It has been an exciting week in college football recruiting as we get closer to the early signing period for the next school year. A number of transfer players have picked new schools to compete for a starting job after five-star quarterback Dante Moore switched his commitment from Oregon to UCLA. On Wednesday, the high school prospects will be in the spotlight. Some recruits will wait until February to sign, but there are some who are ready to announce. Jaquavious Russaw and James Smith are part of a package deal and will announce their decision on Wednesday. There will be more recruits in the 300. Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Texas are all trying to take over the top spot in the recruiting rankings from Alabama. There is a Signing Day special on College Football Live. On Wednesday, it will be on Disney's network. Jump to a section:
Where things stand | Who will commit?
Breaking down the top classes | Transfer impact
6 schools with the most at stake Heading into Wednesday, thirty recruits in the 300 are uncommited. The numbers are broken down in this way. There are 18 five-star prospects in the 300. There are 10 different schools with at least one five-star commit. The majority of the top 50 prospects have committed. Georgia leads the country with 17 commits, followed by Notre Dame and Florida. Malachi Nelson, Arch Manning and Dante Moore are three of the best quarterbacks in the country. The coverage is complete.
Class rankings » | Rising prospects »
Position-by-position breakdown »
Recruit draft » | Key recruit per class »
Analyzing Arch Manning to Texas »
2023 ESPN 300 » | 2024 ESPN Jr. 300 »
Where do things stand for the 2023 class?
When Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma to become USC's coach, Nelson switched his commitment to the USC.
After considering Alabama and Georgia, Manning committed to Texas in June after setting a number of program records at Isidore Newman School.
Moore initially pledged to Oregon in July, however he changed his mind two days before the early signing period. He is the highest-ranked recruit in the class.
Richard Young and Justice Haynes are the top two running backs in the cycle.
Ohio State has continued to add to its wide receiver room by getting pledges from three more. Including them, along with the No. 11 prospect in the 2024 class, the Buckeyes have 13 receivers.
Russaw and Smith are likely to commit to the same school. They both visited Alabama, Georgia, Florida and auburn.
On Wednesday, Wilson will make a decision between Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and Ohio State.
Ricks, a defensive back who reclassified from the 2024 class in October, will make his decision on Thursday.
English is going to sign with a school this week. Michigan and Kentucky are at the top of English's list of schools.
The best athlete in the cycle is going to sign in February. Harbor took an official visit to Maryland in December and is considering Michigan and South Carolina.
Robinson is a highly regarded baseball player at a high school in Arizona and will consider options there.
The Alabama class is in a good position to notch their eighth top ranked class under Nick Saban. Russaw and Smith, both five-star teammates, are scheduled to announce their decisions on Wednesday.
If Alabama can land the pair, it would give them over 20 commits and widen their margin to a point that would be hard to overcome.
Anything can happen at recruiting. The race is still going on. Georgia has seven straight top-three finishes and is currently sitting at second in the rankings. The battle could be interesting if Russaw and Smith land somewhere other than Tuscaloosa.
Notre Dame has been near the top of the rankings for most of the cycle and needs to get a five-star safety to stay in the hunt. Marcus Freeman is poised to sign the Fighting Irish's highest ranked class in a decade, even though there doesn't seem to be enough remaining targets to get them to the top.
The Longhorns and Hurricanes are both in the top five, but are longshot candidates to win the national title. LSU, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio State are threats to break into the top five, but a run at No. 1 is far away.
Transfer windows will be installed in December and January. It has given coaches a better idea of when they might lose a player and when they can add them. The windows allow coaches to figure out how many scholarships they can give out and how many transfers they can take.
Chris Marshall, a former five-star wide receiver, and Denver Harris, a corner, are just two of the players who entered the portal. The type of player who already has college experience would be more likely to be pursued by the coaches. We are very likely to see a trickle down effect because of the sheer number of players that entered the portal.
If a recruit goes to a Power 5 school and their spot is taken by a transfer, they could move down a level. The transfer market will take scholarships away from high school recruits so it will have an impact.
Alabama is holding on to the top spot in the rankings. Questions about Alabama's place in the SEC, as well as how Georgia is beating Alabama on the field, have been raised in the last few years.
The program is going to be fixed if there are any perceived problems. Alabama has a chance to hold on to the top spot, but also fend off some other big programs for a few five-stars. He will put any questions about the future of Alabama to bed if he can widen the gap.
In order to bring the U back to national prominence, Mario Cristobal left Oregon to return to Miami. The team lost to Middle Tennessee, Duke and Pittsburgh in the first year of the season. He has had a successful recruiting cycle in the past.
The Hurricanes have three five-stars in their class, including Cormani McClain and Francis Mauigoa. The staff has a chance to add to the class, as corner Damari Brown is still considering Miami, so continuing the stretch of November and December commitments would be a big deal. Adding more competition and talent to the roster is necessary to correct the ship.
The most important position in all of sports is the quarterback, and that's where the greatest advantage in recruiting comes from. With the hiring of Hugh Freeze, auburn will be an attractive destination not only in the transfer portal, but at the high school level as well.
With in-state prospects Smith and Russaw, auburn has a chance to close the deal. Freeze needs to target multiple quarterback options in order to upgrade this roster quickly.
This may be the only coaching hire in which the head coach can close out the class of 2023 without having his entire staff in place. It's all about the coach prime. The first domino to fall was the No. 8-ranked running back in the class, DylanEdwards, who switched from Notre Dame.
The transfer portal will be used to jump start the DeionSanders era. This could be one of the biggest total roster flips in the portal era if a lot of current Colorado players leave the program. The quarterback position is addressed and everyone is safe under Coach Prime.
It is amazing how fast things can change. Texas A&M had the top class in the country at the end of the recruiting season. A disappointing season, a flurry of players entering the transfer portal and a smaller class for 2023 has the A&M sitting in a much different spot a year later. This class would suffer the biggest drop from a previous top-ranked class because they are just inside the top 20.
Some freshmen from last year's class showed promise, and they have the lowest commits of any team ranked inside the top 20 of the class rankings, so despite the low quantity, there is quality talent. It will be interesting to see if Texas A&M can hold on to five-star defensive tackle David Hicks and flip another recruit or two, if they can regain some of the attention they lost a year ago.
When the Terrapins signed the No. 18 class, they created a buzz. The program's top three commits have left. When Mike Locksley came back to Maryland he brought with him high expectations and they have improved under his watch. It hasn't yet taken the next step. Keeping local talent at home is one of the main challenges. Last year, they did it with LB Jaishawn Barham, who had an impact Freshman season. Several top prospects are leaving the area again this cycle, but the door is open for some hometown talent to elevate this class.
Dylan Gooden, a key hometown pickup, gives their class two commitments in the last week, joining DE Rico Walker. The class has gotten a boost down the stretch, but there are still some local targets that need to finish strong, like Tosin Babalade, a powerful OL. It may take until February, but Nyckoles Harbor is a vital target in the mix. He is one of the top remaining uncommitted prospects in the country. The next step for the program might be if the Terps can close strong.
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