National Signing Day took center stage on Wednesday as the early signing period opened for the 2025 college football recruiting cycle — the earliest it’s ever occurred, smack-dab in the middle of conference championship weekend and days before Selection Sunday for the College Football Playoff and the Dec. 9 opening of the transfer portal.
In an era where the transfer portal has wrestled away some of the recruiting drama from both the December and February signing periods, what will always remain true is that the next generation of stars come from the high school ranks (seven of the 10 most-talented teams are going to make the CFP), and plenty of the top prep players in the country were at the forefront of Wednesday’s festivities.
As the Director of Scouting for 247Sports, I track the ebbs and flows of a class and a cycle year-round. Below are teams who we categorize as winners and losers of the day, based either on the day’s events or the last few weeks. Team rankings are accurate as of 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Winners
Class rank: No. 4
The Ducks made the biggest splash out of anyone on Wednesday, flipping five-star cornerback Na’eem Offord from Ohio State and four-star quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele from California while also securing the services of long-time five-star wide receiver commit Dallas Wilson, who entertained late overtures from both Florida and Miami. They also landed a boom-or-bust pass rusher in Tobi Haastrup.
Oregon woke up with pound-for-pound one of the nation’s strongest recruiting classes and did nothing but added to it.
Class rank: No. 1
Do not expect Texas to fall from the top in the foreseeable future. Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are tracking to sign the program’s highest-ranked recruiting class since 2012 after shooting up to No. 1 in the rankings on Wednesday.
Texas busted out the spatula on Tuesday and got four-star cornerback Kade Phillips back in the fold before locking up utilityman Michael Terry III less than 24 hours later. Terry – who reminds us of former UT star Ja’Tavion Sanders – became the third five-star prospect from the Lone Star State to join the class.
Class rank: No. 10
The DJ Lagway effect is real and Florida’s recruiting class going from outside outside the top 50 of the rankings to knocking on the door of the top 10 in just a few weeks is proof that momentum matters when it comes to talent acquisition.
No, Billy Napier & Co. were not able to to grab everyone, but this day shouldn’t be viewed as anything other than a win. Remember, this time last year the Gators tumbled in the recruiting rankings as everyone questioned Napier’s future. Lagway’s play to close out the regular season has helped flip the script.
Class rank: No. 20
The Gamecocks started the morning off by flipping the nation’s top-ranked junior college prospect from Mississippi State in Zavion Hardy. A few hours later they beat out USC and Michigan for a late-bloomer in Christian Ingram. Both Hardy and Ingram likely won’t have a Dylan Stewart-like impact in 2025, but they take the strength of South Carolina’s class to another level.
In total, South Carolina signed 10 front-seven defenders on Wednesday. That should keep the Gamecocks — who lead the SEC with 40 sacks this season — spicy on defense.
Class rank: No. 18
What a year for Brent Key, who beat Florida State in Week 0 and nearly ended the regular season knocking out Georgia in an eight-overtime slugfest. On Wednesday, not only did Key assemble what will be the highest-ranked class in program history, but he did so while going head-to-head with some of the sport’s biggest brands. After beating out both Ohio State and Tennessee for five-star offensive tackle Josh Petty back during the summer months, the Yellow Jackets held off an 11th-hour push from USC and secured a signature from prized four-star athlete Dalen Penson. That came a week after flipping four-star safety Tae Harris from Clemson.
Class rank: No. 8
Texas A&M put the finishing touches on a top 10-ranked class at the buzzer, adding five-star wide receiver Jerome Myles and five-star offensive tackle Lamont Rogers.
With 12 signees currently ranking inside the Top247, the Aggies have no shortage of star power on the way, but the true strength of the class lies a little further down the commit list. Elko and his staff put a major emphasis on finding under-the-radar prospects with traits to mold for the long haul in hopes of building out some depth. Mission accomplished.
Class rank: No. 22
You have to give credit to FSU for how Mike Norvell was able to rally late.
There were defections the past few months, but there were more additions than subtractions on Wednesday as the Seminoles flipped four-star running back Ousmane Kromah from Georgia, three-star wide receiver Jayvan Boggs from UCF and three-star cornerback Shamar Anroux from Auburn.
Back in November, FSU’s class ranked in the mid 50s, but Norvell found a way to claw all the way up to No. 22 on Wednesday and depending on how things shake out with a few more names on the board, the Seminoles could very well finish with a top 25 class. Not bad for a program that just went 2-10 in a season full of misery.
Losers
Class rank: No. 26
By now you have heard: Dabo Swinney doesn’t use the transfer portal. He’ll argue he doesn’t need any veteran additions. Not with Clemson a win away from making the inaugural 12-team playoff, but the roster outlook for the Tigers is starting to look pretty grim.
Clemson goes to sleep on Wednesday night with just 15 signees. Unless Swinney has some Deion Sanders-like tricks up his sleeve, it’s tracking to be the worst finish in the 247Sports’ era for the Tigers and only the second time a class has sat outside the top 25.
Sure, there are a few future NFL Draft picks headed to Clemson, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that the Tigers lost five of their top seven-ranked commits down the stretch. Clemson’s depth is about to take a major hit and that’s not ideal with schools now having to potentially play 17 games to win a national championship.
Class rank: No. 13
The state of California churns out on average 21.4 selections in the NFL Draft every year. So the fact that USC’s class includes just five in-state recruits is a bit alarming.
Throughout much of the year it has been hard to get a read on what exactly the Trojans are trying to do. Wednesday netted the Trojans a pair of blue-chip signees in defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart and defensive back Alex Graham (both of whom reside across the country), but one could make the case that USC’s decommit list is better than the actual list of signees.
Add to that the fact that the vibes are super “off” around Los Angeles, per CBS Sports, and you’ve got a program that does not feel as good as that No. 13 ranking may suggest.
Class rank: No. 16
Things could have gone much worse for Oklahoma if five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi spurned the Sooners for Texas at the last minute, but that didn’t happen. Still, it was a rather uninspiring Wednesday for Brent Venables.
In the days leading up to the signing period, Oklahoma lost commitments from wide receivers Marcus Harris and Gracen Harris. Then Cortez Mills, the highest ranked receiver in the class, opted to sign with Nebraska. New offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle did get his quarterback in three-star Jett Niu on the same day that former five-star signee Jackson Arnold hit the transfer portal, but who is anybody going to throw to in 2025?
OU’s first season in the SEC was hampered by the lack of offensive skill talent and while there’s reasons to get excited about gadgetman Elijah Thomas and running back Tory Blaylock, the Sooners are going to have to plug some roster holes via the transfer portal, which can be a costly and tricky practice.
