December's early signing period swallowed most of the remaining drama in the 2025 recruiting cycle, but there's still plenty of business getting settled before the next signing period opens Feb 5.
As things stand, all but three members of the 2025 ESPN 300 are signed or pledged to their next school, leaving only a select group of elite uncommitteds remaining. Former Alabama offensive tackle pledge Ty Haywood, a five-star prospect and ESPN's No. 18 overall recruit, is the biggest name still on the board. Behind him, former Ohio State pledge Zahir Mathis (No. 63 overall) and UCF decommit Chastan Brown (No. 255) round out the short list of top-300 prospects still searching for their next home.
Which programs have stayed busiest since the early signing period closed Dec. 6?
Florida State earned a commitment from cornerback Antonio Cromartie Jr. -- yes, the son of that Antonio Cromartie -- on Monday, and the Seminoles remain in the mix for Haywood, Mathis and Brown as coach Mike Norvell works to bandage a 2025 class that lost 10 pledges in the fall. Michigan, which landed six ESPN 300 signees after Nov. 1 including top overall prospect Bryce Underwood, is still looking to build on its impressive finish to the cycle. Meanwhile, Oregon, UCLA and Texas Tech are among the other Power 4 programs staying active this month.
The 2025 recruiting cycle is about to enter its final stretch. Here's the latest on everything swirling around the recruiting trail less than three weeks from national signing day:
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Will Michigan land OT Haywood?
Big Ten battle for Mathis
FSU favorite for top OT recruit
Another Florida flip? | Unsigned prospects
Three schools chasing five-star OT Ty Haywood
Haywood, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound lineman from Denton, Texas, has formally pulled his commitment to Alabama, a source told ESPN earlier this week.
Previously the No. 2 prospect in Kalen DeBoer's first recruiting class with the Crimson Tide, Haywood's exit had been a foregone conclusion since he opted not to sign with Alabama during the early signing period. Still, the departure marks a significant blow to the nation's fourth-ranked signing class, even with three other ESPN 300 offensive linemen officially bound for Alabama in the 2025 cycle.
Who's in on Haywood's recruitment now? Michigan's late-fall push for the five-star tackle produced some of the earliest murmurs that Haywood might land somewhere other than Alabama, and he's expected to visit the Wolverines this weekend. No program has been hotter on the recruiting trail since the start of November than Michigan. Coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines should be considered leaders in Haywood's recruitment.
Florida State hosted Haywood for an official visit last summer before he committed to Alabama in July, and the Seminoles paid a visit to Haywood and his family in Texas earlier this week. Meanwhile, as Texas Tech has spent the past month making waves in the transfer portal, the Red Raiders have also remained in contact with Haywood and could get him on campus for an official visit this month with coach Joey McGuire and his staff working hard to keep Haywood in his home state.
Four-star DE Zahir Mathis focused on Michigan, Florida State, UCLA and Maryland
Mathis, the No. 7 defensive end in the 2025 class, enters the final weeks of the cycle as the nation's top uncommitted defender with potential suitors lingering across the Big Ten and ACC.
The 6-foot-6 edge rusher from Philadelphia spent 11 months committed to Ohio State before pulling his pledge from the Buckeyes on Nov. 18. While Mathis told ESPN that Ohio State remains in the mix, Michigan, Florida State, UCLA and Maryland stand as the leading contenders to land his signature when the signing period opens in February.
"There's no hard feelings with Ohio State," Mathis told ESPN earlier this month. "I just didn't feel like it was the right space for me. I still love them to death. They're still one of my options, but I had to do the right thing for me."
Mathis visited Florida State this past weekend and still intends to take trips to Michigan, UCLA and Maryland in the coming weeks with playing time among his top priorities. Mathis also told ESPN that he plans to keep his recruitment open to other schools as he prepares to make a decision; Maryland, for instance, entered the chase for his commitment this month.
Initially committed to Ohio State on Jan. 10, 2024, Mathis was one of three high-profile defenders to leave the Buckeyes' incoming class in the final weeks of 2024, joined by five-star cornerback Na'eem Offord (Oregon) and four-star defensive end London Merritt (Colorado).
Four-star OT Chastan Brown nearing a decision
Brown, the 6-8 lineman from Warner Robins, Georgia, enjoyed a relatively low-key recruitment his first time around. In fact, outside of Orlando, there wasn't much noise at all when Brown committed to UCF last July over Pitt, Louisville and NC State.
But since pulling his pledge from the Knights on Nov. 30 in the wake of coach Gus Malzahn's move to Florida State, Brown has gotten to experience another kind of recruiting process.
"It's been way different," he told ESPN. "Big programs weren't really trying to get at me in the summer. My phone has been blowing up ever since [I decommitted]. There's been a lot more attention this time around."
Brown listed Oregon, Georgia and Penn State among the prominent powers that reached out in the immediate aftermath of his decommitment from UCF. A month and a half later, Brown has narrowed his recruitment to Florida State, Missouri, Louisville and Arkansas and told ESPN that he will take an official visit with the Seminoles from Jan. 25-27.
Proximity to home is a priority for Brown, and as he prepares to close his second recruitment with a trip to Florida State, the Seminoles appear well positioned to land his signature next month.
Can Florida flip four-star Tennessee CB Onis Konanbanny?
Haywood, Mathis and Brown remain among the last available elite prospects in the 2025 class, but there has still been activity since the early signing period and could be more to come.
Four-star cornerback Konanbanny has been committed to Tennessee since August, but the defensive back who grew up in France and England did not sign with the Vols last month.
Konanbanny's decision to hold off during the early signing period followed a late-fall surge from Florida. The 6-2 defender took an official visit with the Gators in November and is expected to make another trip to Florida this week after secondary coach Will Harris visited Konanbanny at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (South Carolina) on Jan. 6.
If the Gators can flip Konanbanny, ESPN's No. 37 cornerback prospect, he'll land as the latest addition in the program's torrid run through the late stages of the 2025 cycle. Florida has secured 15 commitments since the start of November, including pledges from wide receiver Dallas Wilson (No. 39 in the ESPN 300), linebacker Ty Jackson (No. 54) and safety Lagonza Hayward Jr. (No. 113), lifting the Gators to No. 10 in ESPN's team class rankings in 2025.
Who are the latest unsigned commits?
While the 2025 cycle has slowed significantly, there has still been activity over the last month-plus. Here are some of the latest moves since the early signing period closed Dec. 6:
Four-star Donovan Murph (No. 182 in the ESPN 300) was the top uncommitted skill position prospect when he announced his commitment to South Carolina at the 2025 Under Armour All-American Game on Jan. 2. He's one of four top-300 pass catchers in the Gamecocks' incoming class, joining Jordon Gidron (No. 129 overall), Malik Clark (No. 178) and Lex Cyrus (No. 292).
Four-star offensive tackle Justin Hasenhuetl chose Cal on Jan 11 over North Carolina and Arkansas. The former Georgia Tech commit is ESPN's No. 234 overall prospect, and Hasenhuetl -- originally from Cologne, Germany -- is the top-ranked member of coach Justin Wilcox's latest recruiting class with the Bears, which also regained the commitment of four-star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele earlier this month.
BYU landed its top commit last weekend when McKay Madsen picked the Cougars over Oregon and UCLA, but the four-star inside linebacker won't join the program until 2027. Madsen, a member The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, plans to take a two-year mission trip before enrolling at BYU, where he was recruited to play both linebacker and running back.
Virginia Tech landed a late-cycle pledge from four-star pass catcher Cameron Sparks on Jan. 11, continuing a hot run of wide receiver recruiting for the Hokies. Sparks joins ESPN 300 signee Micah Matthews (No. 183 overall) as the second four-star receiver in Virginia Tech's 2025 class. They arrive one year after the Hokies added four-star wide receiver Keylen Adams (No. 184) in the 2024 class, and Virginia Tech already holds a pledge from 2026 four-star pass catcher Carnell Warren (No. 203), who committed to the program earlier this month. If Virginia Tech ultimately signs Warren later this year, the Hokies will have landed more four-star pass catchers across their previous three classes under coach Brent Pry -- four -- than they did in seven cycles combined from 2017-23.
NC State landed a key flip in the 2025 class when it secured a commitment from four-star West Virginia running back pledge Deandre Desinor on Jan. 7. The 5-9 rusher from Delray Beach, Florida, stands as the No. 2 prospect in the Wolfpacks' 2025 class, while top-300 running back pledge Kentrell Rinehart remains unsigned ahead of national signing day.
Oregon State landed its highest-rated commitment in the 2025 cycle last weekend with a pledge from four-star tight end T'Andre Waverly, who held offers from Notre Dame and Washington.