National signing day has come and gone and is never devoid of drama. Seven Big 12 programs ended up with top-40 signing classes and most picked up a new signee (or three) on the final day of recruiting for the Class of 2015. Here’s a roundup of what we learned from signing day:
1. Charlie Strong’s first full Texas class gets top-10 finish
The word “foundational” will get thrown around a lot when talking about the Longhorns’ No. 9-ranked signing class, and with good reason. A nice big chunk of the 28 who inked with UT on Wednesday will be given a shot at playing time right away, including most of Texas’ 14 ESPN 300 signees.
Strong earned three nice victories on signing day: winning a coin flip (literally) for running back Chris Warren III, flipping speedy receiver/returner Ryan Newsome from UCLA and persuading three-star safety P.J. Locke to bail on Oregon. Texas went 0-for-3 on the coveted trio of Daylon Mack, Soso Jamabo and DaMarkus Lodge but still put together one of the more impressive defensive classes in the country.
It’s going to take another class like this before Texas’ cupboards are stockpiled again, but Strong confirmed with this class he won’t be afraid to take out-of-state talent (nine signees in 2015) if need be. His approach at Texas will continue to evolve, but the initial results look promising.
2. TCU misses on Mack, but could still pull surprise
Gary Patterson and his staff invested a lot of time and sweat into the recruitment of Mack, ESPN’s No. 6 overall recruit, and did an impressive job along the way. There was a phase of his process this winter during which the Frogs truly did hold a lead.
Patterson likely knew going into Wednesday that Mack was signing with Texas A&M, but it had to be a little disheartening to hear Mack declare he’d actually been silently committed to the Aggies since his Jan. 16 official visit. Kids like to maintain the charade and attention. Coaches don’t like wasting time.
The Frogs ended the day with ESPN’s No. 37 ranked class but might have one more chance to sweeten their haul. ESPN 300 Louisiana receiver Terrell Chatman delayed his signing until Thursday and, despite being a Miami commit, is mulling a flip to TCU or Arizona State.
3. Volatile day, valuable wins for West Virginia
Dana Holgorsen bragged on Wednesday that for the first time in a long time at West Virginia, he had the luxury of being selective with this 2015 class. He and his staff went hard after some big names, and a few pursuits paid off.
The most glaring need? Wide receiver. West Virginia inked an elite one in longtime ESPN 300 commit Jovon Durante and secured two more intriguing options on Wednesday: three-star Gary Jennings and juco transfer Ka’Raun White, younger brother of the great Kevin White.
But the Mountaineers missed on some key wideout targets: Shaquery Wilson flipped back to Georgia, Kahlil Lewis backed out and signed with Cincinnati and ESPN 300 standout Antonio Callaway chose Florida along with four-star back Jordan Cronkrite. WVU had as much to gain as any Big 12 program on Wednesday but had to settle for solid and a 36th-ranked class.
4. Sooners wrap up killer D with flip
Texas’ defensive class gets serious hype, but take a closer look at what the Sooners signed. Bob Stoops is right to call this his best secondary class yet: P.J. Mbanasor, Will Sunderland Jr., William Johnson, Kahlil Haughton and Antoine Stephens is a crazy collection of DB talent. That group added one more safety in four-star Prentice McKinney Jr., who’d previously committed to Notre Dame and North Carolina.
Oklahoma’s fears at linebacker were relieved -- Ricky DeBerry and Arthur McGinnis are both exciting takes -- and there are some nice pieces up front led by Canada’s finest, defensive tackle Neville Gallimore.
The infusion of depth and competition this class offers should help reshape an Oklahoma D that underperformed in 2014. Give props to newly elevated co-DC Jerry Montgomery, too. He’s a rising star in the recruiting world.
5. Red Raiders get double steal
Who doesn’t love a good package deal? Over the weekend, Texas Tech coaches sneaked Texas commit Jamile Johnson Jr. and TCU pledge J.F. Thomas in for an official visit. Soon after, Johnson made the third decommitment of his recruiting process and backed out on the Longhorns. His next move seemed obvious.
Thomas leaped with him. Both signed with TTU, in large part because their high school coach, Dallas South Oak Cliff’s Emmett Jones, has joined the Tech staff as director of player development. Thomas, a four-star wideout, is a great get after the Red Raiders missed on Carlos Strickland.
But it’s not that simple, of course. It seems TCU folks are skeptical Thomas will qualify, as evidenced by Patterson telling reporters that not only was he not surprised by the flip, he didn’t even ask the longtime pledge to take an official visit to TCU.
Got to love a good intraconference recruiting battle, right? This year’s signing day might not have been fireworks-filled, but it didn’t disappoint.