National Signing Day: 5-star flips, race for No. 1 and more recruiting storylines

On the eve of National Signing Day, there is plenty of intrigue in this 2024 recruiting class. With all 32 of the five-star recruits on the On3 Industry ranking being committed, late flips from those elite prospects are garnering most of the attention.

The race for the No. 1 class in 2024 might not be as locked up as we thought with Alabama trying to make a late push to surpass Georgia, who has sat atop the rankings for months.

Tracking potential 5-star flips

One of the biggest five-star flips of the 2024 cycle went down Monday afternoon, when quarterback Dylan Raiola switched his pledge from Georgia to Nebraska. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Raiola originally committed to Ohio State before making his first flip to the Bulldogs in May.

There are several other five-star commits to track on National Signing Day though. At the top is Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The nation’s No. 1 prospect has been committed to Ohio State since December of 2022, but has continued to visit the likes of Florida, Florida State, and Miami throughout the fall. The Seminoles are considered the biggest threat to flip Smith, who has yet to completely shut down his recruitment. The Buckeyes are hoping their track record of producing NFL wide receivers will win out when for Smith when it comes time to put pen to paper.

The nation’s No. 13 player, safety KJ Bolden, is another recruitment to track on National Signing Day. The 6-foot, 185-pound playmaker committed to Florida State in August, but Bolden remains in communication with Auburn and Georgia. On3’s Chad Simmons reported the “Auburn buzz is picking up around Bolden” on Tuesday.

The most likely five-star to flip appears to be Miami Central defensive lineman Armondo Blount. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Blount, who already flipped his pledge from Miami to Florida State, was back in Coral Gables this past weekend for an official visit. When Blount picked to use the final weekend before the ‘Dead Period’ to visit Miami over Florida State, the school he is committed to, many conceded that the Hurricanes would ultimately be the team to receive his signature on National Signing Day.

In the eleventh hour, Alabama has made a hard charge to sway Ohio State five-star edge Eddrick Houston to Tuscaloosa. Houston took an official visit to see the Crimson Tide this past weekend, and Alabama had real momentum to pull off the flip. Mid-day Tuesday, On3’s Chad Simmons reported that Ohio State had regained traction again with Houston, and the Buckeyes might stave off the flip.

The race for the No. 1 class

Georgia has sat atop the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings for months. The defection of Raiola narrowed Bulldogs’ lead on conference rival Alabama. The Crimson Tide could bring this race for the No. 1 class to a razor-thin margin if National Signing Day goes perfectly.

First, Alabama would need to steal Houston from Ohio State for this to even be a talking point. In addition, the Crimson Tide would need to flip local top-100 running back Kevin Riley from Miami. A third flip would also be needed by Alabama with Texas four-star commit Aeryn Hampton. If all those chip fell Alabama’s way, and Georgia’s class held steady, this race for No. 1 would go to late January when all four recruiting services released their final 2024 recruiting rankings.

Georgia could end all this debate though if they were to swipe Bolden from Florida State on Wednesday.

Florida trying to hang on through NSD

The Florida Gators have had a top 3 recruiting class for much of the 2024 recruiting cycle. After a 5-7 season, Florida has suffered multiple highly-ranked decommitments. The most recent being top-50 safety Xavier Filsaime, who opted for the in-state Texas Longhorns on Monday.

Florida is now trying to hold onto their top two commits in five-star quarterback DJ Lagway and five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray. While Texas A&M and others have contacted Lagway, the most recent intel suggests the dynamic playmaker will stick with the Gators. The same seems to be the case with McCray as well while Auburn and Florida State still are making a last minute bid. While it has been a tough end of the cycle for Florida, keeping Lagway and McCray in the fold would be massive building blocks for the future.

However, two more Gators could still defect from the class. Most have already conceded top-100 defensive lineman Amaris Williams will flip to Auburn. Williams took an official visit to the Plains earlier this month. Also, Miami is trying to sway four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes from the Gators as well. Hayes took an official visit to Coral Gables this past weekend, and the Hurricanes appear confident they can flip the long-time UF commit. However, Florida continues to communicate with Hayes and are battling to keep him in the class.

Four-star running back Jadan Baugh recently decommitted from Arkansas, and now Florida looks to be in good shape to land his signature on Wednesday. Alabama is considered the other team in the mix for Baugh, but most feel the Gators are the team trending for the Georgia native.

Emptying the notebook

• Top-150 defensive lineman Ernest Willor is trending to Wisconsin heading into NSD
• Nebraska looks to be the landing spot for linebacker Vincent Shavers, who recently backed off his pledge to Miami.
• Oregon is making a late push to flip Ohio State four-star wide receiver commit Jeremiah McClellan, but distance from home for the St. Louis native could be an issue reports On3’s Chad Simmons.
• The Ducks are expected to get good news on the final day of the Early Signing Period, December 22, when four-star defensive lineman Jericho Johnson announces his commitment. Oregon has been considered the team to be for the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defender for several weeks now.