National Signing Day 2020: Rumors and Predictions for Top Recruits

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No, national signing day isn't quite what it used to be. The addition of the early signing period has led to many of the top high school football players in the country inking their national letters of intent well before the traditional signing day in February.

But that doesn't mean there aren't some interesting storylines to watch heading into this year's national signing day on Feb. 5.

There are still some top recruits who haven't yet made their college decision and others who could still have their commitment flipped by a different school. So, there are still some situations to monitor over the next few weeks.

Here are our national signing day predictions for the unsigned recruits among the top 150 players in the 2020 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

National Signing Day Predictions (247Sports Composite ranking in parentheses)

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5-star DE Jordan Burch, Columbia, S.C. (No. 5): South Carolina

5-star RB Zachary Evans, Houston, Texas (No. 14): LSU

5-star OT Broderick Jones, Lithonia, Ga. (No. 13): Georgia

4-star S Avantae Williams, Deland, Fla. (No. 55): Florida

4-star WR Xzavier Henderson, Miami, Fla. (No. 59): Florida

4-star DE Alfred Collins, Bastrop, Texas (No. 71): Texas

4-star DE Reggie Grimes, Brentwood, Tenn. (No. 90): Oklahoma

4-star DT Jay Hardy, Chattanooga, Tenn. (No. 102): Auburn

4-star RB Jalen Berger, Ramsey, N.J. (No. 109): Wisconsin

4-star C Sedrick Van Pran, New Orleans, La. (No. 111): Georgia

4-star DT McKinnley Jackson, Lucedale, Miss. (No. 113): LSU

4-star WR Malachi Wideman, Sarasota, Fla. (No. 132): Florida State

4-star DE Demon Clowney, Baltimore, Md. (No. 135): Ole Miss

4-star RB Kevontre Bradford, Lancaster, Texas (No. 136): Wisconsin

4-star WR Javon Baker, Powder Springs, Ga. (No. 137): Alabama

First, a few of these players' signings will be a formality.

Jordan Burch may be the highest-ranked unsigned player in the class, but he only chose not to sign with South Carolina during the early signing period in December because he wanted to sign on the traditional national signing day with the rest of his teammates from Hammond School in Columbia, S.C.

Reggie Grimes is in a similar position. He's not visiting schools, or allowing them to visit him, because he wants to play at Oklahoma. However, he also wanted to sign on the actual national signing day, so he's also waiting until Feb. 5 to make it official.

Then, there are several of these players who appear to be locked into a school, and it would be a surprise for any to change their minds now.

Xzavier Henderson and Jalen Berger are recent commits, so they're unlikely to switch in the matter of only a few weeks. The former announced his commitment to Florida and the latter selected Wisconsin at the All-American Bowl on Jan. 4.

The most interesting player to monitor over the next few weeks will be Zachary Evans.

He signed with Georgia during the early signing period, but he was later released from his national letter of intent for reasons that weren't publicly disclosed. It doesn't affect his status for the 2020 season, however, as he'll be able to play for whichever school he ends up attending in the upcoming year.

That's still not a known thing, though, as Evans is considering schools such as Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M, among others. He is the No. 1 running back in the 2020 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, but he may still be unsigned because of off-the-field issues that have given teams concern.

One person defending the Houston native, though, is Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who served as a coach at the Under Armour All-America Game in which Evans played, and he vouched for schools to give the 5-star running back an opportunity.

"He’s a kid. I got kicked off the team my junior year for doing something stupid," Sanders said during the broadcast of the game. "Coach let me back on, I made up for it, the rest is history. He deserves another shot."

Although Evans appears to be considering several schools, he's going to end up choosing LSU.

There may not be a better fit for him than the Tigers, who won the national championship on Monday night. LSU is losing its starting running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, to graduation, and it has yet to sign a running back in its 2020 class.

While the Tigers have some talented, young running backs on their roster, the addition of Evans would give them a huge boost in the backfield.

But as national signing day has shown in the past, things can change right up until the final moments. So, be sure to keep following the rumors and buzz ahead of Feb. 5.