ACC Spotlight: Previewing National Signing Day
National Signing Day is next week, and there are still plenty of critical recruiting storylines that have yet to be concluded. Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia, Jr. examines the biggest questions in the ACC.
MIAMI WILL SIGN THE TOP ACC CLASS BUT HOW WELL WILL IT CLOSE?
Miami has owned ACC recruiting under Mario Cristobal, as the head Hurricane looks to lock in a third-straight top-10 class nationally. The program sits at No. 7 in the country going into the final week of the cycle and, as per usual, Miami is expected to push for several late flips for recruits currently committed to other programs.
Several of the candidates are Floridians, from a pair of Ohio State recruits in defensive lineman Jarquez Carter and linebacker Tarvos Alford, wide receivers Dallas Wilson (Oregon), Jaime Ffrench (Texas), Vernell Brown III (Florida) and Tyler Williams (Georgia) are each sky high on the Hurricane board, and any one of those would be considered a monumental win.
From the conventional path, linebacker could be an interesting spot to track for Miami. Programs remain after longtime commitment Gavin Nix, yet Miami has continued to court the position after losing out on the commitment of Elijah Melendez, who flipped to Auburn early this fall. Uncommitted in-state riser Kellen Wiley Jr. is worth watching for Miami and several others down the stretch.
Flip season of course will affect the entire conference. Perennial power Clemson is working on doing so at the quarterback position just as NC State is working for as much at wide receiver after losing a pair of verbal pledges to others. Georgia Tech, up to second in the conference after securing the flip of local star Jordan Allen from Louisville on Monday, is the hottest program in the league after also changing the allegiance of top-100 recruit Tae Harris from ACC foe Clemson over the weekend.
HOW FAR WILL FLORIDA STATE FALL?
Not only is Florida State‘s rival Miami the ACC’s top program on the field, it’s also dominating on the trail. But it’s the other in-state rival, Florida, that continues to poach the Seminoles’ commitments in the process and it has led to a fall outside of the top 40 nationally – with limited signs of life in the final week of the cycle. Two Seminole commitments have jumped into the Gators’ class and two more, including five-star offensive lineman Solomon Thomas, are considering making the same jump over the coming days.
It’s not just the in-state rivals that are taking advantage of the two-win campaign for Mike Norvell and company. The bulk of the current 13-man class, which is already third-lowest in the ACC, is under siege from others. South Carolina looks like a threat to defensive lineman Kevin Wynn, Georgia Tech’s flip game could pivot to offensive lineman Peyton Joseph and both Mississippi SEC programs will have a hat on the table for blocker Mario Nash before all is said and done.
Of course the flips work both ways, even when expectations are low. FSU did win out for quarterback Kevin Sperry, who flipped from Oklahoma and could potentially help peer recruit for a late rally under Norvell. Arkansas linebacker commitment Tavion Wallace and Florida pass catcher pledge Tae’shaun Gelsey are on flip watch for FSU after taking late trips to Tallahassee.
Even with an even draw on wins and losses the rest of the way, FSU sitting with the ninth-best class in the ACC is hard to fathom.
NEWCOMERS SPAN THE CONFERENCE SPECTRUM
As one may have expected, the new tenants in ACC country are all over the map in the recruiting rankings with about a week to go. SMU, ahead of playing in the ACC title game itself, sits third in the bigger version of the conference, led by 23 verbal commitments and a quartet of blue-chippers among them. Stanford, which has been much more up and down on the field in 2024, has a similar stance on the trail in sitting at No. 8 in the ACC. Cal, at No. 15, has one of the smaller classes in the conference at just 14 verbal commitments – and only one four-star recruit.
The geographical advantages of ACC country haven’t yet jumped off the page for Cal, which does not hold a pledge east of Texas. Stanford has long relied on a national footprint to bring in talent, but only two come from the conference footprint. SMU, which of course holds the bulk of its talent from the Lone Star State, does boast a handful of pledges from ACC country including a pair from Florida at IMG Academy. The success of the Mustangs under Rhett Lashlee, especially with the title game and a potential playoff spot in front of it, could help to expand the recruiting footprint in the years to come.
