College Football

2023 Signing Day Grades: Oregon, Georgia, Alabama strike it rich

Updated Dec. 22, 2023 10:26 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

Bryan Fischer

College Football Writer

College football's earning signing period opened on Wednesday with plenty of twists and turns.

Some players would flip commitments at the last minute, while others would stay true to their word.

[National signing day tracker]

Some even found new ways to keep fans on pins and needles — intentionally or not — such as Texas commit Ronnie Wingo, who slept late before eventually confirming that he remained "in" on the Longhorns.

When the dust settled, a familiar name rose to the top, with the Georgia Bulldogs appearing to lock up the top class in the nation.

There were some surprise splashes made as well, as teams like Texas Tech and Nebraska grabbed some big-time talent.

FOX Sports college football writers Bryan Fischer and Michael Cohen were monitoring the action throughout the day, offering their assessments of how some key teams around the FBS did with the Class of 2024.

Here are their grades:

Alabama

The Crimson Tide began the early signing period with the No. 4 class in the country in what would be viewed as an incredible haul for most schools and a disappointing group for head coach Nick Saban. But come Wednesday, Saban did what Saban does and flipped a pair of blue-chip prospects to reach No. 2 in the national rankings, briefly threatening Georgia for the top spot. First, Alabama pried four-star athlete/wide receiver Aeryn Hampton (No. 224 overall, No. 11 ATH) from a verbal commitment to Texas. Then, Saban and his staff convinced four-star tailback Kevin Riley (No. 76 overall, No. 4 RB) to bail on Miami in favor of the Crimson Tide. Those additions gave Saban a total of 20 four- and five-star signees with an average prospect score of 92.82, which sits third behind Georgia and Ohio State. The gem of the class is five-star quarterback Julian Sayin (No. 5 overall, No. 1 QB), who was named MVP at the Elite 11 Finals and supplanted Dylan Raiola as the No. 1 signal-caller in the country. Grade: A+

— Michael Cohen

Georgia

Kirby Smart may have missed out on another College Football Playoff trip, but he did land a nice early Christmas present to make up for that a bit, notching the No. 1 overall recruiting class in 2023 — the third time the Bulldogs have topped 247Sports' team rankings in the last seven cycles. Ohio State was the only program that signed more five-stars than Georgia, and just four of their 28 commitments were of the non-blue chip variety. That helped the Dawgs lock up the top spot over SEC rival Alabama. Defense was naturally a strong point — with top-ranked corner Ellis Robinson IV and linebacker Justin Williams — and UGA has a full 10% of the top 100 players in the class of 2024. This group was also interesting mostly in how geographically diverse it was and the lack of reliance (or success?) when it came to in-state prospects. Grade: A+

— Bryan Fischer

Oregon

There wasn't much of a question about it before, but this signing day reaffirmed that Dan Lanning's recruiting operation in Eugene is the top outfit on the West Coast — and one of the best in the country. The Ducks landed a top-five class overall and ranked first in the Big Ten, adding an impressive crop of high schoolers to go along with another strong showing in the transfer portal. They continued to beef up on the lines with five-stars Aydin Breland and Elijah Rushing, plus four-star JacQawn McRoy. In addition, Oregon flipped a pair of prospects from conference rivals in speedy four-star WR Jeremiah McClellan from Ohio State and Ryan Pellum from USC. Grade: A+

— Bryan Fischer

Nebraska

What a splash for second-year coach Matt Rhule, who scored the biggest flip of the 2024 cycle by convincing five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola to spurn Georgia and join the Cornhuskers. A legacy player whose father starred at Nebraska and whose uncle is the current offensive line coach, Raiola instantly became the highest-rated prospect to sign with the program in the recruiting rankings era, bypassing tailback Marlon Lucky from 2005. Raiola is joined by four-star tight end Carter Nelson (No. 61 overall, No. 4 TE) and four-star offensive tackle Grant Brix (No. 78 overall, No. 5 OT) to give Nebraska three blue-chip signees. Nelson headlines an impressive haul of in-state prospects that includes the five highest-rated players in the state, one of whom is three-star quarterback Daniel Kaelin, another Elite 11 Finalist alongside Raiola. The only thing preventing this class from earning an A-plus was the decommitment of four-star defensive lineman Carlon Jones late last month. Grade: A

— Michael Cohen

Nebraska flips 5-Star QB Dylan Raiola: ‘Biggest win for Matt Rhule in 2023’

Texas

An excellent showing from the Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian to sign a top-five recruiting class for the third straight year as Texas continues to establish itself among the sport's elite. The week began with a bang when Texas flipped five-star safety Xavier Filsaime (No. 30 overall, No. 2 S) from Florida on Monday, and the momentum kept rolling when the Longhorns fended off Nebraska and Missouri to keep five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo (No. 24 overall, No. 8 WR). Those two players are joined by fellow five-star recruits Colin Simmons (No. 13 overall, No. 1 LB) and offensive tackle Brandon Baker (No. 25 overall, No. 2 OT) to give Texas a quartet of prospects bettered only by Ohio State, which is on pace to bring in five five-star prospects. It will irk Sarkisian that he didn't land any of the four best in-state prospects from the 2024 cycle, but the Longhorns still signed three of the top 11 players in arguably the most competitive recruiting territory in the country. Grade: A

— Michael Cohen

Florida State

There is a lot going on in Tallahassee nowadays, and the torrent of headlines feels like it has overshadowed the fact that the Seminoles inked a top-six class heavy on blue-chip prospects. Losing top safety KJ Bolden to upcoming Orange Bowl opponent Georgia on Signing Day hurt, but Mike Norvell still managed to grab a quarterback of the future in Luke Kromenhoek, plus some top corners with in-state prospects Charles Lester III and Jamari Howard. It doesn't hurt that they finished ahead of rivals Miami and Florida in the rankings either, despite strong pushes from the pair. Grade: A-

— Bryan Fischer

Ohio State

Here's an idea of how high the expectations are at Ohio State: The first day of the early signing period felt somewhat hollow for the Buckeyes even though head coach Ryan Day is likely to finish with the best recruiting class in the Big Ten, the No. 3 recruiting class in the country and sign more five-star prospects than any other program. That's because the fans know how good this class could have been if not for the decommitments of three top-150 prospects in the last four weeks, including two in the top 50: five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott (No. 15 overall, No. 3 DL), four-star wideout Jeremiah McClellan (No. 49 overall, No. 13 WR) and four-star running back Jordan Lyle (No. 145 overall, No. 11 RB), with two of those players flipping to Miami. Nonetheless, Ohio State scored massive victories on Wednesday when five-star wideout Jeremiah Smith, who is the No. 1 prospect in the nation, and five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston remained firm in their commitments to the Buckeyes despite late pushes from Miami and Alabama, respectively. Ohio State also secured its quarterback of the future in five-star prospect Air Noland (No. 36 overall, No. 4 QB). Grade: A-

— Michael Cohen

Oklahoma

Brent Venables' first class going into the SEC wound up being one of the bigger ones out of the high school ranks, with nearly 30 players inking with the Sooners. That put Oklahoma in the top 10, ranking ahead of the likes of LSU and Florida. Five-star defensive lineman David Stone is a marquee name that should play early in Norman. It's notable that for as heavily as the group leans on the states of Texas and Oklahoma, this was a group that really showed the reach of the program, with several players from the rest of the South and even into the Midwest. Grade: A-

— Bryan Fischer

Texas Tech

A historic day for the Red Raiders as head coach Joey McGuire secured the first five-star prospect in school history when wideout Micah Hudson signed with Texas Tech. One of 10 five-star wideouts in an exceptionally deep class, Hudson is the No. 7 player in the country regardless of position and the No. 3 receiver behind Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) and Cam Coleman (Auburn). More importantly, he's the No. 1 prospect from Texas in a recruiting class for which 20 of the 21 signees were in-state prospects. McGuire did well to carve out a foothold in one of the most talent-rich states in the country — Texas produced more than 70 four- and five-star prospects this cycle alone — and wound up with six blue-chip recruits. That list includes four-star quarterback Will Hammond, who was an Elite 11 Finalist earlier this year and the No. 15 signal-caller in the country. Grade: A-

— Michael Cohen

Penn State

After a second consecutive 10-win season, the Nittany Lions are on track to sign their third straight top-15 recruiting class under head coach James Franklin. Without a five-star prospect or anyone ranked in the top 50 nationally, this year's group lacks the kind of eye-catching headliner Franklin has secured in the past. But a solid haul of 16 blue-chip prospects includes several players rated among the top 10 at their positions: running back Quinton Martin (No. 56 overall, No. 4 RB), tight end Luke Reynolds (No. 74 overall, No. 6 TE) and quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (No. 97 overall, No. 8 QB). Signing Martin gave the Nittany Lions the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania for a third consecutive recruiting cycle, and they've paired him with the state's No. 2 prospect in interior offensive lineman Cooper Cousins (No. 109 overall, No. 3 IOL). But it still feels like something is missing for a team that still can't get over the hump. Grade: B

— Michael Cohen

Washington

On the surface, a top-30 recruiting class that is right in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten wouldn't be too much to write home about, but Kalen DeBoer's staff has done an excellent job of balancing high school recruiting with significant transfer portal additions. The Huskies did well in California and Arizona with the 2024 class despite the change in conferences, landing several high-upside prospects along both lines. The real boost will come next year as they'll be able to sell this College Football Playoff run and the ability to play in the Big Ten even more. Grade: B

— Bryan Fischer

Michigan

It's been slightly dispiriting for Michigan fans to watch a recruiting class that reached No. 1 in the country over the summer slide outside the top 15 on the first day of the early signing period. From mid-August through mid-September, the Wolverines lost verbal commitments from a trio of four-star prospects who would have elevated the group's national ranking: defensive lineman Jerod Smith (No. 185 overall, No. 27 DL), edge rusher Jacob Smith (No. 199 overall, No. 15 edge) and edge rusher Elias Rudolph (No. 357 overall, No. 28 edge). But there is still plenty to like about a class that includes 18 blue-chip prospects and is headlined by four-star tailback Jordan Marshall (No. 83 overall, No. 6 RB), whom the Wolverines plucked from Ohio, and four-star quarterback Jadyn Davis (No. 93 overall, No. 7 QB), who participated in the Elite 11 Finals earlier this year. It's the five-star prospects that continue to elude head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff, with only two such signings in the last five recruiting cycles combined. Grade: B-

— Michael Cohen

Alabama and Nick Saban hire former Michigan LBs coach

Colorado

National Signing Day was a rollercoaster for the Buffs, which signed a very small — but blue chip-heavy — crop of high schoolers to supplement their typical transfer-focused approach under Deion Sanders. Setting aside the portal additions, Colorado was a bit hit-or-miss overall, signing four-star wideout Drelon Miller out of Texas and landing four-star defensive lineman Brandon Davis-Swain out of Michigan. However, they also lost talented end Amontrae Bradford to Georgia Tech on Wednesday and were locked in a surprising battle with Maryland to keep the commitment of five-star OT Jordan Seaton. If you did factor in the portal, then CU would have the top-ranked class in the Big 12, but you still expected to see more out of the prep ranks from Sanders given the waves he's made since arriving in Boulder. Grade: C 

— Bryan Fischer

USC

The Trojans have been able to sell playing in the Big Ten to the class of 2024 for a while now, but any sort of recruiting bump they may have expected from the conference change has failed to materialize. The Trojans wound up with a solid top-20 class, landing players from across the country, but didn't land a single five-star and managed to hold on to just two of the top 20 players in the state of California. Perhaps most concerning for Lincoln Riley is the fact that just three of their 20 signees were blue-chip offensive or defensive linemen. Grade: C

— Bryan Fischer

Do you want more great stories delivered right to you? Here's how you can create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow your favorite leagues, teams and players and receive a personalized newsletter in your inbox daily.

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.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

share

Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

College Football

Big Ten

Big 12

Pacific-12

Georgia Bulldogs

Alabama Crimson Tide

Ohio State Buckeyes

Oregon Ducks

Michigan Wolverines

Penn State Nittany Lions

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Colorado Buffaloes

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Longhorns

Oklahoma Sooners

Washington Huskies

USC Trojans

Florida State Seminoles

Michael Cohen

Bryan Fischer