Early National Signing Day 2022: Dates, Announcement Schedules and Latest Rumors

The holiday season is upon us, with college football giving its fans a special gift when early national signing day begins on Dec. 21.

The three-day signing period gives schools an opportunity to start solidifying their 2023 recruiting class, as well as hope their pitches to players who are either on the fence or decommitted from another program pay off.

A number of the best players in the 2023 class are already off the board. Fourteen of the top 15 players in 247Sports' composite rankings have committed, led by Texas landing Arch Manning.

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2022 Early National Signing Day Announcement Schedule

Damon Wilson (5-star Edge): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

James Smith (5-star DL): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Anthony Hill (5-star LB): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Qua Russaw (5-star Edge): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Jordan Hall (5-star DL): Dec. 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET

Desmond Ricks (5-star CB): Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET

Announcement schedule and recruit rankings via 247Sports.com.

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Preview

What once seemed like a fairly standard recruiting season was shaken up on Dec. 4 when Deion Sanders was named head coach at the University of Colorado.

Even though a two-week timeframe would seem too short in recruiting, the Buffaloes seem poised to make a lot of noise.

Dylan Edwards, a 4-star running back who verbally committed to Notre Dame in August, opened up his recruiting on Dec. 8. He gave Sanders and Colorado a commitment two days later.

Sanders hasn't been shy about using social media in an attempt to land recruits, both those committing out of high school and anyone entering the transfer portal:

Malachi Coleman, a 4-star athlete and No. 63 overall prospect on 247Sports' rankings, has long been regarded as a safe bet to end up at Nebraska. He is from Lincoln and attends high school at Lincoln East.

On Dec. 1, Coleman announced he was decommitting from the Cornhuskers and opening up his recruiting. He tweeted on Tuesday he was taking an official visit to Colorado this weekend after previously scheduling a trip to Michigan.

While it remains to be seen just how much of an impact Sanders can make right out of the gate at Colorado, the top of the recruiting rankings are once again shaping to be a battle of SEC superpowers.

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Alabama has the No. 1 class with 25 total commits. Safety Caleb Downs and edge Keon Keeley are the prize players, ranking in the top 10 among all players in the 2023 class.

Georgia is running second in the class rankings with 20 commits from players rated as 4-star recruits or better.

Despite losing Edwards to Colorado, Marcus Freeman is off to an excellent start in his first full recruiting cycle as Notre Dame's head coach. The Fighting Irish have 26 total commits, including 5-star safety Peyton Bowen and 21 4-star players.

A lot of things can—and probably will—change because high-school athletes can be difficult to read, but it's going to make for an interesting recruiting period.