How Early National Signing Day Has Impacted Georgia Football

In 2017, the NCAA unleashed the early national signing day on the world of college football recruiting. The 2018 recruiting class saw a few of its top players use the early signing window as a way to get into college a bit early and get comfortable with the program.

Flash forward to the 2021 recruiting cycle, Power 5 programs everywhere are all but done with their recruiting class on the traditional National Signing Day here in February.

In fact, of the 99 members of the SI99, only six have yet to make their college commitment known.

I miss the days of Isaiah Crowell holding up a Bulldog Puppy.

Oh, how climactic it was watching Quay Walker throw that Tennessee hat.

Nowadays, as we sit here on traditional national signing day, most top programs are slap full in terms of numbers:

Alabama - 26 Commits
Ohio State - 21 Commits
Clemson - 19 Commits
Georgia - 20 Commits
LSU - 22 Commits
Texas A&M - 22 Commits
Notre Dame - 27 Commits
Oregon - 23 Commits
USC - 21 Commits
Miami - 21 Commits

Sure, COVID has played a factor in this in this cycle. High school players everywhere graduated early at an unprecedented rate this year. Georgia has 16 early enrollees already on campus from the 2021 class, far more than any other year under Kirby Smart.

There's also been a higher activity than ever in the transfer market, and though Georgia hasn't taken any players there, their opponents certainly have. It's been reported that the Florida Gators have crept up on scholarship numbers thanks to an influx of transfers in this 2021 class. They didn't send a single Letter of Intent on National Signing Day, essentially taking themselves out of the fight for Terrion Arnold.

Georgia's proverbial hay in is the barn. Their work is all but done. They are awaiting the decision from SI99 Safety Terrion Arnold, and Arnold alone.

In 2020's class, Kelee Ringo was an unknown headed into the All-American game, same for Darnell Washington. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger didn't sign until the traditional signing window.

It's certainly helped Georgia in terms of the early development of their players. Having 16 freshmen on campus a semester early is a great benefit, clearly. But it also means Georgia has to begin their recruitment for every cycle that much earlier because commitments are being made earlier and earlier.

You've seen that play true in the 2022 class. Georgia is loading up on 2022 talent early in this cycle because what else are they going to spend their time on? They have one deal to close, Terrion Arnold. The rest of the recruiting time spent this spring is all on 2022 players.

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