The early signing period for the 2024 recruiting class begins Wednesday.
While their two-year run as national champions will conclude next month, the Georgia Bulldogs are looking to reclaim the top class in ESPN’s team rankings for the first time since 2018.
To give you a look at what to expect Wednesday and how we got to this point, let’s go through a few of the most interesting aspects of this signing period. Check out the “College Football Live: Signing Day Special” at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU on Wednesday.
- With the decision of WR Ryan Williams (No. 9 overall), who was third overall in 2025, to reclassify into the 2024 class and sign with Alabama in February, Alabama (CB Jaylen Mbakwe, No. 2 overall; QB Julian Sayin, No. 3 overall and Williams) leads the way with a trio of five-stars. Georgia (CB Ellis Robinson IV, No. 1 overall; LB Justin Williams; No. 14 overall) and Auburn (WR Cameron Coleman, No. 6 overall; DE Jamonta Waller, No. 19 overall) are the only other school with multiple five-stars. The Tigers flipped Coleman (Dec. 1) and Waller (Nov. 11) from Texas A&M and Florida, respectively.
- DE Williams Nwaneri (No. 5 overall) would be the highest-ranked defensive lineman to sign with Missouri since Terry Beckner Jr. in 2015; WR Micah Hudson (No. 13 overall) would be the highest-ranked player ever to sign with Texas Tech; LB Dylan Stewart (No. 15 overall) would be South Carolina’s first five-star recruit since defensive end Jordan Burch in 2020 and OT Jordan Seaton (No. 20 overall) would be the highest-ranked offensive lineman ever to sign with Colorado.
- Robinson, from IMG Academy (Florida), is the first cornerback ever to be No. 1 overall in the ESPN 300. He committed to Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs on Feb. 1.
Sayin, Dylan Raiola and D.J. Lagway (No. 17 overall; Florida) — all five-star prospects — are the top three quarterbacks in the cycle.
Sayin was the lowest ranked of the three to begin the 2024 rankings (No. 24 overall) then climbed into the top 10 by April. His final prep season at Carlsbad (California) High School saw 2,369 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and one interception in 10 games in 2023.
Meanwhile, Raiola, the son of former Nebraska Cornhuskers and Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola, was the top-ranked player in the class when ESPN debuted its 2024 player rankings. He initially committed to Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes in May 2022 before reopening things last December. Following a move from Arizona to Georgia, he pledged to Kirby Smart and Georgia on May 15. He took an official visit to Nebraska, where his uncle, Donovan, is currently the offensive line coach on Matt Rhule’s staff, last weekend and followed that with a commitment to Nebraska on Monday. Dylan Raiola finished his high school career at Buford (Georgia) High School with 2,666 passing yards, 34 TDs and one interception in 13 games this fall.
Lagway has been in the top 20 for the entire cycle and was the first of the trio to come off the board when he committed to Billy Napier and the Florida Gators on Dec. 7, 2022. He is currently the linchpin of the sixth-ranked class and might have had the best senior campaign of the three. In 13 games for Willis (Texas) High School, Lagway threw for 4,604 yards and 58 touchdowns while rushing for 957 yards and 16 scores. — Blake Baumgartner
Florida had a disappointing season, but its efforts on the recruiting trail can bring hope for the future. This class was as high as No. 2 and, while it has endured some turbulence, the Gators could still finish in the top five.
After seeing their QB room clear out for various reasons after last season, no need was greater for the Gators. That was addressed in a big way when they landed five-star D.J. Lagway out of Texas a little over a year ago. He gives them a competitive, mobile passer with a strong arm. Despite the long commitment, other programs, especially in Texas, are still pursuing him, and it’s vital Florida keep him on board.
After losing several commitments over the last month, as well as a rash of players entering the transfer portal, Florida needs to keep impact recruits in the class. The Gators got off to a rough start to the week, losing ESPN 300 DB Xavier Filsaime, who flipped to Texas. Defensive linemen L.J. McCray (ESPN 300 No. 24) and Amaris Williams (ESPN 300 No. 101) are the other recruits UF is battling to hold onto.
On the other hand, the Gators are working to flip ESPN 300 DB Jameer Grimsley from Alabama and are in the mix for Zay Mincey.
Auburn Tigers
Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers seemingly have their hands in a multitude of “cookie jars.” The top four prospects in their class were all committed to another SEC program at one point, including recent addition five-star WR Cameron Coleman, who flipped from Texas A&M. They might not be done yet.
Auburn is a team to watch in several recruiting battles for Bolden, McCray and Williams, all of whom it has recently had on campus. There is also some buzz about Auburn flipping reclassified five-star WR Ryan Williams from Alabama.
The Tigers’ regular season ended poorly with a blowout loss to New Mexico State and a last-second loss to rival Alabama, but this class can provide pieces to help them take the next step forward. If they close strong and pull off another big flip or two, this class could be one of the big winners of this cycle.
It was just two years ago that the Aggies were the talk of the recruiting world, signing a No. 1-ranked class that featured multiple five-star prospects. How quickly things change, as they are now in transition with a new coach in place in Mike Elko after the firing of Jimbo Fisher. It is extremely tough for new coaches to come in and make a splash with much of the class already committed and a small window of time to operate before the early signing period starts. So, expectations for any new coach in this situation need to be tempered.
That being said, this is a program that has underachieved and comes with big expectations, with its AD Ross Bjork stating during the coaching search: “This is not an 8-4 job.” So there is not time for this program to go into a rebuilding phase, and that means Elko and staff need to at least get what is still a strong top-20 class across the finish line.
That will be a tough task, as they already lost five-star Coleman, though that was not a big shock as Auburn had appeared to be a realistic landing spot for a while. Other top prospects in this class can’t be lost. No. 1 athlete Terry Bussey, who might not sign until the second period and will take visits in January, has LSU and Alabama making it tough on the Aggies. No. 3 DT Dominick McKinley was a big win out of Louisiana and still has LSU after him.
Elko deserves a full cycle to show what he can get done on the recruiting trail, but he inherits a good class that can provide a strong building block and it will be key at the least to keep and get the key components of this class signed.
The Trojans are in a unique spot after firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and finishing the season at 7-5. Lincoln Riley knows the defense has to improve, and it has to improve quickly.
His offense ranked No. 12 in yards per game, while the defense ranked 122 among all FBS teams. It’s imperative that Riley add in transfers on the defensive side who can help and sign high school recruits to develop.
He has been able to add Vanderbilt defensive lineman Nate Clifton to help with the pass rush. USC’s top-ranked recruit is defensive end Kameryn Fountain, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound recruit out of Atlanta, who should be able to help situationally early on.
The coaches also have ESPN 300 corner Marcelles Williams, safety Marquis Gallegos and linebacker Elijah Newby. It’s a good start, but Riley is going to need more to add to the defense to get it turned around quickly. — Craig Haubert and Tom VanHaaren
Nothing is a lock in the recruiting world, but it seems it will be very difficult to stop Georgia from going wire-to-wire with the No. 1 class for the 2024 cycle. The Bulldogs set a tone early by landing No. 1 CB Ellis Robinson IV on signing day last February. Since then, they have continued to build this class with some of the top prospects in the nation and address needs.
Preparing for life without elite TE Brock Bowers, the Bulldogs have two in this class that complement each other well. Jaden Reddell can be a vertical threat, and Colton Heinrich can aid the run game as an aggressive blocker. In a down cycle at the offensive line position, UGA landed four ESPN 300 linemen. On defense, in addition to Robinson, the Bulldogs are adding one of the fastest linebackers in this class in Justin Williams and defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, who has a high ceiling for development with his strength, body control, agility and ability to take coaching well.
