The fourth year of the college football early signing period added some tough hurdles for coaches and recruiters to overcome.
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic not only limited campus visits for potential recruits, but also essentially eliminated all in-person meetings that might otherwise have taken place between players and coaches. How that will affect this year’s class remains to be seen, but one thing is already apparent:
Pandemic or not, the best teams in college football will do well in the recruiting class of 2021.
SCREENINGS OF WEEK 15: Playoff | Bowls
Heading into Wednesday’s 72-hour early signing period, No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State created significant distance between themselves and the rest of the group. Teams like Georgia, Clemson and LSU can also attract elite classes that have legitimate college football playoff aspirations.
Still, some battles remain to be won, as players like strong side defensive end JT Tuimoloau (No. 3 overall), running back LA Johnson (No. 40 overall) and a few other players who remain committed (but not signed) after the early signing period.
Keep going as Sporting News tracks the biggest commitments and signings:
MORE: Eight Potential Championship Weekend CFP Scenarios
2021 College Football Signing Day Tracking
(All player and team ratings reflect 247Sports Composite ratings).
Strong side defensive end
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Korey Foreman (No. 1) | 5 stars | USC |
| 2. JT Tuimoloau (No. 3) | 5 stars | |
| 3. Ack Sawyer (No. 4) | 5 stars | Ohio State |
| 4. Shear Turner (No. 31) | 5 stars | Texas Am |
| 5. Keeshawn Silver (No. 32) | 5 stars | North Carolina |
| 6. Sunrise Adele ye (No. 37) | 4 stars | Texas Am |
| 7. Monk ell Goodwine (No. 89) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 8. Break Sapp (No. 96) | 4 stars | Florida |
Offensive Tackles
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. JC Latham (No. 2) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 2. Tommy Brockermeyer (No. 5) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 3. Bitter Mims (No. 7) | 5 stars | Georgia |
| 4. Tristan Leigh (No. 11) | 5 stars | Clemson |
| 5. Nolan Gucci (No. 15) | 5 stars | Wisconsin |
| 6. Kingsley Sumatra (No. 35) | 4 stars | Oregon |
| 7. Landon Bengal (No. 50) | 4 stars | Penn State |
| 8. Blake Fisher (No. 52) | 4 stars | Our lady |
| 9. Savior Byrd (No. 62) | 4 stars | Oklahoma |
| 10. Micah Morris (No. 63) | 4 stars | Georgia |
| 11. Bram Walden (No. 82) | 4 stars | Oregon |
| 12. John El-Hadi (No. 85) | 4 stars | Michigan |
| 13. Reuben Fathered (No. 87) | 4 stars | Texas Am |
| 14. Garrett Dellinger (No. 90) | 4 stars | LSU |
Double threat quarterbacks
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Caleb Williams (No. 6) | 5 stars | Oklahoma |
| 2. Brock Vandagriff (No. 14) | 5 stars | Georgia |
| 3. Tyler Buchner (No. 65) | 4 stars | Our lady |
| 4. Alen Mile (No. 78) | 4 stars | Alabama |
Weak side defensive wings
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Dallas Turner (No. 8) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 2. Clayton Smith (No. 43) | 4 stars | Oklahoma |
| 3. Dylan Brooks (No. 51) | 4 stars | Tennessee |
| 4. Remain Robinson (No. 64) | 4 stars | Maryland |
| 5. Jeremiah Williams (No. 73) | 4 stars | Florida |
Wide receivers
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Emeka Kabuki (No. 9) | 5 stars | Ohio State |
| 2. Tacoma Brooks (No. 34) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 3. Troy Franklin (No. 36) | 4 stars | Oregon |
| 4. Mario Williams (No. 42) | 4 stars | Oklahoma |
| 5. JoJo Earle (No. 48) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 6. Don’t’E Thornton (No. 53) | 4 stars | Oregon |
| 7. Agile Hall (No. 56) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 8. Hayden Ballard (No. 66) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
| 9. Christian Leary (No. 68) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 10. Dan Smith (No. 70) | 4 stars | LSU |
| 11. Chris Hilton (No. 75) | 4 stars | LSU |
| 12. Xavier Worthy (No. 76) | 4 stars | Michigan |
| 13. Brian Thomas Jr. (No. 79) | 4 stars | |
| 14. Beaux Collins (No. 83) | 4 stars | Clemson |
| 15. Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 91) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
| 16. Dan Collie (No. 98) | 4 stars | Our lady |
Defensive tackles
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Leonard Taylor (No. 10) | 5 stars | Miami |
| 2. Mason Smith (No. 18) | 5 stars | LSU |
| 3. Damon Payne (No. 19) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 4. Mike Hall (No. 49) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
| 5. Tyrone Malone (No. 61) | 4 stars | |
| 6. Lee Hunter (No. 80) | 4 stars | Brown |
| 7. Payton Page (No. 93) | 4 stars | Clemson |
Pro-style quarterbacks
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Sam Huard (No. 12) | 5 stars | Washington |
| 2. Jr McCarthy (No. 22) | 5 stars | Michigan |
| 3. Kyle McCord (No. 25) | 5 stars | Ohio State |
| 4. Ty Thompson (No. 39) | 4 stars | Oregon |
| 5. Ake Garcia (No. 46) | 4 stars | Miami |
| 6. Drake Maye (No. 57) | 4 stars | North Carolina |
| 7. Miller Moss (No. 71) | 4 stars | USC |
| 8. Garrett Nuclear (No. 86) | 4 stars | LSU |
Security
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Ames Williams (No. 13) | 5 stars | Miami |
| 2. Sage Ryan (No. 28) | 5 stars | LSU |
| 3. Derrick Davis Jr. (No. 58) | 4 stars | LSU |
| 4. Kendal Daniels (No. 100) | 4 stars | Texas Am |
Internal supporters
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Terrence Lewis (No. 16) | 5 stars | Maryland |
| 2. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (No. 41) | 4 stars | Clemson |
| 3. Denote Lawson (No. 55) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 4. Ethan Calvert (No. 74) | 4 stars | Utah |
| 5. Reid Carrico (No. 84) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
Offensive guards
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Donovan Ackson (No. 17) | 5 stars | Ohio State |
| 2. Terrence Ferguson (No. 54) | 4 stars | Alabama |
| 3. Rocco Spindler (No. 60) | 4 stars | Our lady |
| 4. Bryce Foster (No. 72) | 4 stars | Texas Am |
| 5. Dylan Fairchild (No. 97) | 4 stars | Georgia |
External supporters
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Avian Sorey (No. 20) | 5 stars | Georgia |
| 2. Small Mondon (No. 29) | 5 stars | Georgia |
| 3. Barrett Carter (No. 33) | 5 stars | Clemson |
| 4. Reason Davis (No. 45) | 4 stars | |
| 5. Junior Colson (No. 95) | 4 stars | Michigan |
| 4. Bavaria Millionth (No. 99) | 4 stars | North Carolina |
Athletes
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. A’Station Sanders (No. 21) | 5 stars | Texas |
| 2. Billy Bowman (No. 38) | 4 stars | Oklahoma |
| 3. David Daniel (No. 92) | 4 stars | Georgia |
Corner
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Ga’Quincy McKinstry (No. 23) | 5 stars | Alabama |
| 2. Ason Marshall (No. 27) | 5 stars | Florida |
| 3. Akailin Johnson (No. 47) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
| 4. Jordan Hancock (No. 67) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
| 5. Nyland Green (No. 69) | 4 stars | Georgia |
| 6. Care Wright (No. 77) | 4 stars | |
Corridors
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. TreVeyon Henderson (No. 24) | 5 stars | Ohio State |
| 2. Camar Wheaton (No. 26) | 5 stars | |
| 3. LA Johnson (No. 40) | 4 stars | |
| 4. Donovan Edwards (No. 44) | 4 stars | Michigan |
| 6. Armonk Goodwin (No. 94) | 4 stars | LSU |
All-purpose backs
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Will Shipley (No. 30) | 5 stars | Clemson |
| 2. Evan Pryor (No. 81) | 4 stars | Ohio State |
Tight ends
| Player (overall ranking) | Star rating | Signed with |
| 1. Ake Briningstool (No. 59) | 4 stars | Clemson |
| 2. Thomas Fido ne (No. 88) | 4 stars | Nebraska |
Top 10 Signature Classes of 2021
| Rank (conference rank) | Compromises | 5 stars | 4 stars | points |
| 1. Alabama (No. 1 SEC) | 26 | 7 | fifteen | 323.66 |
| 2. Ohio State (No. 1 Big Ten) | twenty-one | 5 | 13 | 310.39 |
| 3. Georgia (No. 2 SEC) | twenty | 4 | eleven | 294.84 |
| 4. Clemson (ACC No. 1) | 19 | 3 | 14 | 291.42 |
| 5. LSU (No. 3 SEC) | 22 | 2 | fifteen | 291.25 |
| 6. Oregon (No. 1 Pac-12) | twenty-one | 0 | sixteen | 280.77 |
| 7. Texas Am (No. 4 SEC) | 22 | 1 | fifteen | 276.17 |
| 8. USC (No. 2 Pac-12) | twenty-one | 1 | 13 | 271.85 |
| 9. Notre Dame (No. 1 Independent) | 27 | 0 | 12 | 268.93 |
| 10. Oklahoma (No. 1 Big 12) | sixteen | 1 | 12 | 268.07 |
style="display:block"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-3066188993566428"
data-ad-slot="4073357244"
data-ad-format="auto"
data-full-width-responsive="true">
www.sportingnews.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.
