SEC National Signing Day winners and losers
See, I told you National Signing Day would still be eventful.
Hopefully you followed along for all the flips, viral comments and moments here on SDS.
But hey, if you didn’t, I’ve got good news for you. I wrote about the SEC winners and losers from Wednesday!
Keep in mind that I can’t see into the future. This is strictly about whether teams had positive or negative days based on who they were targeting.
So let’s speculate wildly!
WINNERS
Georgia
This sequence is pretty much par for the course with Georgia these days. The No. 1 receiver in the 2019 class, Jadon Haselwood, came out and said he thought the Georgia coaching staff was “fake” after dropping his commitment. Haselwood tried to walk the comment back, but clearly, it wasn’t the best look for the Dawgs.
So how did Kirby Smart respond? By going out and landing a different 5-star receiver on Wednesday.
Even better, he stole a longtime Auburn commit … who’s the No. 1 recruit from the state of Alabama. Auburn players/fans weren’t too happy about that (I’ll get to that later).
Getting George Pickens after losing the commitment from Haselwood and with Riley Ridley, Mecole Hardman and Terry Godwin off to the NFL is huge. That had to be a major selling point for Smart, who continued his trend of providing at least 1 signing day surprise.
Georgia didn’t have a perfect day because it watched Auburn get a commitment from Mark-Antony Richards, but still. Pickens was the top remaining target for the Dawgs, and they got him. That’s a big-time win, especially when many spend the last month wondering if Smart was losing a step.
Florida
I don’t want to assume anything, but I do want to assume that newly-signed 4-star cornerback Kaiir Elam is Florida fans’ new favorite player.
Great crootin day for the Gators. After flipping Khris Bogle from Bama this morning, Florida adds top 50 commit Kaiir Elam (who intentionally or unintentionally hits UGA with a subtle pump fake) #NSD19 pic.twitter.com/EJiWjB7Gb3
— Marc Whiteman (@MarcWhiteman) February 6, 2019
Savage.
To troll Georgia like that is one thing. But to do so after the battle that ensued to land the top-rated unsigned defensive back is another thing. This was weeks removed from Georgia stealing Florida defensive backs coach Charlton Warren in the midst of Elam taking an official visit to Athens. For the Gators to still land the North Palm Beach (Fla.) cornerback was a major in-state victory for Dan Mullen.
In addition to Elam, the Gators kicked off the day by getting Alabama commit Khris Bogle to flip. The 4-star defensive end continued Mullen’s strong finish to closing in the Sunshine State.
The fact that the Gators wound up with a Top 10 class in Mullen’s first full cycle is a promising sign after the year that was.
Ole Miss
Six weeks ago, I had Ole Miss as one of my National Signing Day losers. Heading into Wednesday, there was a possibility that was going to continue, especially if they lost both Jonathan Mingo and Jerrion Ealy.
Yeah, about that.
The Rebels/Landsharks could make a good case to be the SEC winners of Wednesday after getting both to sign, as well as flipping Tennessee commit LeDarrius Cox. That was 2 days after Ole Miss flipped 4-star Georgia quarterback commit John Rhys Plumlee.
Ealy was the major victory of the day. He dropped his Ole Miss commitment after going off in the Under Armour All-America Game, and it looked like Clemson was the new favorite. But despite late pushes from Clemson, Alabama and Mississippi State, Ealy went back to Ole Miss because “it felt like family.”
Now, of course, Ole Miss has 4 months to convince Ealy that playing college football and baseball is better than becoming an instant millionaire and playing minor league baseball.
That might be Matt Luke’s biggest victory yet if that can happen.
Tennessee
Have a day, Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee went after 3 of the top remaining unsigned recruits on Wednesday. One came to campus for an official visit just before Wednesday (Pickens) and ultimately picked Georgia. But the other 2? They both turned down Alabama for Tennessee.
The Vols got commitments from longtime Alabama lean and 4-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o and 5-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright. That’s a pair of Top 50 recruits that Pruitt closed with, both of whom will have a chance to play immediately.
It was especially important that the Vols got help up front with all the offensive line issues they had last year. Adding a pair of 5-star offensive linemen is something that the likes of Alabama and Georgia would do, not a team that missed the postseason in consecutive years.
Tennessee fans have to be feeling ecstatic about the offseason that Pruitt had. Not only did he fill some immediate needs, but he also added Jim Chaney and Tee Martin to the staff.
The Vols hype train is off and running.
LOSERS
Auburn
I realize Auburn fans are gonna crush me for this, so let me start with the good stuff.
Four-star Mark-Antony Richards picked the Tigers over Florida and Georgia. That’s a Top 100 recruit who could provide an immediate shot in the arm to Auburn’s suddenly lackluster rushing attack. Surely new Auburn running backs coach Cadillac Williams liked that news.
The other good news was that former Mississippi State commit and LSU target Charles Moore also picked the Tigers. What was weird was what he said his reasoning was for picking Auburn over LSU.
“…If I was to go to LSU, me being the person that I am, I probably could have got in trouble or something could have came up. Things could’ve just happened. I actually feel like Auburn is where my blessing is.”
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) February 6, 2019
I realize that adding Moore is a nice win for Auburn, and I’m not here to hate on that. But it’s not exactly a great public look for a kid to say, “well, I would’ve had more fun at the other school so I went to the place that had nothing else to offer but football.” Like, Auburn’s marketing department isn’t going to put that quote on a tweet to try and sell recruits.
You know what other tweets won’t make it to any graphics anytime soon? The tweets that Auburn players fired off when Pickens flipped to Georgia:
That’s a petty look to tweet those things right after a kid announces his college choice. That’s every bit as bad as fans tweeting at recruits. Whether that’s true or not, to take this holier-than-thou approach is a bit strange.
That’s not saying Georgia cheats, and that’s not saying Georgia doesn’t. That’s not saying Auburn cheats, and that’s not saying Auburn doesn’t. It’s just saying that’s a sore loser thing to say publicly in that moment.
For what it’s worth, I already praised Malzahn for putting together a class this strong of a class amidst talk about his long-term future on The Plains. But does he wish Wednesday went a little better? I’m sure he does.
Kentucky
Before Kentucky fans get defensive, consider this. This season converted me into a full-fledged Mark Stoops believer and I will never, ever, ever pencil in his team for 5 wins again. That guy doesn’t need a bunch of 4-star recruits to win games, and he’s one of college football’s better coaches for that very reason.
But would he have liked to have gotten commitments from a pair of 4-star targets Wednesday? Absolutely. Instead, they both committed to LSU.
Four-star receiver Devonta Lee picked the Tigers after taking an official visit to Lexington in December. And even though Jay Ward was projected to end up at Kentucky in the 247sports.com crystal ball after taking his official visit to Lexington a couple weeks ago, he also picked LSU (I realize the 247sports composite doesn’t have Ward as a 4-star recruit, but 247sports’ rankings do).
That’s the battle Stoops is still fighting. Even in a breakthrough year when he wins 10 games, his program doesn’t have the history, NFL pedigree or atmosphere that LSU does. This is a key time in Stoops’ tenure to build off that 2018 season and elevate the program. That’s why they did things like buy billboards on Times Square.
Kentucky did land a talented cornerback out of Pennsylvania in MJ Devonshire, but Kentucky still missed out on having a banner day and finishing with a Top 30 class.
I can’t believe you said Kentucky was a loser in recruiting this year!
Let’snot forget our coaches the SEC coach of the year. We had a good team and that fantastic downsizing of seats to put in the recruitng deck should all be considered when wondering why high school players would skip Lexington to go to Starkville, Gainesville? Oxford etc.when they cod have played at Commo-, sorry KROGER FIELD.
So you should take that back about this recruiting class being a ‘loser’. (I heard Eddie Gran secretly turned down Bama’ OC position so he can continue to turn out to level quarterbacks at UK)
I wish you were an anomaly within our fanbase, but, sadly, you’re not. A few idiots, although you may be the biggest idiot of them all, that get to firmly cement us a basketball school with their pea-brain takes. Maybe you are just a troll, but I don’t have a mechanism to understand what solace you would get out of these ridiculous statements in that case. Freedom of speech, I get it. But I really hope no one reads your crap and thinks you represent anything greater than a handful of idiots.
I know we’regoingto be fine.We will lead up on JUCO players, and of course we have the recruiting deck to rely on. Don’t be such a wimp. The COY of the year and the 10 wins apparently was publicized in many areas. After we win the national championship this year things will be much better. Perk up.
Let me ask you a serious question.
Do you think if we actually had an athletic director that would go out and hire a search firm to fine the best available would effect the overall mindset of the fans?
He hired Brooks, while asking about someone else, and Brooks asking why not him? And then Brooks left allegedly broken promises from the AD.
Joker wasn’t given a chance. Period.
So just days after the regular season game with Tennessee, we have an assistant named our coach. I don’t know how many bowls there were that year but let’s say 39. That would mean there were 78 somewhat successful coaches, going to bowl games, might have been questioned to see if there was an interest in coming to Lexington and coach in the SEC. Do you REALLY think he contacted all of them? Half of them? Ten of them? Or any of them?
A winning coach, who could bring a staff, have a somewhat recruiting base, who could have MAYBE developed our program?
I do.
Seriously, do you think that might have happened?
ANYONE want to answer the question?
Why should we want a quality athletic programs at Kentucky?
We have a basketball coach who admits he is just as pleased putting players in the NBA as he would be winning a national championship.
Would what happen to Nick Saban if he said he would be just as happy putting players in the NFL as winning championships.
Has any one ever heard a coach say that other than Calipari?
I don’t think many if any , myself included, who buy season tickets to see players playing for their NBA status instead of winning championships.
Mid February is about the time the Cat players start performing for the NBA scouts and everything else is secondary.
BUT I should be talking about football.
I heard someone say that our quarterback is ranked third on the UK campus, just behind two guys on the basketball team, in throwing the bounce pass.
Nothing about this class from any perspective says FU is “closing the gap” on UGA, but that’s how it’s being spun and will be spun all year until the next beatdown in Jax this year and another Gators recruiting class that doesn’t sniff the top-5 and maybe not even the top-10.
How long has it been since FU signed a 5-star player again? But Dan Mullen sure does wear cool shoes!
Why would you stoop to the defensive level? Not a good look when you team just signed the number 2 class in the country.
It’s annoyance. Pure and simple. Annoyance with hot takes and “narrative” that has nothing to do with reality.
UF still has a good class. Not as good as UGA’s, but it’s a good class. This just adds to the rivalry.
You sure get annoyed easily!
Perception is reality, friendster.
Because Fla doesn’t need a class as good as UGA’s to beat them. A top 25 class, given the right coach, can beat a higher ranked team. App State is proof of that, outside of a top 25 class. It seems that the SEC represented well in recruiting. I’m excited to see what takes place over the off-season
Why you go and remind Georgia fan of the truth? Let them enjoy their 2 year “dynasty” in delusional peace.
Can’t spell Citrus without UT.
Very original. Do you even have a thought of your own. Can’t say arrogance or delusion without thinking UGA. Pre-season champs. If you think Florida isn’t closing the gap you are more delusional than most already think. Do you hear that? It’s UT closing the gap too.
FYI: Dan Mullen is like 1-12 against teams that Kirby Smart has been either Position Coach, DC or Head Coach. His only win was the 2008 SEC Championship Game when he was the OC for Florida. The two times they have played as head coaches. 28 point win and 19 point win. Just a little dose of reality for the UF fans..
But you can spell bowl without UT.
Can’t go 39 years without a NC unless you are Georgia.
I’d like to pet Ugga one day.
LSU finished with a top five class in every ranking I could find except ESPN. As I haven’t had any respect for them in years, I’ll gladly take that. The 24/7 composite has us at 5 and Rivals has LSU 3rd. We lost out on a couple of guys I would have liked, but I am still very happy with this class. Some serious immediate impact players to go along with a ton of returning starters. Should be another good season.
Orgeron and LSU finished strong with the top-5 class, and hardly anyone is talking about it. All the talk is about TAMU and FU, but they’re still far behind the three best teams in the SEC as to sit in a completely different tiers.
“Blah,blah, blah, I’m soooo mad they keep talking about the Gators and Aggies what about our 2 year “dynasty” ?
Who’s talking about Florida other than Florida???
Ummm, well……pretty much most sports reporting outlets, this one included. Also, I do believe that a person with a big “G” logo by their screen name was the one that brought up Florida in this comment thread…..so it would seem like a lot of people are, UGA fans included…..
Should be good season unless you lose by double digits to Bama again what is it now 8 years running?
An Auburn fan resting on Bama’s accomplishments. That’s funny stuff.
Show him the post were he admitted to being an Alabama fan. I’m sure you can pull it up as easily as the one you found where I admitted to being a Louisville fan.
You should be honored at being recognized as a charter member of the UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LIARS CLUB-FOOTBALL DIVISION.
(and you thought I was going to drop mentioning your lie?) Silly you.
What! You an alleged LSU FAN, and you haven’t had any respect for them in years? Go on and admit you’re a Bama fan.
MSU lost all the momentum they had over their primary rival in MSU, lost a football game to UK, and got manhandled by Iowa. The recruiting season was a bit of the same, although it appears they received the next great DT in their lineup.
“stop playing and drop that check everybody else doing it.” sure looks like the Auburn player has some reason to think everybody is getting paid. Everybody implies that he is getting paid at Auburn.
Who’s surprised by an Auburn player saying something like that? Nobody.
oh you have inside confirmation that he is getting paid? Sure you do lmao!
So you’re reasoning for Auburn being a “loser” on signing day is what a few 18-19 year kids said publicly and on twitter? Yeah that is pretty weak..
Missing out on Pickens was big but it isn’t like we don’t have depth with Williams, Schwartz, Stove, Hastings all back.
Suddenly lackluster running game? You mean pitiful OL play? You could’ve stuck Bo Jackson back there with the OL and he wouldn’t do much. It isn’t the running backs, I promise you.
It’s pretty stupid to say they were a loser. I wouldn’t call it a banner day, but they definitely finished more out in front than where they started. Pickens has been treated as an uncommitted prospect for a long time. They signed 2 big time recruits at other positions and their WR position is pretty solid.
Yeah definitely not what we expected with Pickens but it is what it is. Don’t blame him. Better program right now with a proven QB and less depth.
To me the authors reasoning as to why Auburn was a “loser” was pathetic. It wasn’t even about the players.. it was about what kids said/tweeted.
I think all the shade thrown at Pickens is because he should have just decommited after he didn’t sign in December. The players were upset because he was telling them and the coaches as late as Sunday (when he made his decision) that he was still signing with Auburn. Also heard he told LSU and UT staff the same thing. It’s the games that people hate. Make a decision and be straight forward is all that people want.
Not sure how many other programs can go 4-8 and 5-7 and still pull a top recruiting class. Hopefully our coaches this time around can develop the talent.
Auburn went 3-9 in 12 and signed a top 10 class for 13. It is the beast of the SEC, most all kids want to play in it
Then went 12-2 in 13. Lord, I hope we follow that schematic
Just don’t keep following our path lol it leads to mediocrity
Rivals has the Hogs with the #20 recruiting class in the Nation.
With a first year coach that only won 2 games last season to land a class like that , I would say it is a winner !! Connor…….come on man !!!
This is only talking about today, not overall.
Did ya see that you are a charter member of the UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LIARS CLUB-FOOTBALL DIVISION? You and the Matt guy are in so far but I’m sure you will have other members soon. Wants know how to be removed?. Just admit you lied about seeing a post, I never posted, about saying I was a Louisville fan. But, hey, enjoy you new status in the UKLC-FD! (And you thoughtI had forgot about you).
Sounds exactly like something a Louisville fan would say
Vol, do you really want to just in? Your team, probably the worst in the SEC last year beat Kentucky.
Would you like to run down your success over the last few years?
I have admiration for Tennessee football. Their history, the win streaks over our team.
I guess you need a new team to follow.
I bet your really a Vanderbilt fan.
Clickbait down south strikes again
I’m not surprised by your article…you’ve never written anything but negative garbage about Auburn. You should really check yourself when you start slamming a University in one sentence for fans being critical of a kid’s decision and a couple of lines lower roast another kid for choosing that same school. It’s hypocritical and juvenile. You’re either trying be like Finebaum or still angry about not getting accepted into Auburn.
Colin is butt-hurt from being called out by AU fans so many times for the nonsense he spews. He is totally predictable.
Kair will be 0-4 against UGA….sorry guy.
maybe, maybe not.
UK can’t get off the ground in recruiting because the media creates a BS perception about the football program, but yet builds programs like Ark, SC, and Mizzou up.
Y’all wanna constantly show programs like SC love despite being extremely mediocre for several years now, and kids like the media love because they think that’ll get them noticed.
I dunno, maybe I’m wrong, but as a UK fan, it’s frustrating seeing this crap year in and year out when your program beats these programs that the media want to show love to but not to yours.
Who do we beat year in and year out besides Vanderbilt and South Carolina?
The Lexington Herald is a pep rally for the Cats.
Didn’t the writers vote ‘our version of Stoops’ SEC Coach of the Year?
Bill boards in New York City and a Super Bowl ad.
And all of this can’t get us a recruiting class higher than 12th in the conference.
We had a good year.
Next year to show we’re ready for the ‘big time’ we open with TWO schools from the Mid American Conference.
I don’t believe the media had anything to do with that.
Kentucky does not get the love from the media. Make no mistake about it this is another solid class for Stoops
Do not listen to the toxic liar bitter old man Paris. Paris is a Louisville fan who likes to troll KY fan
Did someone hear a fart in
the room?
Someone call Seven’s momma so she can put him back in the basementI’ll play.
So what did I lie about in the above post?
You lied in the last post about being a Kentucky Fan, your post has a UK aviator which clearly states you are a KY fan. Fans do not trash their team by skewing/lying/insulting their team
You are lying with every negative post about Kentucky
Is that the best you’ve got?!?
Maybe I like many other Kentucky fans that think we have an athletic director who treats UK football like a red headed step child. You know the guy who refuses to hire a search firm to get the best available coach. You know, the guy who tore down part of the stadium to make it look more crowded. Ain’tthat recruiting deck done wonders for us? You don’tknow crap about UK football but most on here don’t. Don’t you want to comment on my bathroom habits, dementia, alcoholism etc.? How about more comments my wife? You’re a pi-s poor cheerleader and aren’t worth responding to. Got the point?
You asked for a lie and I gave you a big lie old man