National Signing Day remains one of the most exciting days in college football, as commitments, surprising flips, and signings mark it. The first day of the early signing period for the 2026 class opened on Wednesday, which will run through Friday.
Let’s look at winners and losers following Wednesday’s signing period.
National Signing Day Winners and Losers
Winners
1) Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt secured a historic National Signing Day win by flipping five-star quarterback Jared Curtis from Georgia. He is the No. 1-ranked player nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings and the first five-star football recruit in the Commodores’ history.
Besides Curtis, Vanderbilt also landed other key recruits, including wide receiver Owen Cabell, who flipped his commitment from Alabama. The Commodores have 21 committed players in the 2026 class, all of whom signed on Wednesday.
2) Virginia Tech
James Franklin’s hiring as the head coach has been a massive win for Virginia Tech in the 2026 class. The class was ranked as low as No. 121 in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings when Franklin was hired last month, but his rapid recruiting efforts propelled the Hokies into the top 25 nationally on signing day.
Franklin continued to poach players from his former team, Penn State, by recruiting 11 Nittany Lions players from the transfer cycle. Besides the Nittany Lions’ flips, the Hokies landed several other four-star prospects, including running back Messiah Mickens.
3) USC
According to 247Sports’ rankings, USC clinched the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026, marking the first time the Trojans have the No. 1 class for the first time since 2006. It also marks the first time since 2008 that a program from the Southeastern Conference will not be No. 1.
USC’s bid to this magnificent signing class includes five-star recruits like offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe and defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart.
4) Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman put together Notre Dame’s best recruiting class of the College Football Playoff era, as the Irish are the only Power Five team to sign its entire 2026 recruiting class without having a player decommit on or before National Signing Day.
All 27 Notre Dame commits completed signing on Wednesday. The class includes 19 four-star prospects and four five-star recruits.
5) Tennessee
Tennessee secured a top 10 class by welcoming 28 new prospects on Wednesday, marking the highest-ranked recruiting class of the Josh Heupel era. A key to their success was a series of high-profile flips, including defensive back Timothy Merritt (from Miami) and Legend Bey (from Ohio State).
Losers
1) Penn State
Penn State can easily be labelled as the biggest loser on Wednesday. The primary reason was the Nittany Lions’ failure to secure a new head coach after firing Franklin, leaving the program without leadership and direction during a critical recruiting period.
The instability led to 21 players decommitting from Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class, and, as mentioned earlier, Franklin flipped 11 of these former commits to Virginia Tech. The Nittany Lions signed just two recruits on the first day of the early signing period.
2) Baylor
Baylor experienced a challenging early National Signing Day, losing commitments from several prospects in the days leading up to and including signing day. The Bears lost offensive tackle commitment Kole Seaton to Oklahoma State, four-star receiver Jordan Clay to Washington, four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Carlton to Texas, and four-star defensive back Jamarion Vincent to Michigan.
As of writing this, 11 out of 12 committed players in Baylor’s 2026 class have completed signings.
3) Auburn
As the Early Signing Period opened, Auburn’s 2026 class was ranked around 52nd nationally and near the bottom of the SEC. This contrasts sharply with the previous two seasons, where former coach Hugh Freeze managed to secure back-to-back top-10 classes.
Auburn has only three four-star players in the class. Out of 17 commits, three players are still left to sign, as per Rivals.
4) Ohio State
Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline is leaving to take the job at USF. Four-star wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt flipped his commitment from Ohio State to USC after the coaching change.
The biggest fear for Ohio State now remains with five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., as he remains unsigned to this point. Some USC players are actively recruiting him, and Oregon also remains a major player to flip him.
5) Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin had six years on the job before signing day, which created immediate hurdles in retaining the whole class assembled by the previous staff. The No. 2 overall recruit in the 2026 class, Lamar Brown, did not sign on Wednesday. LSU also lost three-star wide receiver Kervin Johnson Jr. to Ole Miss.
