The Latest on the first day of the early college football signing period (all times Eastern):
11:30 a.m.
A late flip by a quarterback from Michigan effected Ohio State and Georgia and had some wondering if Justin Fields could have played a part.
Dwan Mathis from Belleville, Michigan, flipped from the Buckeyes to the Bulldogs, a day after Fields’ name appeared in the NCAA’s transfer database. Fields was a five-star recruit in the 2018 class and it has already been speculated that he could end up in Columbus, Ohio, next season, playing for new coach Ryan Day.
The uncertainty around Fields had Georgia scrambling to add a quarterback to its 2019 class.
Other notable decision on the first day of the early signing period were cornerback Elijah Blades, a top junior college recruit who signed with Texas A&M after been committed to Oregon. The Ducks, who are likely to have a top-10 class, also lost out on defensive back Jeremiah Criddell of California to Oklahoma.
Noah Cain, one of the top running backs in the country from IMG Academy in Florida, picked Penn State over Georgia and Auburn.
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9:30 a.m.
An early signing-day surprise: Dax Hill, a five-star defensive back from Oklahoma, flipped from Alabama and signed with Michigan. Hill had been verbally committed to Michigan but switched to Alabama a few weeks ago. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh lured him back when it mattered most.
Hill is the younger brother of Oklahoma State running back Justice Hill.
Not much drama was expected with another opportunity for prospects to sign in February, but the top schools figured to have most of their class of 2019 locked in by the end of the day. Maybe even before lunch.
The signed national letters of intent were rolling in as the sun rose, with schools and coaches using their Twitter feeds to celebrate the newcomers. Some more elaborate than others .
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The second year of college football’s early signing period promises to be busy, with most teams expected to lock up the bulk of their 2019 classes Wednesday and Alabama working on another recruiting championship.
Last season was the first with an early signing period in college football. It quickly replaced the traditional February signing period as the primary time for high school players to make their verbal commitments binding by inking national letters of intent. More than 70 percent of available scholarships in FBS were filled during the early signing period last year and coaches expected that to go up this year.
Based on verbal commitments, Alabama is lined up to again have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country after relinquishing that mythical title last year to SEC rival Georgia.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://podcastone.com/AP-Top-25-College-Football-Podcast
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