Lincoln Riley and USC are closing in on the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation. Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images
Did you like the drama from the coaching carousel over the weekend? Well, it's time for some more fun this week: The early signing period begins on Wednesday.
Although recruits can -- and some still will -- sign in February, the December signing period has become the de facto date for the vast majority of prospects who are increasingly enrolling early.
This cycle has already had its fair share of flips, but don't be surprised if there is more drama this week.
With that in mind, consider this your signing day primer -- everything you need to know heading into Wednesday.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
* We had some early fireworks on Monday, when five-star Auburn commit Bralan Womack, the top safety in the country and the No. 2 player in Mississippi, flipped from Auburn to Mississippi State in a massive victory for coach Jeff Lebby and his staff. Womack first committed to Auburn in August but has been publicly frustrated with the Tigers and didn't seem all that excited about the Tigers hiring Alex Golesh on Sunday. Texas A&M was also on him, but maybe Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor knew what was going on all along. Assuming he makes it official this week, Womack will be the program's seventh-highest-rated signee of the modern recruiting era.
* Four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone, who decommitted from Auburn on Monday, holds a random recruiting distinction: All three schools he has been committed to (and decommitted from) fired their coach in 2025. Falzone first committed to Virginia Tech in June 2024, then decommitted in November 2024. He then committed to Penn State in April but flipped to Auburn in June. Now he's back on the market again. He is the nation's No. 306 prospect and No. 20 quarterback. Here's hoping his next decision can stick.
* USC has had the nation's top class for most of this cycle, and the Trojans are hoping to fend off Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame to keep it that way. Coach Lincoln Riley has 34 recruits in this class, including seven top-100 prospects and 21 blue-chippers. Five-star tight end Mark Bowman out of perennial powerhouse Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., headlines the group and is set to become the Trojans' highest-rated tight end recruit of the modern era. With 19 prospects from California, Riley did a nice job prioritizing in-state talent while also picking up three recruits from Texas and two from Florida. Four-star quarterback Jonas Williams is an Illinois native who was originally committed to Oregon.
* Don't look now, but Vanderbilt might pull off the biggest flip of this cycle and score its biggest recruiting win in school history. Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, the nation's top prospect, has been committed to Georgia since May, when he rejoined Kirby Smart's class after initially decommitting in October 2024. But Vanderbilt has steadily been working on Curtis, a Nashville native who paid the Commodores a visit for their Oct. 25 matchup against Missouri.
Comedian and Vanderbilt superfan Nate Bargatze has even gotten in on the fun, publicly pitching Curtis to join the Commodores when he was a guest picker on ESPN's "College GameDay." So far, Curtis hasn't decommitted from the Bulldogs, but he's been to Vanderbilt practice, and several national analysts are predicting he will sign with the Commodores this week. On Monday, he announced he is moving his signing ceremony from Friday to Wednesday.
* Sticking with top recruits, new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin made a smart early move Sunday night when he arrived in Baton Rouge and immediately connected with five-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown. Brown, a Baton Rouge native and the nation's No. 2 prospect, has been committed to the Tigers since July and was almost certainly going to sign with the hometown team regardless of who was named head coach. But in meeting up with Brown as soon as he landed (and making sure to snap public photos with him), Kiffin signaled to the LSU fan base that recruiting is important to him and he understands that he needs to prioritize Louisiana prospects. The Tigers have the nation's No. 12 class, headlined by two in-state five-stars in Brown and defensive lineman Richard Anderson out of New Orleans.
* James Franklin to Virginia Tech was always going to make sense, especially from a recruiting standpoint, and to no one's surprise, Franklin has already gone to work in building the Hokies back up. The former Penn State coach landed three commitments on Monday -- four-star quarterback Troy Huhn (originally a Penn State commit), four-star offensive tackle Thomas Wilder (a Virginia native who decommitted from Virginia Tech after Brent Pry was fired in September) and three-star edge Garrett Witherington (who flipped from Kentucky). Franklin also landed two commitments last week from two other former Penn State commits in four-star athlete Messiah Mickens out of Harrisburg, Pa., and four-star tight end Pierce Petersohn out of Dodge Center, Minn. Mickens, Huhn, Petersohn and Wilder are now the four highest-rated players in the Hokies' class.
* Wednesday should be a historic day for Houston, which is expected to sign its highest-rated recruit in program history in five-star quarterback Keisean Henderson. Henderson, who is from nearby Spring, Texas, has been locked in with the Cougars since he committed in May 2024 and publicly shut down his recruitment in June. He is a bona fide star -- having thrown for 3,880 yards and 45 touchdowns as a high school senior -- and will join Ed Oliver as the only five stars to sign with Houston in the modern era. Henderson is the nation's No. 3 prospect and No. 2 quarterback, behind only Curtis.
* Speaking of big moments for Texas schools, how about Texas Tech? There might not be a better one-two punch nationally than the Red Raiders landing five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo out of Mansfield, Texas, and five-star edge LaDamion Guyton out of Savannah, Ga. Ojo is the nation's No. 13 prospect, while Guyton is No. 15. Together, they headline a Texas Tech class that currently ranks No. 19 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12. With a College Football Playoff berth just around the corner and the Red Raiders investing in this era of college football, things continue to heat up in Lubbock.
* Kalen DeBoer's ability to recruit was a big question when he took over at Alabama last year, especially considering he had no ties to the Southeast. Well, so far so good. After finishing with the nation's No. 3 class a year ago, the Crimson Tide once again are ranked No. 3 heading into Wednesday and have been particularly effective in Georgia (seven recruits) and Alabama (five recruits). Three of the top six players in Georgia are Alabama-bound in five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin, five-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds and four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Matthews. Five-star running back Ezavier Crowell, a Jackson, Ala., native, is one of the most explosive running backs in the country and is the top player in the state.
* Keep your eye on four-star quarterback Matt Ponatoski out of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati. Ponatoski, a dual-sport athlete who also plays baseball, is the nation's No. 188 prospect and No. 13 quarterback. He committed to Kentucky in July but recently said he would not sign this week, following the dismissal of coach Mark Stoops. Will that change now that Will Stein, the former offensive coordinator at Oregon, has been named head coach at UK? Stay tuned.
* Jon Sumrall is going to be a very busy man this week, between preparing his Tulane team for an AAC Championship Game against North Texas with a College Football Playoff spot on the line and starting his duties as Florida's head coach. Lucky for Sumrall, he's inheriting a class with plenty of talent. Florida's class currently ranks No. 13 nationally, with an average player rating of 91.24. Four-star quarterback Will Griffin is a Tampa native who dreamed of playing at Florida and has been locked in since his June 2024 commitment. The Gators have no five-stars, but 14 of their 19 commits are four-stars.
* After signing more recruits out of Connecticut (four) than any other state last year, Notre Dame went south this cycle, and it paid off in a major way. The Fighting Irish have four commits each from Florida, North Carolina and Texas, including the class's top recruit, five-star running back Rodney Dunham out of Charlotte, N.C. Marcus Freeman also picked up the top player in Kansas and the No. 2 tight end nationally in Ian Premer, and he rounded out his five-stars with cornerback Khary Adams out of Maryland and safety Joey O'Brien out of Pennsylvania. If all goes as planned, the Fighting Irish will take a noticeable jump in average player rating, from 91.02 with the Class of 2025 to (currently) 92.67 with the Class of 2026.
* It's still only Arch Manning's first year as Texas' starting quarterback, but the Longhorns already have his potential successor in place. Five-star quarterback Dia Bell was the Elite 11 MVP in June and was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in high school football this season before an "unexpected, minor procedure" sidelined him in mid-September for the rest of the year. Bell is one of three five-star commits for the Longhorns, who have the nation's No. 7 class but struggled a bit in-state with only one of the top 10 players from Texas in their class.
* Last but not least, let's check in on the defending champs. Ohio State has just one five-star in this class (wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., assuming he sticks), compared to three in last year's class, but the Buckeyes still have the nation's No. 6 class with an average player rating of 92.07 (fifth nationally). They have one quarterback in the class, three-star prospect Luke Fahey. Does Ryan Day see something special in Fahey, or will the California native simply provide some depth over the next few years? Nevertheless, Day and the Buckeyes continue to roll with three top-50 prospects, six top-100 players and 20 blue-chippers.