Three-point stance: Signing Day, top classes, sneaky Syracuse

Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has thoughts on National Signing Day, how the top uncommitted prospects could impact recruiting teams’ rankings, and a Syracuse Team that is having a sneaky good season.

Don’t look now, but de facto National Signing Day is just around the corner. While the first day of the early signing period is always a busy day with signings, confirmations from top prospects and of course the flip game, this year it could be busier than usual. Given the timing, we’re starting to expect more chaos than usual on this front.

Signing Day is December 4th, the earliest it has been in years, and of course this is the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff. This means more teams will be playing deep into the winter, potentially spending less time on the road and/or recruiting fewer players in December. The weekend before, the last opportunity to meet prospects in person on campus, is not only a holiday weekend (Thanksgiving) but also a rivalry weekend. The following Monday was the day most failing coaches received the news that they were on the way out. If that were to happen, imagine if prospects tried to sign with a program just two days later?

Add in the transfer portal, the usual NIL-led surprises, and the usual change of heart factors, and we could be looking at a show on the first Wednesday in December.

Keeping with the original theme, there could still be some major changes in the Rivals recruiting rankings. At one point, top flight seemed a foregone conclusion Ohio State running away with things. The Buckeyes still hold the top spot by a wide margin, but several of their top signings have recently made five-star cornerback trips elsewhere Na’eem Offord to the blue-chip pass rusher London Merritt. Linebackers Riley Pettijohn And Tarvos Alford remain highly sought after by others as well, so the home stretch could become lasting storylines for these out-of-state and regional recruits.

Should there be one or two deviations from the stacked signing list, the door would certainly be open come December. The programs ranked behind the Buckeyes, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Texas, Oklahoma And Miami are all in the mix for some of the best around, like five-star Jahkeem Stewart, Jupiter Terry, Javion Hilson And Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng. The decisions made by these prospects could be enough to influence the top of the team standings.

The ACC has been the focus of low-hanging fruit jokes for years, especially since then ClemsonThe winning streak at the top of the sport came to an end, but the 2024 season was a pleasant surprise on Saturdays. Miami And Pitt are undefeated, Clemson has rebounded strongly from loss at Georgia, freshman SMU is on the leaderboard and the rest of the league has plenty of reason for optimism.

Even Syracuseunder first-year head coach Fran Brownhas a chance to see a rank next to his name with a win over the Panthers on Thursday night.

The transfer quarterback and his team sneak under the radar Kyle McCord deserves its own right. He’s approaching his touchdown numbers (19 passing, one rushing) from the entire 2023 season with – let’s face it – a much less talented group of targets than the group he left at Ohio State. The Orange’s offensive momentum should also continue. It faces a defense that hasn’t performed well against the pass, with the Panthers ranking outside the top 100 in passing yards allowed per game.