Junior College Signing Day 2018: Top Recruit Commitments and Reaction

One key aspect of the college football recruiting season is junior college players who can make just as much of an impact on their new team as a hot-shot freshman right out of high school. 

As an example, Jarrett Stidham was the top-ranked junior college recruit by 247Sports in 2017. He's started 26 games for Auburn over the past two seasons and was named to the All-SEC first team in his first year with the program. 

The foundation for a championship program is built through recruiting, both at the high school and junior college levels. This year's top recruit by 247Sports is defensive end Jermaine Johnson, who officially signed with Georgia on Wednesday after giving head coach Kirby Smart a verbal commitment in August.

Looking at the early returns, here are the top players who made their college choice official and the biggest winners from the day's events. 

Top Junior College Prospects

1. Jermaine Johnson, WDE, Independence Community College (Committed to Georgia)

2. Chester Graves, WDE, Iowa Western Community College (Uncommitted)

3. Lakia Henry, ILB, Dodge City Community College (Committed to Tennessee)

4. Elijah Blades, CB, Arizona Western College (Committed to Texas A&M)

5. DJ Daniel, CB, Georgia Military College (Committed to Georgia)

6. Jashua Allen, ILB, Arizona Western College (Committed to Colorado)

7. Anthony Whigan, OT, Lackawanna Community College (Committed to Penn State)

8. Sam Williams, WDE, Northeast Mississippi Community College (Committed to Mississippi)

9. RaJae Johnson, WR, College of San Mateo (Uncommitted)

10. Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, OT, Navarro College (Committed to Oregon)

Full rankings via 247Sports.com

Texas A&M Flips Top-Ranked CB

The biggest recruiting coup took place on Saturday when cornerback Elijah Blades flipped from Oregon to Texas A&M:

This is a huge win for Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher, who is looking to make a mark in his second season with the program. Texas A&M finished 2018 ranked 110th in the nation with 262.7 passing yards allowed per game and 112th in opponent passing efficiency (151.96).

Blades comes to College Station with one of the most promising scouting reports of any cornerback in this recruiting class, per 247Sports recruiting analyst Greg Biggins:

"Blades is a long, athletic corner with a rare combination of size and speed. He's all of 6-2 but runs in the 4.4 [40-yard dash] range and has the ability to be a lockdown corner in college. He's a tough, physical player who excels in press coverage and has good ball skills as well. He has playmaking ability on the offensive side of the ball as well and has made a big jump in his game in the offseason."

Playing in the same conference as Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Georgia's Jake Fromm, having a shutdown cornerback who can take away one side of the field will give Texas A&M a better chance to compete in the SEC. 

Fisher and his staff are crushing this recruiting season, only trailing Alabama and Georgia in 247Sports' team rankings. 

Oregon Strikes Out in JUCO Recruiting

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal has plenty to be pleased about so far in recruiting. His team is currently fifth nationally in 247Sports' team rankings for next season.

The only downside for the Ducks has been in the junior college ranks.  Offensive tackle Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu committed to the program in June and officially signed on Wednesday. 

There were higher expectations for Cristobal when the day started that wound up not materializing. Blades decided he wanted to play for Fisher at Texas A&M.

Eastern Arizona College defensive end Quandre Mosely—the No. 16 junior college player and a 3-star recruit—announced Wednesday he was choosing Kentucky over Oregon and Utah. 

Per 247Sports' crystal ball projections, all of their analysts and prognosticators had Oregon landing Mosely. 

If we were to include high-school commitments, 4-star safety Jeremiah Criddell picked Oklahoma over the Ducks. 

It's not time to panic about Cristobal's 2019 class because there's still plenty of talent left on the board before February's National Signing Day, but Wednesday indicates the recruiting staff has work to do closing the deal. 

SEC Dominating Recruiting

In one of the least-surprising developments, the SEC is having a field day in the junior college ranks. Four of the top five players committed to schools in the conference—No. 2 recruit Chester Graves isn't expected to decide on a college until May. 

Mississippi and Mississippi State have been among the SEC standouts. The schools each have three commitments from players ranked among the JUCO top 50. Ole Miss secured the top prize among that group with newly-minted NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year Sam Williams on board:

Joining Williams in Oxford is wide receiver Dontario Drummond, who is listed at 6'2", 200 pounds and was a dynamic playmaker in two seasons at East Mississippi Community College. 

Mississippi State is still waiting to see if its JUCO class will be a home run. Guard LaQuinston Sharp (No. 23 overall) and safety Fred Peters (No. 31 overall) signed their letters of intent on Wednesday.

The big question marks for the Bulldogs are wide receiver JaVonta Payton and running back Kareem Walker. 

Per Charles Power of 247Sports, Payton took an official visit to Tennessee last weekend. 

"I wanted to go to UT for the longest at one point," Payton told GoVols247 in June (h/t CBS Sports' Ryan Callahan).

Walker was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school and played one year at Michigan in 2017 before transferring to Fort Scott Community College. He has yet to sign a letter of intent but is still listed as a hard commit to Mississippi State. 

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is capitalizing on his team's surprise 9-3 season. The Wildcats landed athlete Marquez Bembry (No. 39) and receiver JaVonte Richardson (No. 40) to move their 2019 class up to No. 31 in the national rankings. 

Even though Alabama and LSU have largely sat out junior college recruiting, the early returns this year once again show how deep the talent pool goes in the SEC and why the conference churns out so many quality teams each season. 

All recruiting info via 247Sports.com