CFB Insider

National Signing Day 2021

The future is looking bright for college football.

An unprecedented year means an unprecedented signing day. While major announcements were a little more social distanced than normal, there was no shortage of drama over National Signing Day this week—but not necessarily the same type of drama that we’re used to seeing.

On top of the normal pressure facing high school hopefuls and recruiting coordinators this year, we saw two new factors affecting the 2021 recruiting class in a major way:

Virtual Recruiting: With limited to no campus visit opportunities, established coaching staffs had the edge over organizations with new faces. Not only were recruiting opportunities limited for these coaches to see players, we’re seeing that a virtual meet and greet truly does not hold the same weight as an in-person meeting. As a result, none of the organizations with a staff hired in 2020 (or later) broke the top 15 in recruiting class rankings after Wednesday.

The Transfer Portal: The new NCAA guidelines make it easier for players to enter the transfer portal this year, meaning the recruiting pool in these unprecedented times just got a whole lot more experienced. Data is still not complete for the year but it looks like we will see a couple hundred fewer high school players signing to scholarships at the FBS level in 2021.

So, with the limitations of last year, who won National Signing Day 2021? Check out the 2021 recruiting class ranks plus a few exciting new players to watch:

1. Alabama—We can’t wait to watch five-star running back Camar Wheaton, who signed yesterday, make his mark as a part of the Crimson Tide!

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. LSU

6. Texas A&M—The Aggies edged their rivals to secure four-star running back LJ Johnson yesterday and the rumor mill tells us that they will be adding a transfer in the No. 1 Junior college offensive tackle Jordan Moko on Friday.

7. Oregon

8. Notre Dame

9. USC

10. Michigan

11. Miami

12. Oklahoma

13. Ole Miss—the Rebels secured a steel in the highest ranked signee on Wednesday in Tywone Malone. We’re excited to see how this four-star DT makes an impact.

14. Florida

15. North Carolina

16. Texas—The Longhorns swooped up former Nortre Dame committed defensive lineman David Abiara who will arguably be poised to make an impact immediately upon arrival in Austin. We are also excited about our 2021 Mr. Texas Football winner and Texas commit Johnathan Brooks.

17. Maryland

18. Wisconsin

19. Washington

20. Arkansas—The Hogs didn’t add any new signees during this wave of commits, but were able to wrap up with a top 20 class in Sam Pittman’s first year.

21. Tennessee

22. Iowa

23. Nebraska

24. NC State

25. Penn State