Early National Signing Day 2025 Predictions for Top Football Recruits

This year's early national signing period isn't scheduled to open until Wednesday, December 3. Yet, most of the nation's top recruits have already committed

Plenty can and will change between now and the regular signing period in February, especially with NIL playing an ever-increasing role in the recruiting process. Right now, though, the USC Trojans boast ESPN's top-ranked recruiting class. Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas A&M round out the top five.

Will the recruiting leaders land one or more of the top remaining uncommitted college prospects? Will we see any surprise announcements next week? Let's take a look at how things are shaping up.

Top 20 Recruits, ESPN Rankings

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These are the top 20 2026 recruits, according to ESPN's rankings:

1. Lamar Brown, DT, committed to LSU

2. Zion Elee, DE, committed to Maryland

3. Jackson Cantwell, OT, committed to Miami

4. Keisean Henderson, QB, committed to Houston

5. Jared Curtis, QB, committed to Georgia

6. Dia Bell, QB, committed to Texas

7. Chris Henry Jr., WR, committed to Ohio State

8. Richard Wesley, DT, committed to Texas

9. Faizon Brandon, QB, committed to Tennessee

10. Tristen Keys, WR, committed to Tennessee

11. Derrek Cooper, RB, committed to Texas

12. JaReylan McCoy, DE, committed to Florida

13. LaDamion Guyton, LB, committed to Texas Tech

14. Kendre' Harrison, TE, committed to Oregon

15. Immanuel Iheanacho, OT, committed to Oregon

16. Jireh Edwards, S, committed to Alabama

17. Tyler Atkinson, LB, committed to Texas

18. Brandon Arrington, ATH, committed to Texas A&M

19. Keenyi Pepe, OT, committed to USC

20. Kaiden Prothro, TE, committed to Georgia

Jordan Carter, Edge, Douglas County

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Douglas County High School's Jordan Carter is the 56th-ranked prospect and the highest-ranked uncommitted player on ESPN's board. The 6'3", 245-pound pass-rusher was originally heading to Texas A&M but decommitted earlier this month.

According to 247Sports, Carter made official visits with Auburn, Georgia Tech and Tennessee prior to decommitting.

According to Chad Simmons of On3, Texas is also on Carter's finalist list, and the four-star prospect will make an announcement during the early signing period.

Tennessee appears to have piqued Carter's interest. According to Tucker Harlin of Vols Wire, Carter has visited with the Volunteers four times, including his official visit during Tennessee's game against New Mexico State on November 15.

However, the prediction here is that Carter decides to stay close to home and chooses Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets need to land an edge-rusher after Chris Carbin flipped to Florida State, and they're likely to make a strong late push to keep Carter in-state.

Prediction: Carter commits to Georgia Tech

Sam Utu, OT, Orange Lutheran

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Offensive lineman Sam Utu is the only other uncommitted top-100 prospect, according ESPN. The 6'5", 295-pound four-star recruit has the potential to get on the field early because of his combination of skills and positional versatility.

"Utu is one of the region's top offensive line prospects and has been a dominant force at tackle since his freshman season," Greg Riggins of 247Sports wrote. "Offers a ton of positional versatility and has tackle feet, balance and athleticism but more of a guard frame and we could see him playing all over the offensive line including center."

Utu had been committed to Alabama but decommitted "amid late-cycle flip efforts from SMU" just this week, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman.

Rivals predicts that Utu will indeed flip to SMU, giving him a 94.4-percent chance of picking the Mustangs. USC is a distant second, according to Rivals.

There's a reason why Utu decommitted from Alabama, and it likely had a lot more to do with SMU's efforts than anything the Crimson Tide did or didn't do during the recruiting process.

Prediction: Utu commits to SMU