College Football

2023 National Signing Day: Oregon, Texas, Alabama win big

Updated Dec. 22, 2022 10:42 a.m. ET

Christmas came early for every FBS program in the country on Wednesday, as a host of stars put pen to paper with the early signing period officially opening for the Class of 2023.

As is the case in pretty much every cycle, it was a wild one, as things you thought you knew coming into the week got turned around, while decision after decision popped out of left field.

Who stood up with their heads held high by the time the signing period closed? And who might be fretting about the ones that got away? Here are several college football Signing Day Superlatives that will reverberate across the landscape far beyond Wednesday’s chaotic close.

The Biggest Story: Quack, Quack, ‘Croot

Every recruiting cycle there’s that one school that absolutely owns national signing day and takes over the narrative of the class no matter where it finishes in the team rankings. Based on their efforts with the Class of 2023, that program is the Oregon Ducks.

The Ducks had a solid class going under Dan Lanning entering Year 2, but the chatter surrounding their recruiting efforts was trending negative after the late flip of Detroit (MI) five-star quarterback Dante Moore to UCLA earlier in the week. That all changed before brunch was even over on the West Coast on Wednesday however, as UO was flipping major names left and right to Hoover up tons of momentum.

First, they landed Moore’s replacement in Dripping Springs (Texas) four-star quarterback Austin Novosad, after he was previously committed to Baylor. Then they stole Long Beach (Calif.) four-star CB Daylen Austin away from a long-time LSU pledge, flipped Denton (Texas) five-star safety Peyton Bowen away from Notre Dame and netted the signature of Bellflower (Calif.) five-star Matayo Uiagalelei over USC and Ohio State.

There’s work, and then there’s doing what Oregon just pulled off with everybody watching.

As a result, what once was a bit of anxious waiting in Eugene turned into a day of celebration as the Ducks locked up a top-10 finish in the team rankings and secured the top class in the Pac-12 by a wide margin.

The Best Story: Ethan Trent commits to Purdue

There is a ton of focus on the guys at the top of the rankings, but the best story of the day might have been from somebody who didn’t have a Power 5 offer in Indianapolis defensive end Ethan Trent.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps that of his older brother Tyler Trent does. Tyler Trent became a national figure in college football for his connection to the Purdue football team while undergoing a battle with cancer back in 2018. Tragically, he passed away at the beginning of 2019, but he left a lasting mark on West Lafayette that will soon include his two-time All-State sibling as a preferred walk-on with the team.

"There is a legacy there with my brother," the elder Trent told the Indianapolis Star. "I just want to pick up where he left off."

Biggest Surprise: Cormani McClain opts not to sign with Miami

Outside of the tear Oregon went on, one of the other major storylines was who didn’t sign (and why). The biggest of those names who opted not to send in a Letter of Intent was Lakeland (Fla.) cornerback Cormani McClain.

Widely considered the top corner in 2023, he was expected by most recruiting experts to eventually sign with Florida but ended up committing to Miami back in October. The Hurricanes were confident in getting his signature, but his family ended up canceling a signing ceremony on Wednesday morning, leading to plenty of speculation over his eventual destination.

While that could still end up being Miami, the hot rumor that has since surfaced has been that Deion Sanders and Colorado have firmly entered the mix. Now that would truly be a Prime Time flip if it were to end up happening, and would only add to the drama surrounding one of the few uncommitted five-stars on the board.

Most Shocking Flip: Dante Moore/Austin Novosad

The past seven days were a great example of quarterback dominoes at work and why everything can change quickly in the world of recruiting.

Just think back to last week, when Oregon signal-caller Bo Nix was still staying quiet about his decision to either turn pro or return to Eugene for another season. Then on Sunday, in a video released by the school, the QB announced his return for another year with the simple message that Bo was Back.

The next day, Moore, who had been pledged to Lanning and company since July, pulled the trigger on the switch to UCLA (a school he had only visited the week prior).

That, in turn, led the Ducks to go after Novosad hard. He had been committed to Baylor for nearly a year and the Bears had already held off a host of other major powers to keep him in the fold.

Not in the end though, as the dominoes fell quickly across the country in a surprising turn that impacts multiple players and multiple programs.

Most Creative: Iowa State

National Signing Day is a time when those vast recruiting departments really earn their keep and that’s especially true of those involved in graphic design. Just about everybody has a fancy way of announcing they’ve received an NLI from players over the course of the day but this year it might be Iowa State that takes the cake for creativity.

Not only did the Cyclones do the usual video package and photo shoot with recruits that they edited down to get fans excited about the latest group of recruits, but they also added something special you don’t often see: bobbleheads.

Yes, just about every kid had a custom bobblehead made as part of their official announcement.

No word on if you can eventually purchase those as part of a name/image/likeness play but kudos for going outside the box.

Bonus Points: Big 12 rival Kansas State came close to ISU in leaning into their class motto of ‘Bring the Sauce’ by getting every player a custom bottle of, you guessed it, sauce:

Best NIL Tie-In: USC x Beats x Apple

Sponsored social media graphics are nothing new in this era of college football, but USC applied a unique twist to its this year by including both Beats branding and having parent company Apple include a tie-in link to signees’ favorite songs/playlists.

Additional Winners

— Alabama: Hey, this Nick Saban guy seems decent at both coaching and talent acquisition, eh? The Tide not only locked up the No. 1 recruiting class yet again, but did so by landing six five-stars (nearly double anybody else) that included the top safety, offensive tackle and the best two defensive linemen. Their lowest-ranked player was a three-star kicker, and they balanced that out by signing the top two junior college players in the country amid all the other four-stars that dotted the landscape. It may have been a down year in Tuscaloosa on the field, but the rich just keep getting richer in the recruiting space.

— Auburn: Not to be outdone by their in-state rivals, but the Tigers built some impressive momentum in the early days under Hugh Freeze after recruiting had stagnated under his predecessor. They flipped four-star Ellenwood (Georgia) CB Kayin Lee from Ohio State and also added Highland Home (Alabama) edge rusher Keldric Faulk after he was previously committed to Florida State. Despite not inking a five-star, they did well given the coaching change and made some nice inroads across their traditional AL/GA/FL footprint. It’s not where the program needs to be to compete in the SEC consistently but some offseason momentum and a top-20 class is a decent start.

— Texas: Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are no strangers to making a big splash on Signing Day but really landed what might be a marquee class as they look ahead to the SEC transition. Not only did No. 1 quarterback Arch Manning make it official, but UT signed the top-ranked linebacker in Denton (Texas) five-star Anthony Hill plus Orlando (Florida) top tailback Cedric Baxter Jr. Throw in fellow five-star DeSoto (Texas) wideout Johntay Cook II and a host of other top-100 players and there’s another wave of talent headed to the 40 Acres.

— Miami: Not many schools could land a top-five class after the season the Hurricanes had, but this is a new era in more ways than one. They notably signed a pair of five-star OTs in Bradenton (Florida) Francis Mauigoa and Brockton (Mass.) star Samson Okunola, perhaps not a surprise given how much of a premium head coach Mario Cristobal puts on the position. Fort Lauderdale (Florida) four-star CB Damari Brown was a signing day pledge too and they secured more five-star blue-chippers than the rest of the ACC combined.

— Colorado: Coach Prime said he was bringing the talent with him to Boulder — so far, so good. The Buffs flipped four-star Thomasville (Georgia) WR Adam Hopkins from Auburn, signed JUCO offensive lineman Isaiah Jatta (previously committed to South Carolina) and made things official with ex-Notre Dame pledge and four-star Derby (Kansas) RB Dylan Edwards. Toss in the official announcement about Jackson State QB Shedeur Sanders joining the team and the talent upgrade at CU sure looks like it’s coming together despite not having that much time to devote to the recruiting trail by the Power 5’s most interesting head coach.

Losers

— Ohio State: The Buckeyes finished with the best class in the Big Ten and in a group generally considered top-five in the country, but still it was a sense of disappointment that seemed to be wafting around Columbus about what might have been. OSU lost Kayin Lee to Auburn, Matayo Uiagalelei to Oregon and Damon Wilson to UGA among their big targets on Wednesday, and really only picked up an expected pledge from Indianapolis four-star DE Joshua Mickens. It really felt like it was about who didn’t sign that was dominating the discourse for the scarlet and gray.

— Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin has become known as the Portal King, but you can’t build the entire team out of transfers, and the Rebels' sub-par high school efforts on signing day were not a great addition to the narrative. The program lost Glen Burnie (Md.) pass rusher Neeo Avery to Maryland, had longtime Nashville (Tenn.) four-star QB pledge Marcell Reed land with Texas A&M and didn’t do a whole bunch beyond holding on to Raleigh (Miss.) four-star linebacker Suntarine Perkins after a late charge from Bama. All told, 11 commitments and a class in the 40s is not where you expected to see Ole Miss.

— Iowa: Hawkeyes fans knew it was coming after he made a late announcement, but it was hard not to feel the sting of five-star Des Moines OT Kadyn Proctor’s flip to Alabama. Not only was he the best recruit in the state, but he had been committed since June and was supposed to be one of the biggest signees Kirk Ferentz had ever signed.

— Clemson: The Tigers slipped to the second-ranked class in the ACC behind Miami and netted only one five-star, but it was Dabo Swinney’s press conference that really put a bow on the festivities and set social media alight with jokes to land them on this side of the ledger:

— Oklahoma: It wasn’t all bad for the Sooners considering they were the second-best group in the Big 12 and finished inside the top 10 in the team rankings. Still, the coaches put a lot of effort in trying to close strong, and it didn’t seem like OU did in the end, whiffing on five-star Peyton Bowen (Oregon) and losing out to rival Texas for four-star Lehi (Utah) LB Tausili Akana. To make matters worse, Brent Venables committed this incredible fashion faux pas with a unique suit choice for signing day:

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Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.