National Signing Day 2015: Afternoon Announcement Schedule and Predictions

College football fans are falling over themselves trying to keep track of all the moves on national signing day. Some of the top recruits made their intentions known before Wednesday, but several have waited until Wednesday to grab the spotlight. 

Given the importance of this day to the future of every program in the country, it's no wonder fans want to keep up with the big happenings. This is the kind of day when social media sites such as Twitter come in handy. 

For some context about why it's important to succeed on this day, look at this stat from ESPN's Jeremy Crabtree about the last four national champions:

With that in mind, here's a look at the afternoon schedule for announcements and predictions about where the top recruits will go. 

Player	Rank (247Sports)	Time (ET)	Prediction
WR Damarkus Lodge	No. 43 overall	12 p.m.	Ole Miss
DT Daylon Mack	No. 14 overall	12:30 p.m.	Texas A&M
ATH Jordan Cronkrite	No. 16 athlete	1:15 p.m.	Florida
OLB Jeffery Holland	No. 8 outside linebacker	2 p.m.	Auburn
DT Rasheem Green	No. 23 overall	2:15 p.m.	USC
ILB John Houston	No. 49 overall	2:15 p.m.	USC
DE CeCe Jefferson	No. 7 overall	2:30 p.m.	Florida
S Arrington Farrar	No. 15 safety	3 p.m.	Stanford
TE Tyrone Wheatley Jr.	No. 12 tight end	3:15 p.m.	Michigan
CB Iman Marshall	No. 4 overall	4 p.m.	USC

Prediction: WR Damarkus Lodge to Ole Miss

Photo credit: 247Sports

The afternoon starts with a bang thanks to Damarkus Lodge, the 43rd-ranked player in this class. The Texas native has kept everyone in his home state in suspense, but the tea leaves seem to indicate he will be leaving the area. 

Christian Byrd of Rebel Sports Radio provided this note on Twitter about where Lodge didn't go last weekend before making his decision Wednesday:

Lodge didn't make the trip to Austin, but that didn't prevent Charlie Strong and his staff from making a last-ditch effort to get the star wideout. Colt Barber of 247Sports wrote on January 26 that seven Longhorns coaches went to Cedar Hill to meet with him. 

Barber also reported on January 27 that the Longhorns had offered Joey McGuire, Lodge's high school coach, a job as the special teams/tight ends coach, but there's a potential hitch in the plan:

"

His son is a quarterback on the team, and sources indicate he’d like to see him all the way through his senior season. McGuire has already been offered two assistant positions from other programs this offseason, but he turned both down.

Coaches throughout the state feel McGuire would be a great fit on a college staff.

"

Not taking a trip to Austin suggests Lodge has more or less made up his mind. Ole Miss has been the favorite for a long time, getting 64 percent of the votes on 247Sports' crystal ball predictions, well ahead of Texas A&M (21 percent) and Texas (7 percent). 

Regardless of Texas' late push to get in Lodge's good graces, Ole Miss has the decided advantage and should be happy when he makes his decision.

Prediction: DT Daylon Mack to Texas A&M

Photo credit: 247Sports

After catching their breath following Lodge's announcement, fans will be on edge once again as star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, who is ranked 14th overall, makes his decision. 

Like Lodge, there doesn't seem to be much drama with Mack's choice. Per Travis Brown of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the star defender has already made his decision after a long, fickle process:

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Consensus five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack of Gladewater has told TCU that he will be signing with Texas A&M on National Signing Day, a source confirmed Tuesday.

After a rollercoaster month of making and canceling visits to schools, Mack had narrowed his decision to Texas A&M, TCU and Texas.

Texas A&M had Mack’s commitment once before, but Mack decommitted Dec. 19 and tweeted a day later that his top two were LSU and TCU.

"

The Aggies moved back into the mix after hiring John Chavis away from LSU as their defensive coordinator, based on Mack's comments to Derek Tyson of ESPN.com:

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It’s huge. He’s one of the reasons I was considering LSU, but because of that I’m going to change my visit plans around. 

I’m no longer going to visit LSU now. I’ll officially visit Texas on Jan. 17, A&M on the 23rd, and TCU unofficially on the 30th.

"

One thing that does stand out about Lodge and Mack is the fact that Texas continues to whiff on top in-state recruits. The Longhorns should have no problems getting players to Austin; the campus is gorgeous, and they are the most popular team. 

Unfortunately for Strong and his staff, high school kids don't care about the past when they see other programs around the area—in state or down South—having so much success. 

Texas' loss will be a huge gain for Texas A&M, as Mack will provide a tremendous boost to Kevin Sumlin's recruiting class. 

 

Prediction: DE CeCe Jefferson to Florida

The greatest mystery of the later recruiting announcements rests with star defensive end CeCe Jefferson. The No. 7 player in this class has been running hot and cold with Mississippi and Florida for weeks, with one seemingly taking the lead depending on what day it is. 

At the Under Armour All-American Game in December, Jefferson told Barton Simmons of 247Sports that Ole Miss was his top choice:

"

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.

"

However, as time has passed, the Gators have picked up steam. It seemed like the firing of Will Muschamp was going to hinder their efforts, but the possible allure of staying in his home state is the motivation Jefferson needs. 

The Gators have a strong edge in 247Sports' crystal ball rankings over Ole Miss, 66-34, and Derek Tyson of ESPN agreed with that sentiment:

It's been a turbulent time in Gainesville this recruiting season. Changing coaches left the program scrambling to keep the prospects Muschamp was targeting, and it entered Wednesday ranked 42nd in this year's class. Today's events will change that status, with Jefferson moving the program way up the list. 

 

Prediction: CB Iman Marshall to USC

The top prospect making his decision Wednesday afternoon is Iman Marshall, the No. 4 overall player in this year's class. It also seems like there may be some late drama brewing for the star defensive back. 

Marshall has been linked to USC for a long time, and every pre-signing day projection has the Trojans as the overwhelming favorites. 

Per Rick Ballou of 92.5 FM in Jacksonville, citing his own radio interview with Jamie Newberg of Scout.com, it would be a massive upset if Marshall ended up anywhere outside of Southern California:

According to Greg Biggins of Scout.com, via Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Michigan has made a late push to get Marshall away from his home state:

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USC is the childhood favorite and where everyone has predicted Marshall would end up, but there has been some recent buzz that they may not be the lock everyone (myself included) assumed. Jim Harbaugh came in for a home visit Monday night and the Wolverines have made a very positive impression.

"

Michigan is one of the wild cards in this class. Jim Harbaugh hasn't had a lot of time to get out on the recruiting trail, but his track record in college and the NFL could resonate with a lot of young players.

The Wolverines won't have a huge class this year, so stealing one or two big stars will go a long way toward building this program the way Harbaugh wants to. It doesn't feel like Michigan is a significant threat to get Marshall, though, so expect the Trojans to be happy. 

All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.