14 college football teams that could make big moves on National Signing Day

National Signing Day is Wednesday. The advent of the Early Signing Period has made the traditional February Signing Day less of a show than it used to be, but it remains a chance for college football teams to get a lot better. This is a list of teams that have chances to boost their fortunates considerably with strong Wednesdays.

The Tigers have the No. 12 class on the verge of Signing Day, but they’ve got a decent shot to move into the top 10. They’re widely favored to land Mississippi defensive end Charles Moore, a four-star and the No. 6 strong-side end in the class. They’re also the favorites for the No. 4 athlete in the class, four-star West Palm Beach recruit Mark-Antony Richards, though Florida, Georgia and others have made hard, recent pushes.

That could mean two top-100 national players signing with one team, more than a month after 80-plus top-100 recruits signed and took themselves off the board. The 247Sports Crystal Ball also very much expects Auburn to flip Tennessee verbal commit LeDarrius Cox, a high-three-star defensive tackle who didn’t sign during December’s Early Signing Period.

The ESP has cut down on chances for teams to close strong in the way they used to on Signing Day, but Auburn — if things go to a plan — will be something of an exception.

Nebraska, with the No. 19 class at the moment, could also add a lot. The Huskers are No. 2 on the Crystal Ball for four-star Dallas defensive end Steven Parker, but the other team in the hunt is Kansas. So, hey, maybe that sticks, and maybe not! They’re also the favorites for three-star Oklahoma City receiver Demariyon Houston, whom I’ve watched in person and think should be a four-star. (He is a four-star according to some ratings agencies.)

The Trojans enter with the country’s No. 18 class. That’d be historically good for most of FBS. For USC, it’s terrible. They’ve never done worse than 12th in the rankings era. (Their ranking does not include five-star ATH signee Bru McCoy, who’s already transferred to Texas and been counted by the big ratings agencies as a Longhorns signee).

USC’s had a really bad year, on the whole. But the Trojans just made a strong offensive coordinator hire in North Texas’ Graham Harrell, and they’re going to rise on Signing Day in part just because they’ll regress to their mean. They already have 22 commits, and that’s not a tiny number, but they’re favored to add four-star guard Enokk Vimahi from Hawaii and will probably also get a few mid- and high-three-stars to lift their numbers.

The Hurricanes, with the No. 33 class, have 16 commits. That’s not indicative of the new talent they’ve added to their program, because they’ve gotten a bunch of good transfers.

But it’s still not where Miami’s supposed to be on the prep recruiting front. For the moment, there’s a bit of buzz that they’ll flip Alabama verbal commit Khris Bogle, a four-star DE, amid a series of coaching staff changes in Tuscaloosa. That’d be a big deal, both because Bogle’s a South Florida product and because Miami has holes that need filling.

The Vols, who enter with the No. 15 class, are the longtime favorites for five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright, the first five-star in the history of the state of West Virginia. Wright’s home-state Mountaineers recently sent literally their whole coaching staff to visit him, and they’ll probably make it hard to say “no.” But if the Vols can hold on and land Wright, they’ll be getting the best uncommitted player left on the board. They’ll also try for four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o, who’s expected to commit to Alabama. Again, they might lose three-star DT Cox to Auburn, but if Wright commits, it’ll be a successful day, period.

The Gators, with the the No. 11 class, are favored to add four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam, the son of longtime NFL DB Abram Elam. The younger Elam is one of the best prospects left on the board and would be a relatively big boost on his own. Would he get Florida into the top 10, a nice round number the Gators and their fans would love to point to? Maybe.

The Gators have a lot of recruiting momentum for 2020, with the No. 3 class for that year at the moment. They have a chance to make at least one significant splash heading into that cycle. If the Gators don’t get into the top 10, it’ll mark the first time in the rankings era that none of UF, Miami, and FSU has finished with a top-10 class.

These teams are all on this list (and all grouped together) because they have precious few commits (as few as nine at Louisville and 18 at Georgia Tech) and, in most cases, new coaches. Some teams will just sign small classes, and everyone’s scholarship math is different. But any team with that few commits is at least on watch to add a few more and rise up the rankings for pure quantity reasons. It’s farfetched that Louisville’s going to finish 117th, no matter how much of a wreck Bobby Petrino left behind for Scott Satterfield.

Ohio State only has 16 commits at the moment, but the Buckeyes are expected to take a small class. They have the No. 3 class by average 247Sports Composite player rating, but they’re sitting 13th because their class is so small. They won’t get up to their customary spot in the top four this year, but that’s not an indictment of how they’ve recruited.

Let me know.