Now that the dust has settled and the letters of intent have been signed on the dotted line, it's time to assess who are the biggest winners and losers of 2015's National Signing Day.
WINNERS
USC
The Trojans lost out on one marquee name -- Snoop Dogg's wide receiver son, Cordell Broadus -- but landed three other blue chippers in five-star cornerback Adoree' Jackson, five star John "JuJu" Smith, and four-star offensive guard Damien Mama. Before Wednesday they were out of the top 25 in recruiting for 2015. After Wednesday, they had moved up to 11.
Alabama
When you're already at the top, the best thing you can hope for is stasis. That's exactly what head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide coaching staff got this week, finishing with the nation's top class for the second year in a row.
South Carolina
Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks look primed to rebound from a disappointing 2014 thanks to an excellent crop of incoming freshman. Their Wednesday signees instantly pushed SC from 23 to 15 on the recruiting rankings.
LOSERS
Louisville
The Cardinals lost key targets to Notre Dame, South Florida, East Carolina, and Texas. Even worse, head coach Bobby Petrino took a massive PR hit in a career littered with them, when it was discovered that Petrino and his staff had reneged on a promise of a scholarship to a South Carolina student eight-months after offering it, leaving the poor kid out to twist in the wind with no guarantee he'll be able to play elsewhere.
Florida
Jim McElwain had a good haul in his first year as Gators head coach, especially given the condensed, working-from-behind-schedule window he had to work with this past month. However, UF did suffer one notable indignity, losing their number one target, DE Byron Cowart, to the very man they had fired in December. That's right: Cowart is headed to Auburn, to play for former Florida coach and current Tigers defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.