Welcome to the continuation of the new recruiting norm.
In years past, the first Wednesday in February served as bizarro, ofttimes frightening Christmas for fanatical recruitniks and college football fans all across the country. With the implementation of the December Early Signing in 2017, however, National Signing Day has very quickly morphed into, relatively speaking, an afterthought compared to what it once was.
Case in point: school rankings.
Following the second Early Signing Period this past December, the Top Four schools in the 247Sports.com composite rankings were, in order, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Texas A&M; after signing day, the top four remained unchanged.
With just six four-star prospects (out of more than 340) left unsigned, the end of National Signing Day 2019 means the beginning, potentially, of another recruiting championship streak for ‘Bama. From 2011-17, the Crimson Tide pulled in the top-ranked class each year; in 2018, they tumbled all the way down to No. 5, Nick Saban‘s worst class ratings-wise since a fourth-ranked group in 2010.
Elsewhere in the Top Ten, No. 5 LSU and No. 6 Oklahoma flipped spots from a month and a half ago, while Oregon and Michigan held steady at Nos. 7 and 8, respectively. Florida made one of the most noteworthy jumps of the day, climbing from No. 11 to No. 9, pushing Clemson down one spot to No. 10.
Penn State, conversely, took one of the biggest drops of the day, tumbling from the Top 10 at No. 10 to No. 13, replaced by a pair of SEC schools -- No. 11 Auburn (up from No. 12) and No. 12 Tennessee (up from No. 15). Ohio State (from No. 13 to No. 14) and Notre Dame (From No. 14 to No. 15) each fell one spot apiece. The status quo was in effect for Nos. 16-18 (Florida State, Washington, USC), with South Carolina at No. 19 and Nebraska at No. 20 rounding out the Top 20.
Stanford began Wednesday at No. 20 before ending it at No. 21; the Gamecocks had started the day in the same place the Cardinal finished it.
As for the best classes in each conference?
AAC -- UCF (No. 56)
ACC -- Clemson (No. 10)
Big 12 -- Texas (No. 3)
Big Ten -- Michigan (No. 8)
Conference USA -- FAU (No. 66)
Independent -- Notre Dame (No. 15)
MAC -- Toledo (No. 71)
Mountain West -- Boise State (No. 49)
Pac-12 -- Oregon (No. 7)
SEC -- Alabama (No. 1)
Sun Belt -- Louisiana (No. 72)
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Louisville, at No. 73, was the lowest-ranked Power Five school. No. 68 Oregon State (Pac-12), No. 67 Texas Tech (Big 12), No. 62 Illinois (Big Ten) and No. 57 Vanderbilt (SEC) had the lowest-ranked classes in their respective conferences.