Predicting national signing day
USC will clean up
The West is where most of the major headlines on signing day will occur, with four of the top eight players on the West Coast still on the board, including five-star cornerback
Adoree' Jackson(Gardena, Calif./Serra), No. 3 athlete
Juju Smith (Long Beach, Calif./Poly) and No. 4 guard
Damien Mama (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco). Heading into the final few hours before signing day, USC is in very good position with all three prospects, and I project the Trojans will land all of them, pushing them into the top 20 of the class rankings. Even if they miss on any combination of the three, the job new coach Steve Sarkisian has done down the stretch proved to a lot of observers that USC will be a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12. Mama announces at 11 a.m. ET, Jackson at 2 p.m. and Smith at 4 p.m. -- all live on ESPNU.
Evans will shock with his pick
My head tells me I'm going to regret making his prediction, because history tells me Auburn doesn't lose these types of battles for guys in its backyard. But I'm going to predict Alabama lands No. 2 outside linebacker
Rashaan Evans. I know that bucks virtually every projection out there, and my head tells me the Tigers are the right pick, but with the way former five-star recruit and current Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster has been hanging out with his former Auburn (Ala.) High School teammate, you can't diminish the Tide's chances. At this point, Alabama and Auburn coaches aren't sure which way Evans is leaning, and both staffs pulled out all the stops by attending Evans' grandfather's 80th birthday party on Saturday night at a hotel in Auburn. Something just tells me Alabama has a better chance than most people think.
Big Game Bob comes up big
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was asked shortly after the Allstate Sugar Bowl how the victory over Alabama would help on the recruiting trail, and he said it would provide the Sooners "a big boost." He was right. They have surged down the home stretch and it will continue on signing day. Oklahoma will land the No. 75 player in the ESPN 300 and No. 9 athlete,
Michiah Quick (Fresno, Calif./Central East), and No. 139 player and No. 9 safety
Steven Parker II(Jenks, Okla./Jenks). The Sooners also are in good shape with three-star offensive tackle
Kenyon Frison (West Valley, Utah/Granger), and if they reel him in, they could end up with the best class in the Big 12. Heading into signing day, the Sooners are just two spots behind Texas at No. 16 in the class rankings.
Petersen proves he can close in Pac-12
New Washington coach Chris Petersen raised a lot of eyebrows when he told a local radio station late last week he anticipated this class would "finish strong." After he was hired, many Huskies fans were worried Petersen and his staff wouldn't be able to recruit with the big boys of the Pac-12, as a number of top targets were on the brink of heading elsewhere. But Petersen got to work right away, and all signs now point toward Washington closing as strongly as anybody in the conference. The Huskies will land
Bishard Baker, the No. 7 safety out of Bellevue (Wash.) High, and they could also get about five more players on Wednesday. Getting Baker, who at one point seemed like a lock for UCLA, would be a huge get for Petersen because he's a Seattle guy, and it would mean he protected his home turf against a very good UCLA recruiting staff.
Smith plays it close to vest
Few recruits have kept people in suspense like
Braden Smith, the four-star offensive guard from Olathe (Kan.) South. Smith, the No. 9 offensive guard, hasn't kept people in the dark on purpose. It's not his style to give detailed reports on his top schools, so there is certainly some mystery about whom he signs with Wednesday. The projection here is that Smith signs with Auburn, picking it over TCU and Texas A&M. Smith and his family have talked to Auburn's track coaches about allowing his sister, Megan, to use their facilities after she graduates from TCU in preparation for international competitions in the shot put and discus. In the end, that -- and playing for a school that has immediate holes to fill along the offensive line -- will make the difference.
Florida State pulls off at least one shocker
With great recruiters like Jimbo Fisher and Tim Brewster leading the way and the Seminoles red-hot after winning the national championship, Florida State is primed to make some major noise on signing day. It's almost a given the Noles will land
Ermon Lane, the nation's No. 2 receiver out of Homestead (Fla.) High, so that's really not a shocker. The Noles are on the final lists of No. 1 receiver
Malachi Dupre (River Ridge, La./John Curtis) and No. 6 defensive end
Chad Thomas(Miami/Booker T. Washington), though, and conventional wisdom says Dupre signs with LSU and Thomas sticks with Miami. But don't rule out something big happening with either. The most obvious candidate to flip is four-star athlete
Ja'Von Harrison (Lakeland, Fla./Kathleen). Harrison has been a longtime Virginia Tech commitment, but it's always hard for out-of-state schools to hold on to commits when an in-state team like Florida State makes a push before signing day. Don't rule out FSU with
Malik McDowell, the No. 5 defensive tackle from Detroit Loyola, either.
peppers and a bunch of whatevers
@us losing McDowell and Hand. We have some sleepers that we picked up but still