The day is here. The future has arrived. It’s Early Signing Day 2023 and the future stars of Saturdays are signing with their future college football programs.
College Football Network is on the prowl, highlighting all the bits of news and information from Early Signing Day 2023 including signings, transfers, team and player rankings, and other rumors or insights throughout the day.
Early Signing Day 2023 Tracker
Beginning early on Wednesday morning, high school athletes can sign their National Letters of Intent to play collegiate football at the next level institution of their choosing. With so many high school athletes across the nation signing their NLIs, let CFN walk you through all the major moments, top classes, and everything in between that you should know.
DJ Lagway Says He’s Signed His NLI
Speaking on ESPN2’s National Signing Day special, Florida commit DJ Lagway stated he has already sent his NLI to the Gators. Lagway, a longtime Florida commit, expressed how interested he is in playing for Billy Napier and Co. in Gainesville.
Latest on Jordan Seaton, Colorado’s Prized Commit
Colorado put a premium on upgrading their offensive line and secured the nation’s top OT in Jordan Seaton to start December. However, as Early Signing Day has come, Seaton reportedly has been taking an interest in playing for his hometown Maryland Terrapins.
CFN’s Cam Mellor has more in the Latest Jordan Seaton Rumors.
Ohio State Maintains Jeremiah Smith, Eddrick Houston
The Ohio State Buckeyes were firmly on flip watch entering the day as two of their top potential signees received late pushes. Smith was reportedly on the fence between keeping his OSU commitment or both Miami (FL) and Florida State pushing hard.
In the end, Smith stayed true and even phoned head coach Ryan Day during a press conference to alert him the news.
Houston, on the other hand, received a late push from Alabama. The Tide came calling late before ultimately falling, as Houston stayed true as well. Both Houston and Smith are cornerstone pieces to this OSU class and rank as five-star, top-of-their-position players.
Five Stars Begin to Fall
The five-star players have started signing all over the country. Here’s an updated list of five-star athletes and where they’ve signed as of 10:30 am ET.
- Julian Sayin, QB – Alabama
- Sammy Brown, LB – Clemson
- Bryant Wesco, WR – Clemson
- Ellis Robinson IV, DB – Georgia
- Justin Williams, LB – Georgia
- Justin Scott, DL – Miami (FL)
- Williams Nwaneri, EDGE – Missouri
- Dylan Raiola, QB – Nebraska
- Cam Williams, WR – Notre Dame
- Mylan Graham, WR – Ohio State
- Aaron Scott Jr., CB – Ohio State
- Elijah Rushing, EDGE – Oregon
- Luke Reynolds, TE – Penn State
- Dylan Stewart, DE – South Carolina
- Josiah Thompson, OT – South Carolina
- Jordan Ross, EDGE – Tennessee
- Mikey Matthews, WR – Tennessee
- Colin Simmons, EDGE – Texas
- Brandon Baker, OT – Texas
- Xavier Filsaime, S – Texas
- Micah Hudson, WR – Texas Tech
Florida DT Commit LJ McCray Not Signing Today
The Florida Gators may lose two of their centerpiece commits from their class on Early Signing Day. While QB DJ Lagway is still on the board as a commit, a late push from USC has concerned Gator fans.
While The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman believes Florida will still secure Lagway’s signing today, the growing concern is eerily similar to their lose of Jaden Rashada last circuit.
Making matters worse, however, is the bombshell that No. 1 defensive lineman LJ McCray will not be signing on Early Signing Day.
The No. 1 DL in the Class of 2024 and a consensus five-star prospect is set to continue to mull his college choice and will not be signing with the Gators on Early Signing Day.
LSU, Texas CreatesBillboards for Recruits
There is a new bar for eye-catching announcements of a signing day class. The LSU Tigers created actual billboards for their recruits, announcing their Early Signing Day class via advertisements on local roads in and around Baton Rouge.
Find Ethan’s billboard in Mooresville, N.C. at I-77/Brawley School Rd pic.twitter.com/KarWaDrstu
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 20, 2023
Texas followed suit with such a feature around their signing day class.
This is awesome!! Let me know if y’all see it🤘🏻 #HookEm pic.twitter.com/BE3bZQrlTb
— Parker Livingstone (@ParkerL06) December 20, 2023
Latest College Football Recruiting Rumors
There are multiple rumors swirling, specifically around some of the top players in the country. Here are the latest rumors around which players could flip their commitments on Signing Day:
- WR Jeremiah Smith – from Ohio State to Florida State
- WR Ryan Williams – from Alabama to Auburn
- S K.J. Bolden – from Florida State to Auburn
- QB D.J. Lagway – from Florida to USC
- OT Jordan Seaton – from Colorado to Oregon
- DE L.J. McCray – from Florida to Auburn OR Florida State
- DL Armondo Blount – from Florida State to Miami
Current Class Rankings Ahead of Signing Day
Depending on where you look, here’s how the commitment tracker ranks the top classes in the country. These numbers are relatively fluid and come from the major recruiting sites:
247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings
1) Alabama
2) Georgia
3) Texas
4) Ohio State
5) Oklahoma
ESPN Team Recruiting Rankings
1) Georgia
2) Ohio State
3) Alabama
4) Oregon
5) Florida State
Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings
1) Georgia
2) Ohio State
3) Texas
4) Alabama
5) Florida State
On3 Team Recruiting Rankings
1) Georgia
2) Alabama
3) Ohio State
4) Florida State
5) Texas
Dylan Raiola Officially Signs With Nebraska
The drama that was is officially over. Consensus top two overall QB Dylan Raiola has signed his NLI with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Raiola, the son of former Nebraska and Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola, is a cornerstone of the first full-time recruiting class under head coach Matt Rhule. His commitment was highly coveted, and he committed to Ohio State and Georgia before ultimately flipping to his father’s alma mater.
Saying to ESPN, Raiola spoke to that importance when signing with Nebraska.
“I firmly believe that Nebraska is in my blood,” Raiola said. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Nebraska is a special place.”
Miss any action from the top college QB Rankings during the 2023 football season? Want to track all the movement with the college football’s transfer portal? College Football Network has you covered with that and more!