re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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1. Predictions on remaining five-stars

There aren’t many five-stars left after the Early Signing Period but there are still some big names that haven’t made their decision. Here are early predictions on where they will end up:

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. Prediction: USC. With JT Daniels re-classifying to 2018, St. Brown will team up with his high school quarterback again in college.

DB Patrick Surtain. Prediction: LSU. This is a tough call because I think Florida State could steal him or Alabama could put on the full-court press but LSU has been his leader for so long I’ll stick with it.

DB Isaac Taylor-Stuart. Prediction: USC. He will look around, especially out of state, but in the end he stays home and plays for USC.

DB Brendan Radley-Hiles. Prediction: Oklahoma. Florida State gave him a lot to think about and could be the pick as well, but Oklahoma has been linked to Radley-Hiles the most.

ATH Devon Williams. Prediction: Oregon. Williams is so quiet about recruiting that it’s tough to guess where he will go but he’s been linked enough to Oregon to make me think this is a safe bet.

WR Justyn Ross. Prediction: Clemson. Originally I thought he’d stay in-state but Clemson has such a lead right now it seems that he’s destined to play for the Tigers.

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For the first time ever, a three day early signing period starting on Dec. 20 was allowed for college football prospects. The debates about its pros and cons for players and coaches were fierce. The full scope of its effects will not be known for some time but, after a deep dive into the unofficial numbers, here are some interesting figures that emerged.

1,883 - PROSPECTS THAT SIGNED THEIR NLI DURING THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

The early signing period seemed like a welcome addition to the recruiting process and there were clearly a lot of players and coaches that took advantage of the opportunity to officially end the recruiting process before the normal Signing Day of the first Wednesday in February. This unofficial number of early signees, is about 70 percent of the total number of FBS signings in a given recruiting cycle. This means only 30 percent of the normal pool of talent available to college coaches in this final month and a half of the recruiting cycle.

652 - PROSPECTS THAT ARE COMMITTED BUT DID NOT SIGN EARLY

There are many reasons a prospect may not have signed with the school they are committed to during the early signing period. This group will be under the microscope as the February Signing Day approaches. Of the 652 prospects that are verbally committed but did not sign, there are 39 four-star prospects. Those 39 prospects and 72 remaining uncommitted four- and five-star prospects will be under the most pressure in this stretch run to National Signing Day.

7 - POWER FIVE TEAMS SIGNED SEVEN PERCENT MORE OF THEIR TOTAL RECRUITING CLASSES THAN GROUP OF FIVE CONFERENCE SCHOOLS DID DURING THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

One of the big drivers behind putting this early signing period in place was helping the smaller schools benefit from finding and recruiting quality prospects before the bigger schools finally turned their attention towards those prospects and quickly getting those commitments. With that in mind, it doesn’t look as though Group of Five schools were able to take advantage of this new tool at their disposal. Power Five schools signed just over 200 more prospects than Group of Five schools and are seven percent closer to filling their classes.

268 - PROSPECTS THAT SIGNED WITH BIG TEN TEAMS IN THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

The Big Ten signed the most prospects during the early signing period with 268 high school seniors sending in their National Letters of Intent. The ACC came in a close second and then there is a big drop off to the SEC. Interestingly enough, two Group of Five conferences, the AAC and the MAC, had more early signings than the Big 12 and even Conference USA had more signings than the Pac-12.

677 - PROSPECTS FROM THE SOUTHEAST THAT SIGNED EARLY

This wasn’t even close as the Southeast had over 200 more prospects sign than the next closest region. Behind the Southeast (South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi) was the Mid-South (Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri). The Mid-Atlantic (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina) came in third followed by the West region (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska) and then the Midwest (Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota)

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The annual Under Armour All-American Game is set to kickoff on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN

Participating players will arrive in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 30 for check-in.

Here's a look at the Alabama signees, commitments and targets playing in the game.

Commits & Signees:

Eyabi Anoma, 5-star DE, Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy — Team Highlight

Quay Walker, 4-star LB, Cordele (Ga.) Crisp County — Team Spotlight

Walker did not sign with Alabama last week and plans to take official visits in January.

Stephon Wynn, 4-star DE, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy — Team Spotlight

Jordan Davis, 4-star DE, Memphis (Tenn.) Southwind — Team Spotlight

Xavier Williams, 4-star WR, Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna — Team Spotlight

Tommy Brown, 4-star OT, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei — Team Spotlight

Targets:

Nicholas Petit-Frere, 5-star OT, Tampa (Fla.) Berkely Prep — Team Spotlight

Alabama has turned up the heat on 247Sports’ top offensive tackle. Many believe the race will come down to Alabama and Notre Dame even though Petit-Frere himself has rarely tipped his hand.

Jacob Copeland, 4-star WR, Pensacola (Fla.) Escambia — Team Highlight

Copeland appeared Alabama’s to lose after decommitted from Florida late last month, but with Pruitt leaving the Tide for the Vols, the four-star wideout’s recruitment returned to square one.

Justyn Ross, 4-star WR, Phenix City (Ala.) Central — Team Spotlight

Clemson has been the trend since the summer for the state’s top player. Alabama has continued to push, though. Ross will be on campus next month at both the Capstone and Auburn. Clemson already received an official visit.

Tyreke Smith, 4-star DE, Cleveland (Ohio) Heights — Team Highlight

Smith officially visited Alabama for the Arkansas game in October. Even though he left impressed, it still appears to be Ohio State, Penn State, or USC ahead of the Tide for the California native. Smith will make his decision on Jan. 4.

Joshua Moore, 4-star WR, Yoakum (Texas) — Team Spotlight

Moore recently decommitted from Nebraska. Alabama has shown a lot of interest and believe he can play either side of the ball.

Justin Watkins, 4-star WR, Clermont (Fla.) East Ridge — Team Highlight

Watkins will likely decide between Alabama and LSU with the Tigers currently holding a slight advantage. The Tide hosted the four-star slot earlier this month on an official visit.

Coynis Miller, 4-star DT, Birmingham (Ala.) Jackson-Olin — Team Spotlight

Miller did not sign with Auburn during the Early Signing Period leaving the door open on his recruitment. He’s already visited Alabama once since committing to the Tigers.

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