Biggest Winners and Losers of the 2022 CFB Late Signing Window
Wednesday marked national signing day for the class of 2022, and there were plenty of big names that signed their letter of intent.
Although NSD nowadays lacks the day-long drama and excitement of years' past thanks to most prospects signing during college football's early signing period in December, there is plenty to talk about from Wednesday.
Let's run through the biggest winners and losers from the 2022 national signing day.
Winner: Michigan and College Football, Who Gets to Keep Jim Harbaugh
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Although this isn't directly related to Michigan's 2022 class, the Wolverines scored a big win on Wednesday evening—Jim Harbaugh is staying with the Wolverines.
Despite interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Harbaugh informed Michigan that he would be forgoing NFL suitors and returning to Ann Arbor.
The news comes despite reports Tuesday evening Chris Ballas of On3 that Harbaugh was "planning to sign a deal to become the NFL Vikings' head coach." Ballas added that Harbaugh had said some goodbyes and thank yous on Tuesday.
Regardless, Harbaugh is now staying put in college football, a huge win for both Michigan and the sport. He led the Wolverines to a 12-2 season in 2021, beating Ohio State for the first time since 2011 and earning a playoff bid.
Harbaugh—known for his eccentric personality—once slept over at a recruits' house, went viral for a shirtless photo of him at practice in 2015 and most recently, squatted weights while wearing a button-down and slacks while on a recruiting visit.
A head coach interviewing for an NFL job on NSD is rare, but it didn't seem to affect the Wolverines' 2022 class too much. Michigan finished with the ninth-ranked overall class per 247Sports.
The group is headlined by 5-star cornerback Will Johnson, 4-star defensive lineman Derrick Moore and 4-star defensive back Keon Sabb, who Harbaugh flipped from Clemson in December.
Michigan being able to keep Harbaugh away from the NFL is crucial for the Wolverines, especially this late in the college football coaching carousel. Harbaugh's current contract with the Wolverines goes until 2025, so we'll hopefully get another four years of Harbaugh in college football.
Loser: Brian Kelly's Viral Dance with a Recruit, Who Ended Up at Alabama
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Oh man, this is just pure gold. If you're a college football fan, you probably remember the video of new LSU head coach Brian Kelly dancing with a recruit that went viral.
That recruit was 3-star tight end Danny Lewis, the 31st ranked tight end in the 2022 class per 247Sports. The Westgate High School product from New Iberia, Louisiana, took an official visit to Baton Rouge on Jan. 26, a couple of days before the video of him dancing with Kelly went viral.
The video even reached the likes of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, who tweeted asking Coach Kelly about the video if he lost a bet or if his account was hacked.
Apparently, Kelly's dance moves weren't enough to land the in-state prospect. Instead. Lewis ended up signing his letter of intent with Nick Saban and Alabama, LSU's biggest rival in the SEC West.
Lewis was previously committed to Cincinnati until Jan. 12. A big reason why Lewis was expected to end up at LSU was his relationship with Tigers' new OC Mike Denbrock. Denbrock was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator and Lewis' primary recruiter until joining Kelly's staff at LSU in early January.
Instead, Lewis is headed to Tuscaloosa to play for the Tide. Saban was even asked about the dancing video on Wednesday, and although he admitted he hadn't seen the video said he "likes to dance too." Troll on, Saban.
Perhaps Coach Kelly will think twice before dancing with a recruit that hasn't committed to his program.
Winner: USC Trojans
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New USC head coach Lincoln Riley is wasting no time building his program. On Monday, he landed possibly the biggest commitment of his 2022 class—former Sooner quarterback and former 5-star QB prospect, per 247Sports, Caleb Williams announced he'd be transferring to USC.
Williams will get to reunite with his former head coach less than a year after becoming Oklahoma's starter in mid-October. Williams came off the bench against Texas and led the Sooners to a thrilling 55-48 victory in the Red River Rivalry.
Although OU finished the regular season 10-2, missing out on both the Big 12 championship game and College Football Playoff, Williams threw for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns and just four interceptions on the year.
Riley was also able to flip 4-star RB Raleek Brown from Oklahoma.
The class is headlined by 5-star CB Domani Jackson, the No. 5 prospect in the country from the 2022 class, per 247Sports.
However, USC still may have a long way to go for immediate on-field success. Despite the addition of Williams and fellow OU transfers CB Latrell McCutchin and receiver Mario Williams, USC's 2022 class ranks just 65th nationally, per 247Sports. T
hat's behind the likes of Memphis (62nd), Boise State (60th) and Marshall (58th). It's only 10th in the Pac-12, as well.
The Athletic's Pete Thamel pointed out that USC finished 4-8 a season ago despite playing zero top-10 opponents. ESPN's Bill Connelly added that the Trojans finished 82nd overall in SP+ ("a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency," per Connelly) and 106th in points allowed.
We'll see if Riley can prove some of his skeptics wrong during the 2022 season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Winner: Texas A&M Locked Down the Highest-Rated No. 1 Recruiting Class Ever
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Texas A&M may have finished 8-4 last year, but Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies finished putting together a historic class on Wednesday.
Texas A&M's 2022 class was not only the No. 1 overall class per 247Sports, but it's also the highest-rated class in 247Sports history.
Per Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Fisher's 2022 class included a top-eight player from each position, seven out of 247's 34 composite 5-stars and 16 percent of the top-100 recruits in the country. Truly amazing.
The Aggies vaulted to this mark shortly after landing 5-star defensive lineman Shemar Stewart, the No. 1 prospect in Florida per 247Sports. Stewart picked the Aggies over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Miami and several other elite programs.
He joins fellow 5-stars receiver Evan Stewart, defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, quarterback Conner Weigman and cornerback Denver Harris.
Texas A&M's 2022 class overtakes Alabama's from just a year ago as 247's highest-ranked class. It may pay off with a national title for the Aggies.
Per 247Sports, every No. 1 overall class from 2011-20 won at least one national title within their four-year window on campus.
Aggie fans are hoping that trend continues.
Loser: College Football Coaches' Complaining About NILs and Recruiting, Part 1
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Name, image and likeness deals and how they correlate (or don't correlate) to college football recruiting was a hot topic on Wednesday. On Tuesday before NSD, Alabama's Nick Saban said that he draws a line when using NIL deals for recruiting. Here's what he told reporters at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday:
""When we start using name, image and likeness for a kid to come to our school, that's where I draw the line. Because that's not why we did this.
"I hear these crazy people on TV who say now you're doing it above board. We never did it. We never did it. We never cheated to get a player. We never paid players to come to our school. And now that's actually happening. People are making deals with high school players to go to their school."
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Saban hasn't shied away when talking about NIL deals before. In fact, he made headlines last summer when he revealed that Bama QB Bryce Young made "close to seven figures" in NIL deals during the 2020 offseason.
Ironically, this quote was brought up by Saban's former assistant and current Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher on Wednesday. Texas A&M finished NSD with the No. 1 overall recruiting class for 2022 and 247Sports' highest-ranked class ever.
Fisher, like Saban, was asked about the perceived impact NIL deals have on recruiting. Let's just say he didn't hold back. In an interview with CBS Sports earlier Wednesday, Fisher complained about an Internet message board poster named “Sliced Bread” claiming TAMU paid $30 million for its 2022 class.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he expanded on the $30 million story:
""To have coaches in our league and across this league to say it, clown acts. Irresponsible as hell. Multiple coaches in our league. And the guys griping about NIL and transfer portal are using it the most and bragging about it the most. That's the ironic part. ... It's a joke. It does piss me off.
"I'll tell you what, I know how some of those guys recruit, too. Go dig into that. I know the history, I know the tradition. I know things. Trust me, you don't want to go down that avenue."
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There's a bit more to this story to fit in one slide, so we will continue this in the next slide.
Loser: College Football Coaches' Complaining About NILs and Recruiting, Part 2
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Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher didn't mention any names Wednesday, but there's a chance he could have been talking about Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin joked Tuesday about if TAMU was going to incur a luxury tax and how much the Aggies paid for their 2022 class.
Fisher alluded to Saban's comments on Young's deals, adding, "The $800,000 was wonderful. Now it ain't wonderful no more, huh?" Fisher said.
Fisher and Saban aren't the only coaches to talk about NIL deals and how they impact college football. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said earlier this week that while he isn't against NIL deals, he's against the "professionalization of college athletics."
Georgia's Kirby Smart added that NIL deals may eventually turn college football into the "have and the have nots."
College football—and recruiting—is already and has been for years, about the have and the have nots. For years, the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and others have dominated recruiting. As a result, they've been at the top of the sport, year after year.
Instead of pushing back against the impact NIL deals may or may not have on recruiting, college football coaches should call them what they are—a further evolution of the sport. You can either follow that evolution and figure out a way to incorporate NIL deals into building your program or push back against them.
How they might impact recruiting remains to be seen. Regardless, NIL deals don't appear to be going away anytime soon. Coaches might want to start coming around to that realization.
Winner: Mario Cristobal's 2022 Recruiting Class
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Miami made some big moves on Wednesday, and the Canes' 2022 class vaulted up the 247Sports class rankings as a result. As of Jan. 29, Miami's 2022 had just 10 verbal commits and was ranked 38th in the nation. By the end of the day on Wednesday, 247Sports ranked them at No. 15, including third in the ACC.
Miami's class was helped by the addition of four-star running back TreVonte' Citizen, the No. 9 running back prospect and the No. 10 prospect out of Louisiana per 247Sports. Citizen committed to Miami despite late pushes by Florida and Auburn.
The Canes also added three-star defensive lineman Ahmad Moten out of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Moten is the 79th-ranked prospect of Florida, per 247Sports. Moten chose to stay close to home over Oklahoma.
Miami added three-star offensive lineman Anez Cooper on Wednesday, as well. 247Sports ranks Cooper, out of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, as the No. 48 prospect in his state.
Miami's class may not have been a top-10 class nationally, and it still finished behind North Carolina and Clemson in the ACC. But Cristobal putting together a top-20 class is impressive, especially considering the lack of staff that the Miami head coach currently has.
Cristobal hasn't hired any coordinators since he was hired in early December—that is until he named Kevin Steele his defensive coordinator on Tuesday before NSD. Cristobal told reporters on Wednesday that he didn't think his lack of a full staff affected recruiting too much.
Miami obviously still has a long way to go in terms of getting back to being nationally relevant, but the Canes' 2022 is a pretty great start for Cristobal and Co.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
