Wednesday marks the beginning of the spring evaluation period, one of the most critical periods in the college football recruiting cycle. Over the next 46 days, coaches can visit a prospective student-athlete's high school twice for an academic and athletic evaluation. Coaches are also allowed to make one telephone call to prospects during this time frame, marking the first time that they can legally call a recruit instead of having the player initiate the phone contact.
This also marks one of the busiest times for commitments. Outside of the January run up to national signing day, no other time frame sees more commitments than mid-April through the end of May. Keep in mind that many of these commitments are soft and prospects (and schools) are merely holding a spot until something bigger and better comes along, but the fact that this time frame averages around two pledges a day doesn't diminish the importance of the next few weeks.
With that in mind, there are a few things to know.
Five spring decisions that will affect the national landscape
DE Shavar Manuel
School: Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy
ESPN Junior 300 rank: 2
The battle for one of the best defenders and top overall players in the country could be over by the end of spring. Manuel indicated after returning from unofficial visits to Florida and Florida State this past weekend that he's nearing a decision and hopes to have it out of the way by the start of the summer at the latest. Florida State is in the driver's seat with Manuel, but Florida is trying to do everything it can to swing him to its side. Manuel will also try to make visits to Georgia, Clemson, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Maryland this spring, which should help pave the way for a decision sooner than later.
QB Jarrett Guarantano
School: Oradell (New Jersey) Bergen Catholic
ESPN Junior 300 rank: 215
We won't have to wait long for the first major decision of the spring evaluation period, as Guarantano announces Wednesday for Ohio State, Rutgers or Tennessee. Guarantano's decision is important because it impacts three major programs, but it's even more critical because whoever misses between Ohio State and Tennessee will be forced to scramble to find a Plan B target and that'll start a quarterback domino effect that will touch programs all over the country. Even if it misses, look for Rutgers to recruit Guarantano all the way to signing day.
QB Dwayne Haskins Jr.
School: Potomac (Maryland) Bullis School
ESPN Junior 300 rank: 23
Much like Guarantano, whatever Haskins does will alter the recruiting boards of programs all over the place. Haskins is expected to reduce his lengthy list of suitors before the end of April and be committed no later than June. There are a number of elite programs chasing after him, highlighted by Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State and LSU. Whoever gets cut from that list in coming weeks will surely have to look elsewhere for answers at quarterback. The lucky team that lands him suddenly has the centerpiece for its program to go out and recruit with.
CB John Broussard
School: Phenix City (Alabama) Central
ESPN Junior 300 rank: 56
It appears to be an Auburn, LSU and Florida State battle for the sixth-ranked cornerback in the nation and the fourth-best prospect in Alabama. Broussard is scheduled to announce on May 7 and whoever lands him should get a great boost right in the middle of the spring recruiting window. Most observers believe he is heading to Auburn, and if he does, it would help the Tigers lock up their No. 1 prospect at the critical position before summer hits.
QB Messiah DeWeaver
School: Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne
ESPN Junior 300 rank: 219
Notice the trend? Quarterbacks come off the board early in the recruiting process, and DeWeaver is expected to also make a decision in the coming weeks. While DeWeaver, the No. 14 pocket-passer quarterback, hasn't finalized a decision date just yet, look for him to announce at some point in the next two weeks. Michigan State, Arkansas, Penn State and Kentucky are the schools linked most heavily with DeWeaver, but almost everybody projects him to continue the Spartans' great tradition of landing quality players from Ohio. The Spartans' winning tradition and ability to produce NFL quarterbacks is something that has really caught his attention. Having him on board early will gives whoever lands him the opportunity to build a class around him.
Five questions to answer
How solid is Greg Little's commitment to Texas A&M?
Texas A&M fans will tell you they're not overly concerned with the fact that Greg Little, the No. 1 player in the ESPN Junior 300, is looking around at other schools despite making a commitment almost 10 months ago. He's good friends with former teammate and A&M quarterback-signee Kyler Murray and most assume he'll be College Station-bound. But Aggies insiders are certainly concerned that the 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive tackle is talking about other programs. Little says his cousin, former NFL defensive tackle Shaun Smith, is an important figure in his recruitment and he talks with Smith all the time about how he committed too early in the process. Look for Little to spend some time on the road this spring checking out Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, UCLA and others. Those visits could help us get a clearer answer as to how solid Little's commitment is to A&M.
Will we see No. 1 DT Rashan Gary tip his hand?
Rashan Gary has done a very good job of keeping fans, reporters and even college coaches guessing as to which way he's leaning. At one point, most observers believed Michigan was the team to beat, especially since his former coach, Chris Partridge, is on staff in Ann Arbor. However, spring visits to Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina and a push from Alabama have muddied the water some. Gary, the No. 5 player in the ESPN Junior 300, plans to wait all the way until national signing day in February to announce his decision, but what he does and says over the next few weeks could help everybody get a better understanding of what he's thinking heading into the start of his senior season.
Can Miami keep up its momentum?
Nobody has jumped out of the gates in the 2016 class like the Hurricanes. They have 20 commitments already, which is more than ACC foes North Carolina, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Syracuse combined. The Canes have nine ESPN Junior 300 commits on board, including pledges from highly coveted receivers Dionte Mullins and Sam Bruce. Now the real work comes. They must find a way to keep adding quality prospects at key positions along the defensive line and offensive line and still fend of other schools from poaching their commitments. The spring evaluation period is one of the biggest windows for prospects to have changes of heart, and Miami will have to fight hard to keep this class intact. Will they? We should have an answer by the final week of May.
Will Tim Brewster wrap up receiver of the year?
Florida State recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster is a recruiting legend and he continues to prove he belongs among the best of the best. His 2016 start is quite impressive with commitments from five players, including two of the top three players in the Seminoles' class. Brewster has already reeled in No. 1 dual-threat quarterback Malik Henry and top-ranked tight end Isaac Nauta, and if both stick as expected, it's a recruiting resume that will be awfully tough to beat by any other coach. But also keep in mind, Brewster isn't done yet. He's the primary recruiter for a number of other key FSU targets like cornerback Nigel Knott, linebacker Caleb Kelly, safety Brandon Burton and numerous others. If he can add another quality player or two in the spring, then the race for the national recruiter of the year award should be already over.
Will TCU be this recruiting cycle's Mississippi State?
Last season Mississippi State wrapped up its best-ever class under Dan Mullen, finishing with the No. 16 overall class. For years, Mullen was known for finding under-the-radar prospects and developing them into stars. But he took a big step forward by landing higher quality players than he had ever done before in the 2015 class. We're starting to see similar things happen in Fort Worth. Gary Patterson is the king of taking two-star recruits and turning them into four-star college players. But we're also seeing signs of TCU's brand attracting attention from higher quality prospects. After TCU's magical 2014 season, the Horned Frogs have already landed three ESPN Junior 300 prospects and eight quality players. TCU did not land a single ESPN 300 prospect in the 2015 class. If things continue down this path during the spring, TCU could have its first ever top-25 recruiting class under Patterson.