2018 National Signing Day: 3 Winners, 3 Losers and 3 final thoughts

The 2018 National Signing Day has come and gone. After some time to reflect who came away with the best, worst, and most interesting day.

With the fury of whirring fax machines and new hats being donned, 2018 National Signing Day is over. Several top recruits have chosen their new schools and coaches have already begun to take stock of their new roster situations.

Some coaches and programs had better days than others. Who were the winners and losers of National Signing Day? What other interesting storylines came up this year?

Winners

1. Georgia

There’s a new kid on the block and he’s not going anywhere. Nick Saban bested his former assistant Kirby Smart on the gridiron in January but Smart won a major victory on National Signing Day. The Bulldogs secured the No. 1 class in the country, a spot that had been owned by Alabama for half a decade.

2. 3-star recruits

The biggest winner from the institution of the Early Signing Period were 3-star recruits that chose not to sign early. So many players came off the board in December, making the value of the middle tier of uncommitted recruits sky-rocket.

Players with a handful of offers in December saw their offer totals double in the span of a month. Power 5 programs with mostly complete classes battled for the handful of remaining quality prospects still available. The blue chip players were the priority, but the 3-stars benefited the most.

3. Willie Taggart

When Willie Taggart took over at Florida State the Seminoles were sitting outside the Top 30 in the nation ranks for the 2018 class. In the span of less than two months he brought in enough top recruits to climb back into the top 15. Taggart’s Florida connections have been raved about since he made the move from Oregon and early returns on year one without Jimbo Fisher are promising.