College Football: Winners and Losers from opening of early signing period

Winner: Alabama

Nick Saban severely underestimated how many recruits would be willing to sign in the early signing period last year, and Alabama held a few too many spots instead of being as aggressive as they should have been. That left the Crimson Tide caught with their proverbial pants down, and saw them finish No. 5 in the class rankings according to the 247Sports composites, the first time in seven years Saban didn’t reel in the number one class in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama was more aggressive this time, and it paid off. The Tide has 26 current commitments, and 22 of them signed letters of intent on Wednesday. Signing only 21 guys last year gave Alabama the flexibility to sign up to 29 guys in this class, meaning there are still a few spots open for some of the bigger names waiting until February.

As of last night, things were looking a little bit bleak for Saban and company as five-star RB Trey Sanders appeared to be trending toward Georgia. Instead, Saban rallied the troops and closed magnificently, securing Sanders’ commitment to go along with five-star OT Evan Neal to all but clinch the Tide’s top-ranked signing class.

The day started off with five-star safety Daxton Hill flipping his pledge back to Michigan, but that loss was mitigated by the flip of four-star safety Jordan Battle from Ohio State.

Sanders and Neal join defensive end Antonio Alfano to give Alabama three five-star commitments in this class. The most impressive part of the Tide’s haul, however, is the depth.

25 of Alabama’s 26 commitments are four stars or greater. The only one who isn’t is three-star Will Reichard, who happens to be the No. 1 ranked kicker in the country.

Saban came back with a vengeance in this cycle, ripping the recruiting title away from Kirby Smart in Athens to once again sit atop the throne.