Early Signing Day Primer: What's Going to Happen?

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Christmas is just around the corner, but it will feel like Christmas for college coaches around the country on Wednesday when they officially add to their football program on the first day of the early signing period.

To give a sneak peek of what will go down tomorrow, we break it all down for you below.

Undecided names to watch

LB Amari Gainer (Florida State transfer) - Gainer is a veteran linebacker that West Virginia has been in hot pursuit of since the minute he hit the transfer portal. Given that he's played a lot of ball, I wouldn't be surprised if he holds off on announcing his transfer destination. Sometimes you'll see older guys play the waiting game and make their decision sometime in the spring. Gainer had an in-home visit with head coach Neal Brown and also took an official visit to WVU earlier this month. North Carolina is in on him as well.

CB Amare Snowden (Roseville, MI) - Snowden was originally committed to Cincinnati, but when Luke Fickell bolted for Wisconsin, the talented corner opened up his recruitment. Obviously, WVU needs to create more depth in the secondary, and landing Snowden would be a massive get for the coaching staff. That said, the sense is Snowden will ultimately follow Fickell to Wisconsin. He will be announcing his decision at 1 p.m. between Cincinnati, Colorado, Howard, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

CB Tristen Sion (Tallahassee, FL) - Sion is more of a wild card than anything. He has expressed interest in West Virginia but has yet to step foot on campus for an official visit. The former UMass commit could be more of an option down the road, if he chooses to not sign during the early signing period. Jackson State has made a big push for him, but I don't know if he's ready to decide just yet.

Flips and flipaways

Signing day isn't as eventful as it once used to be with all of the last-second flips that would drive fans and coaches bonkers. That said, you still have a few. West Virginia isn't expected to flip any recruits committed to other schools, but they are, however, fighting to keep one of their own - defensive lineman Justin Benton. Benton has taken official visits to Houston and Texas. From what I gather, Houston is more of a threat than Texas, but in the end, I believe West Virginia will win out and hang on to one of its most-prized defensive recruits in this class.

I didn't plan on including him in this signing day preview, but since I have received multiple messages about wide receiver de-commit Elijah Caldwell, I'll go ahead and address it. WVU is firmly out of the running. He is focused on North Carolina State and Syracuse. The only way West Virginia gets back in the mix is if a decision is delayed until February. Even then, I still don't see it happening.

Last-minute updates

Defensive line commit Corey McIntyre Jr. is not expected to sign until February. Also not sure if OL Chrisdasson Saint-Jean signs today or in February. And as expected, running back Jordan Louie is not expected to sign with WVU.

Current commits

QB Sean Boyle (Charlotte, NC)

RB Jahiem White (York, PA)

RB DJ Oliver (Port Saint Joe, FL)

WR Rodney Gallagher III (Uniontown, PA)

WR Tory Johnson Jr. (Chesapeake, VA)

WR Traylon Ray (Tallahassee, FL)

WR Ja'Shaun Poke (Kent State)

TE Noah Braham (Morgantown, WV)

OT Chrisdasson Saint-Jean (Orlando, FL)

OT Johnny Williams IV (Macon, GA)

OL Nick Krahe (Harborcreek, PA)

OL Cooper Young (Downingtown, PA)

DE Zachariah Keith (Douglasville, GA)

DE Oryend Fisher (Georgetown, KY)

DL Justin Benton (Covington, GA)

DL Corey McIntyre Jr, (Port Saint Lucie, FL)

LB Josiah Trotter (Philadelphia, PA)

LB James Heard (Camden, NJ)

LB Ben Cutter (Denver, NC)

CB Josiah Jackson (Fairfield, OH)

CB Jordan Jackson (Fairfield, OH)

CB Montre Miller (Kent State)

Signing day coverage

Don't sleep in or you'll miss a bunch of guys sending in their NLIs, not to be confused with NIL. We'll be active from sun up to sun down on Twitter @MountaineersNow and on Facebook @MountaineersNow posting each signee's profile the moment they sign. In that profile, you will find the player's height, weight, hometown, high school, list of offers, film evaluation, projected playing time, and highlights.

Wednesday evening, we will have our annual Mountaineers Now Signing Day show, which will be available to view here on the site AND on our YouTube channel, Mountaineers Now. We will have interviews with WR Rodney Gallagher III and RB Jahiem White, along with analysis from Christopher Hall, former WVU running back Eugene Napoleon, and myself. There is no set time for when the show will be posted mainly because we hope to get it up as soon as humanly possible. So, be sure to turn your notifications on our Twitter account and hit that subscribe button on our YouTube channel to be notified when the show goes live.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @MountaineersNow

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