coaching staff is new, he hasn't met most of the coaches in person.
"I was able to visit Rutgers, since I live close by, and drive around," Malone, from New Jersey, said. "I was able to visit Florida State a couple weeks ago and then Ole Miss. I was planning to go out to visit USC, but was a lot of money and expensive, so my parents weren't able to afford to go."
Davis, who decommitted from LSU after the early signing period and is now considering LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, USC and Vanderbilt, recently flew from Los Angeles to visit Ohio State with his family. As is the case with other prospects taking visits, he wasn't allowed to have contact with the coaches, so he and his family drove around campus to get a feel for the environment around Ohio State.
"The [Ohio State] visit would be my last out-of-state visit, so I'll do this and then get back home and try to sit down and talk to my parents," Davis said. "I'm just looking at some of the things like relationships, where I can play earlier, where I'll have the best academic career and where I can gain the most exposure for the NFL. Ultimately the NFL is my goal, so I think all of those will be important."
Davis will announce on Wednesday, as will Dickerson, who only recently decommitted from Minnesota. Dickerson is now considering Minnesota, Nebraska and Oregon, among others.
Running back Camar Wheaton, the No. 41-ranked recruit, committed to Alabama over Oklahoma, but he did not sign in the early signing period.
With Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian leaving for Texas and Crimson Tide running backs coach Charles Huff leaving for Marshall, the door open is for Oklahoma to try to make a push to flip him.
Running back L.J. Johnson, at No. 83 overall, is down to Texas A&M and Texas, and has been trying to build a relationship with Sarkisian and his staff. Sarkisian did keep Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton, who has played a big part in Johnson's recruitment.
"Coach Drayton has been there since the beginning," Johnson said. "With him recruiting me, he showed me Texas, he showed me his philosophy, so I feel really good with them and the running back room with Bijan (Robinson). I think with Coach Sarkisian, it's icing on the cake with his type of offense."
Johnson says he is still trying to learn more about Sarkisian's offense and had been talking to the Texas coaches this past weekend. As of Saturday, Johnson said he was truly undecided and wasn't sure where he would go.
Texas A&M is a program trying to build back up to what it was. With the Aggies, he sees a team already on the rise with Jimbo Fisher showing positive signs each season.
"I've been watching Coach Fisher since he got there," Johnson said. "What he has done with the backs is great, and with the offensive line. The things they've been preaching to me, I have faith in their system.
"I like both staffs, it's just going to be where I see myself in the future. Where I see myself progressing the most."
Beyond Johnson, wide receiver Destyn Hill is the No. 89 recruit overall and could end up choosing Florida State. Fellow wide receiver Brian Thomas is ranked No. 111 overall and is considering LSU, Alabama and Texas A&M, with the Tigers possibly having the lead.
With so few uncommitted prospects remaining, there won't be a huge chance for teams to move up drastically in the class rankings; a few teams will be able to add some big pieces, but likely not enough to cause a big shakeup.
How the coaching carousel is impacting the 2021 class
Because various conferences delayed their seasons due to COVID-19 concerns, the coaching carousel happened closer to the early signing period than it ever has before. In fact, some hires were made after the early signing period concluded, after prospects had signed their national letters of intent.
That includes Sarkisian at Texas, who was hired in the beginning of January. The Longhorns had already signed 20 prospects in the 2021 class. Sarkisian wasn't left scrambling with a few weeks until the early signing period to try to keep the class intact, but the prospects that signed in December didn't know they were inking their names to a program that was going to make a coaching change, either.
Tennessee fired head coach Jeremy Pruitt on Jan. 18 after an internal investigation alleged recruiting violations. The Vols signed 20 recruits in December, and the coach they signed with was fired after some of them had already enrolled at the university. The highest-ranked commit in the class, defensive end Dylan Brooks, has reportedly asked for a release from his national letter of intent after Pruitt's firing.
Auburn fired Gus Malzahn on Dec. 13, only three days before the early signing period. Before his firing, Auburn lost a commitment from running back Armoni Goodwin on Nov. 11. Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts decommitted on Dec. 16 and ended up signing with Alabama, and safety Phillip O'Brien Jr. decommitted and later pledged to Pittsburgh after the early signing period as well.
Auburn was also in on five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis before Malzahn was fired, but Lewis ended up signing with Maryland instead. That left Auburn with only four ESPN 300 commitments in the class and 12 total commitments for new coach Bryan Harsin.
South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Illinois and a handful of other programs also made coaching changes over the past few months.
Class rankings
It's no surprise Alabama has the No. 1-ranked class overall after the early signing period. The Crimson Tide have 21 ESPN 300 commitments and three five-stars. The next closest to that number of ESPN 300 commitments is Clemson and Ohio State, who each have 17.
The Buckeyes have the No. 2 class and two five-star commitments with a shot at another when Tuimoloau eventually makes his decision.
Ohio State has the No. 1-ranked prospect overall in defensive end Jack Sawyer, as well as the No. 1-ranked running back in the class in TreVeyon Henderson. Both prospects fill needs for Ohio State, and Henderson could make an impact next season as Ohio State loses Trey Sermon.
Georgia and LSU are at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively, in the rankings. Under Kirby Smart, the Dawgs finished with the No. 2 class in 2019 and 2020, and finished No. 1 overall in 2018. Of all FBS programs, they also return the second-most ESPN 300 prospects to their roster in 2021.
Quarterback has been an issue for the offense, but that is now becoming a strength with JT Daniels returning and the staff signing ESPN 300 quarterback Brock Vandagriff in this cycle.
Defense has been LSU's concern this past season, and there is no shortage of defensive prospects in its class. The highest-ranked commit is Derrick Davis Jr., who is the No. 1 safety overall and the No. 28-ranked recruit overall. To help fill out the secondary, LSU also has ESPN 300 safety Sage Ryan and cornerback Damarius McGhee committed.
The staff also has ESPN 300 defensive linemen Maason Smith, Bryce Langston and Landon Jackson to give some help up front. The Tigers have also been in on wide receiver Brian Thomas, cornerback Dontae Balfour, running back Logan Diggs and a few other prospects.
Clemson is sitting at No. 4 in the rankings and has quite a few prospects who could contribute early on. Most of the starters on defense are returning for Clemson, and the staff got a ton of production out of true freshmen Bryan Bresee and Myles Murphy in 2020. The coaches have signed five-star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and ESPN 300 defensive linemen Payton Page, Cade Denhoff and Zaire Patterson in this cycle.
On offense, second-ranked running back Will Shipley, who is fast and versatile, could see early playing time as Travis Etienne is off to the NFL.
Alabama's best class ever?
Over the past 13 recruiting classes (including the 2021 cycle), Nick Saban has had the No. 1-ranked class seven times, the No. 2 class three times and the No. 3 class twice.
But there is a chance this could be Saban's best class yet, even compared to the 2017 class.
That class had 21 ESPN 300 commitments and three-five stars in linebacker Dylan Moses, offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood and running back Najee Harris. All three are expected to be chosen in the upcoming NFL draft, along with LaBryan Ray, Phidarian Mathis, DeVonta Smith and Mac Jones, who were also in that class.
That's on top of the recruits from the 2017 class that are already in the NFL, including Jerry Jeudy, Jedrick Wills Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Xavier McKinney, Henry Ruggs III and Isaiah Buggs. To get 13 NFL prospects out of 21 ESPN 300 commitments in one class is incredible.
Saying this class has a shot at being one of his best, if not the best, is a strong statement.
It's easy to see why it's in the conversation. Offensive tackles Tommy Brockermeyer and J.C. Latham are the Nos. 2- and 5-ranked recruits overall, with linebacker Dallas Turner ranked No. 12.
In this 2021 cycle, the staff has 16 recruits ranked in the top 150 of the rankings, 13 in the top 100 and seven in the top 50. The 2017 cycle had 13 in the top 150, 11 in the top 100 and eight in the top 50.
There is a chance Alabama still adds to its haul in 2021, as well, with a few more targets still on the board.
Classes of note
Oregon, at No. 6, has been recruiting at a high level under head coach Mario Cristobal, especially on defense, but now the Ducks are focusing on offense.
In this 2021 cycle, Oregon's top seven commitments are all offensive players, including three ESPN 300 wide receivers in Isaiah Brevard, Troy Franklin and Dont'e Thornton, who is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound prospect.
The staff also has ESPN 300 quarterback Ty Thompson, the No. 67-ranked recruit, three ESPN 300 offensive tackles and two ESPN 300 running backs in Seven McGee and Bryon Cardwell.
USC finished 2020 ranked No. 54 overall and now have the No. 9 class with the chance to continue moving up on signing day. The staff went from one ESPN 300 recruit in 2020 to now holding nine ESPN 300 commitments in 2021, including five-star in-state defensive end Korey Foreman, the No. 3 recruit overall. The Trojans could add Davis on Wednesday as well.
Wisconsin Badgers has the No. 15 class overall and the second-ranked class in the Big Ten. The Badgers have always recruited to their system well and develop lower-ranked prospects, but this class has some stars in it.
The staff has six ESPN 300 commitments in this class, three of which are offensive linemen, which is typical from Wisconsin. Nolan Rucci is ranked the highest at No. 36 overall, followed by Riley Mahlman at No. 183 and J.P. Benzschawel at No. 208. Benzschawel is the smallest of the three at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds.