The 5 biggest storylines that will define National Signing Day

Wednesday starts the chaotic period in College Football known as the Early Signing Period. While the period is only three days, it dominates the recruiting cycle as the vast majority of the Nation's top players will sign with their future programs. In the NIL and Revenue Sharing era, the storylines on the recruiting trail have ramped up to a whole new level.

This recruiting cycle, a few storylines have set us up for an incredibly exciting Early Signing Period. Lane Kiffin and James Franklin have waged war on their former programs, as James Franklin has crippled Penn State while Kiffin has quickly flipped a few recruits. While Franklin and Kiffin won't end the cycle with the top class, Lincoln Riley may unless Marcus Freeman or Dan Lanning can chase him down.

National Signing Day revolves around these 5 storylines

What happens with LSU's 11th-ranked recruiting class?

Lane Kiffin has only been on the job for a few days, and the Tigers are heading into a turbulent Early Signing Period. On one hand, things have been positive for LSU as Lane Kiffin has started to pick at his Ole Miss class, adding three recruits to this class, with a chance he adds more to add to the class.

While Lane Kiffin is adding to this class, the next few days and maybe even weeks or months are going to be his first test. When Kiffin took the job, it looked like he had two 5-stars ready to play for him in Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson. On Tuesday, both announced they won't be signing on Wednesday, along with several others, as they look for answers with the coaching staff.

Lane Kiffin desperately needs Blake Baker back in the fold, as he's up for the Tulane job, which is his alma mater. In addition to retaining Baker, whom the Tigers are trying to keep, most of the Louisiana commits were recruited by "The Godfather" Frank Wilson, whom Kiffin may need to retain. The other key staffer is defensive backs coach Corey Raymond, as elite cornerback Havon Finney has pushed his signing day.

Does Penn State completely strikeout?

As things currently stand, Penn State has just 4 commits making up for the 128th-ranked class as James Franklin and others have picked this group apart. The schools with class ranked just ahead of Penn State include all three service academies in Army, Navy, and Air Force. Heading into Signing Day, Penn State's two top commits are trending elsewhere, and it's not impossible for the Nittany Lions to strike out, especially if they don't have a head coach.

Can Lincoln Riley sign the Nation's top class?

This season marks another year where Lincoln Riley won't lead the USC Trojans to the College Football Playoff, but he may be building some serious momentum. At the start of the day, the USC Trojans hold the Nation's top-ranked recruiting class with 34 players committed. The best Lincoln Riley has ever finished at USC is 9th with his first class, meaning this would be a massive deal.

How high does James Franklin's rapid recruiting class finish?

When James Franklin took the Virginia Tech job, the Hokies' class was ranked 118th in the Country, and ever since then, they've been flying by other programs. The Hokies' class is now ranked 30th as James Franklin has picked apart Penn State's recruiting class. As Franklin looks to pull off a few more flips, Franklin could get the Hokies into the Top 25, which would be an incredible feat.

Will Bill Belichick actually sign 38 recruits?

When Bill Belichick took over at North Carolina, he built his first roster by attacking the Transfer Portal. After realizing he couldn't step right into College Football and dominate, Bill Belichick is taking a drastic approach to this cycle as he currently has 38 players committed. Nothing in recruiting is over until a recruit signs, and in the Early Signing Period, programs will be circling for flips. Belichick signing anything over commits would be wild, but it'd give him a foundation to build on.