National Signing Day 2016: Top Recruits' Star Ratings and Commitment Schedule

Love it or hate it, national signing day is the biggest moment in the lives of a lot of young athletes, many of whom are also capable of affecting the landscape of college football.

Sure, it sometimes gets ridiculous, depending on the style of some announcements. What used to be just picking a hat out of a bag has turned into a game of one-upmanship in which everyone tries to do something new. Still, it is all in good fun, as these players are getting their first exposure in the national spotlight.

Meanwhile, the actual decisions made will be extremely important. The top players are the future of the sport, and where they choose to go to school will make a difference for many programs around the country. If you are a fan of college football, make sure to keep up with the biggest announcements during signing day on Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Time (ET)	Player	Pos.	Stars	ESPN?
7 a.m.	Jauan Williams	OT	4	N
8 a.m.	Nigel Warrior	S	4	N
8:10 a.m.	Nate Johnson	WR	3	N
8:30 a.m.	Mecole Hardman Jr.	ATH	5	N
8:45 a.m.	Chris Daniels	DT	4	N
9 a.m.	Michail Carter	DT	4	N
9 a.m.	Lavert Hill	CB	4	N
9:15 a.m.	Trayvon Mullen	CB	4	Y
9:15 a.m.	Jared Mayden	CB	4	N
9:30 a.m.	Brandon Jones	S	4	Y
9:30 a.m.	Carlos Becker	CB	4	N
9:30 a.m.	Jamel Cook	CB	4	N
10 a.m.	Jacob Mathis	TE	4	N
10 a.m.	Jonathan Kongbo	DE	4	N
10:10 a.m.	Ben Davis	ILB	5	Y
10:30 a.m.	Deontay Anderson	S	4	Y
10:30 a.m.	Jonathan Jones	OLB	4	N
10:45 a.m.	Dontavious Jackson	ILB	4	Y
11:10 a.m.	Nate Craig-Myers	WR	4	Y
11:30 a.m.	Jeffrey McCulloch	OLB	4	Y
12 p.m.	Ahmmon Richards	WR	4	N
12:30 p.m.	Landon Dickerson	OT	4	Y
12:45 p.m.	Kristian Fulton	CB	5	N
1 p.m.	Jayvaughn Myers	CB	3	N
1 p.m.	D'Andre Christmas Giles	DT	4	N
1:10 p.m.	Rashan Gary	DT	5	Y
2:05 p.m.	Lyndell "Mack" Wilson	OLB	5	Y
2:15 p.m.	Terrell Hall	DE	4	N
2:45 p.m.	E.J. Price	OT	4	N
3 p.m.	Mique Juarez	OLB	5	N
3:10 p.m.	Derrick Brown	DT	5	Y
3:20 p.m.	Devin Asiasi	TE	4	Y
3:20 p.m.	Boss Tagaloa	DT	4	Y
3:45 p.m.	Quartney Davis	WR	4	N
4:30 p.m.	Jack Jones	CB	5	N
6 p.m.	Malik Harrison	ATH	3	N
8:30 p.m.	Caleb Kelly	OLB	5	N

Top Recruits to Watch

Rashan Gary, DT

As the No. 1 recruit in the nation, Gary's process has been closely followed for months. The defensive tackle has the size (6'5", 293 lbs), strength, agility and technique to make an early impact at the next level and has been pursued by just about every team in the nation.

For much of the process, Michigan seemed like the clear leader for the New Jersey native, although Clemson is making up ground in a hurry and is now featured in the final two, according to Brian Dohn of Scout.com. Gary's mother, Jennifer Coney, explained how impressed she was with the recent visit to Clemson, via Dohn:

"

The academics, and the academic support, I was pleasantly surprised with everything at Clemson. The staff, the whole staff, the whole student body. I'm not talking about the football players, and the football players were phenomenal, but the whole student body. The players want them to recruit good football players because it's only going to make them better.

"

Mike Farrell of Rivals.com also noted that the Tigers were serious competitors in this race:

Although Gary might still end up being a Wolverine, Clemson has certainly made things interesting in recent weeks. Considering how much talent is returning to the roster for the national runners-up, this announcement could end up being extremely important for next season.

Ben Davis, ILB

The experts certainly think this won't be a contest, with 100 percent of predictions from 247Sports' Crystal Ball leaning toward Alabama. The local product has certainly leaned toward Nick Saban's team for a while and could easily end up being the latest in a long line of impressive linebackers in this program.

However, he still does have his options open while keeping five teams on his shortlist:

Perhaps the biggest discussion, though, might be what happens after he commits.

Bleacher Report's Tyler Donohue speculated that Davis and Lyndell "Mack" Wilson could end up being a package deal after spending time together on their latest official visit. The other Alabama linebacker could create quite a tandem in Tuscaloosa, although both are also considering Georgia since former Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart now the head coach.

In any case, Davis has the talent to be one of the top defensive players in the nation within a few years, and any team will be extremely lucky to have him.

Mecole Hardman Jr., ATH

This recruiting cycle is definitely dominated by defensive players, with studs capable of making an impact at each level of the defense. However, one top recruit who can fare well on the offensive end is Mecole Hardman Jr. 

Although he hasn't decided on a position, Hardman is likely to spend his college years at receiver. This is bad news for cornerbacks, because the Georgia native is one of the fastest players in the entire class, as he displayed in recent practices for the U.S. under-19 team:

Hardman still has a lot of schools in consideration, with Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio State all technically still alive. That's a lot of hats on the table before Wednesday.

Despite the multiple options, Georgia might have the edge as the hometown team, but you never know what will happen when these players eventually make their choices.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.