Signing Day teams to watch: LSU, OU set for strong finishes
National Signing Day is less than 24 hours away. While a good portion of the Class of 2022 is already signed, there’s a crop of talented uncommitted prospects that has schools all across the country sitting on pins and needles waiting for decisions.
That being said, there’s a handful of schools that appear to be poised for strong finishes on Signing Day. On3 looks at the schools expected to have a good Wednesday.
LSU could have monster Signing Day
Nobody could have a bigger Signing Day than the LSU Tigers. The Tigers are trending in the right direction for a number of top unsigned prospects and waiting on decisions from several others.
The biggest name on the list for LSU is five-star linebacker Harold Perkins of Cypress (Texas) Cy Park. While Florida and Texas A&M are still contenders, On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons says all the intel is pointing in LSU’s direction.
It’s a similar situation for five-star safety Jacoby Mathews, who also appears to be a battle between Florida, Texas A&M and LSU. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine continues to trend in LSU’s direction for the coveted safety out of Ponchatoula, La.
Another name to watch with LSU is four-star running back Trevonte’ Citizen. The latest intel with Citizen is that LSU is right there along with Auburn, Florida and Miami. And don’t forget about coveted tight end Danny Lewis, who is expected to pick between LSU and Alabama, and cornerback Jaelyn Davis-Robinson. Four-star receiver Caleb Douglas is also on the board and will pick between Florida and LSU.
If things go the right way, LSU could quickly be in contention for a top-10 class. Heading into Signing Day, the Tigers have the No. 17 class, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rank.
On the flip side, if LSU somehow misses out on Perkins and Mathews, then the pressure to succeed in the 2023 class will be greatly amplified for Brian Kelly and Co.
Can Miami close on Signing Day?
Miami is another program to watch out for on Wednesday.
All eyes will be on the decision of Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Shemar Stewart of Opa Locka (Fla.) Monsignor Pace.
Stewart has the chance to stay close and be the hometown hero. But new coach Mario Cristobal has been working overtime the two-year-long relationship Stewart has with the A&M coaches.
If he comes, Miami’s No. 18 class will get an instant boost.
But there are others on the board for Miami, like Citizen, local four-star defensive lineman Ahmad Moten, three-star offensive lineman Anez Cooper and three-star offensive tackle Matthew McCoy that could make Miami one of the Signing Day winners.
Sooners should add top-10 class
While it’s expected that Oklahoma will miss out to rival Texas for five-star offensive lineman Devon Campbell, it still will be a good day for the Sooners.
Oklahoma will finally be able to welcome Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington and four-star cornerback Gentry Williams to the fold. Other schools made strong runs at him, including Jackson State, but he reaffirmed his pledge to the Sooners last week.
Former Oregon four-star defensive lineman commit Gracen Halton is expected to ink with the Sooners. The same can be said for former Florida three-star cornerback commit Jamarrien Burt.
And there are more positive signs that OU will land four-star Florida defensive lineman and Iowa State commitment R Mason Thomas.
The Sooners are also under consideration for Moten, but it appears that Miami is the team trending with him heading into Signing Day.
It will also be interesting to see if the Sooners officially announce four-star linebacker Jaren Kanak as part of the class. Remember, he was a longtime Clemson commitment but flipped his pledge and has already enrolled in classes in Norman.
Florida could have good day, too
As listed above with some of the other schools, the Gators are heavily involved with some of the top uncommitted prospects in the country. Should some of the guys go their way, Florida could skyrocket from the 30th ranked class to easily inside the top 25.
Perkins, Mathews, Citizen, Douglas, Lewis and McCoy are some of the names already mentioned that have UF on their shortlists. The intel says Citizen, Douglas and McCoy are the best bets out of that bunch.
But there are others, like three-star athlete Arlis Boardingham, that could quickly make Florida one of the winners on Wednesday.
Others that might do well
- Oregon’s class could get a boost with four-star running back Jordan James and four-star offensive tackle Dave Iuli. James is deciding between the Ducks and Florida. Luli was the focus of a late push by the Ducks, despite previously leaning toward Miami.
- Nebraska is another team to watch on Signing Day. That’s true with four-star receiver Janiran Bonner out of Georgia trending toward the Huskers on the eve of Signing Day. Four-star running back Ajay Allen is expected to be N. The two additions would be huge closes by the revamped Husker coaching staff.
- Clemson is in line to have a good Signing Day with potential additions from four-star defensive tackle Caden Story and four-star linebacker TJ Dudley out of Alabama. Three-star running back Andrew Paul is another that could make Clemson’s Signing Day special.