National Signing Day 2015: Top Rumors and Predictions for Key Recruits

The day that college football fans have longed for is nearly upon us. National signing day is, in a sense, free agency for each program. Coaches take on the task of trying to replenish their rosters for the short- and long-term future, hoping the players who sign a letter of intent will lead their program to a national title.

Even though the process of building a program is long, all it takes is one great recruiting class to turn a program's fortunes around. While several of this year's top recruits have already announced their intentions, February 4 will be a free for all.

Players have taken to the spotlight, often calling press conferences with hats of their interested programs sitting on a table to build the suspense. The answers won't be provided for a couple of days, but here is our best effort to ruin some of the drama with rumors and predictions for key names still deciding where to play football.

Martez Ivey, OT, Apopka (Florida)

The nation's No. 2 recruit, Martez Ivey, has been toying with SEC fans for a long time. He was set to make a decision at the Army All-American Game, at least that's what he told Cam Smith of USA Today:

“I think I’m going to make it, I’m pretty sure I’m going to make it,” Ivey said. “I’m going to make it. It’s sitting there. I’ve got something in mind that I want to do.”

The showcase game came and went with Ivey not making his decision, leaving his top two schools (Florida and Auburn) hanging like the awkward guy in high school waiting for a high-five. The Florida prep star told Andrew Spivey of GatorCountry,com that the two programs were neck and neck:

“Right now I would say I’m 50/50 between Florida and Auburn,” Ivey said. “I’m done with visits because I’m going on a cruise next weekend to the Bahamas. It kind of worked out so that I can take a break from everything but it wasn’t planned like that.”

Less than three weeks ago, Justin Hokanson of 247Sports reported that Auburn seems to have the edge over Florida:

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After all of these developments, one source that spent some time with Ivey at the Army Bowl thought it would be Auburn in the end, citing Ivey’s teammate in Chandler Cox, saying he believed the blue-chipper would go play with his 'brother.' At the Top Gun camp this summer in Dublin, Ohio, players that hung out with Ivey thought it would be the Tigers in the end.

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Ivey told Derek Tyson of ESPN on January 28 that he was going on a vacation before national signing day, and he "used to go back and forth with (the decision) sometimes but I don't know I made up my mind a while ago."

Unless new Florida coach Jim McElwain can figure out a way to woo Ivey in the next few days, there's no reason to think that Auburn will end up coming in second this time.

Matt Hayes of SportingNews.com has said that the success Florida and Auburn have this recruiting season could come down to Will Muschamp versus Jim McElwain:

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Three elite, five-star players — DE Byron Cowart (2015 Rivals No.1 overall recruit), DE CeCe Jefferson and OT Martez Ivey — were all locks for the Gators when Muschamp was coach. Now all three could come down to Florida vs. Auburn.

Or to put it another way: Muschamp vs. McElwain. And the only loser can be Florida.

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The Tigers may not have the home-field advantage, but they do provide a recent history of developing NFL-caliber tackles (Greg Robinson) and an ace in the hole named Chandler Cox.

Prediction: Ivey goes to Auburn

Byron Cowart, DE, Armwood (Florida)

Another Florida prep player still debating where to attend, Byron Cowart also seems likely to decide between Florida and Auburn. Like Ivey, the Tigers would seem to have an edge.

JC Shurburtt of 247Sports wrote that Cowart's arguably the hottest commodity on national signing day because of his ability to play right away:

"As for Cowart, the physically-ready-to-play pass rushing five star has been trending toward Auburn in recent weeks," Shurburtt wrote. "The Tigers need pass rushers that can play right away and Cowart is as ready as any high school prospect in the country."

A problem for Florida is Cowart was recruited by Will Muschamp, who took over as Auburn's defensive coordinator after the Gators fired him.

There was some controversy when Cowart cut his January 30 meeting with Florida short, but he tried to set the record straight on Twitter, as detailed by Safid Deen of the Tallahassee Democrat.

Whatever the case may be, when you consider that the first coach who recruited Cowart to Florida is sitting in Auburn's office right now, the Tigers have to be the front-runner. Cowart will get the chance to play right away for a program that seems closer to winning a national championship.

For the record, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports cites Scout.com's Jamie Newberg as saying that the Tigers have the advantage:

"Again, Muschamp's old school and his new one are in a heated battle, but don't underestimate FSU either," Feldman wrote. "Newberg, though, calls Auburn the team to beat for Cowart."

Granted, Auburn will have to figure out how to replace key offensive stars like Nick Marshall, Sammie Coates and Cameron Artis-Payne, but Gus Malzahn has done a masterful job of loading up talent on both sides of the ball in recent years.

Cowart will be the latest addition to the roster.

Prediction: Cowart goes to Auburn

CeCe Jefferson, DE, Baker County Senior (Florida)

A nice consolation prize for teams in the market for a defensive end who don't land Cowart is another Florida star, CeCe Jefferson.

In typical teenager fashion, Jefferson's recruiting has gone through many ebbs and flows with which school is apparently leading.

At the U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the end of December, Barton Simmons of 247Sports noted that Florida was fading from the top spot and got confirmation from the young man himself:

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Ole Miss, I would say Ole Miss is my top school right now. Ole Miss is great man. Coach (Hugh) Freeze, what he has going is amazing. I took my official when they played Bama and it was like no other. They treated me well. The program's great. The guys are great and I just know if I go there I'll get taken care of and they'll get me prepared for the next level and I'll get a great education. And plus I know Coach Freeze is going to be there for a while, great stability.

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Ben Garrett of Ole Miss Spirit, via Scout.com, wrote that this past weekend was going to be the most important for Mississippi's 2015 recruiting class, though he also added that another program mentioned many times throughout this article seems to be gaining traction:

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He named Ole Miss his leader Dec. 30. In the weeks that have followed, however, Auburn has emerged as a real threat to land him due to his longstanding relationship with Will Muschamp. Muschamp, if you remember, was only recently fired as head coach at Florida. Auburn swooped in and landed him as its defensive coordinator in mid-December, and he went to work almost immediately on bringing Jefferson aboard.

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Alabama seemed to be making a late push for Jefferson, as the photo below from his Twitter feed (h/t BamaOnline) suggests:

If Auburn comes out of this recruiting period with Jefferson, Cowart and Ivey, Malzahn should have a bronze statue erected in front of Jordan-Hare Stadium. 247Sports has Florida listed as the favorite on its crystal ball projections at 63 percent, with Ole Miss second at 32.

It doesn't seem likely that the Tigers will get three of the top seven players just because those kinds of things don't happen. Jefferson may be playing possum just to build up suspense, but reading the tea leaves, all signs still point to Mississippi being the favorite.

Prediction: Jefferson goes to Ole Miss

Recruiting information via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.