What to watch for on National Signing Day

BOULDER — It’s almost signing day!

Colorado will sign the majority of its 2022 recruiting class on Wednesday, as the NCAA’s early signing period gets underway. Most of the class appears to be solidified, though the Buffs could still add—or potentially subtract—players through February’s signing day.

Here’s what you need to know:

Wednesday is the big day

There are two signing days in college football nowadays.

The traditional signing day is the first Wednesday in February, as has been the case for 40 years. For decades this is when just about all of a team’s recruiting class officially joined the program.

But in 2017 the NCAA created an “early signing period.” For one morning in December, high school seniors can sign their National Letter of Intent. It’s a controversial event, as many teams are still conducting practices ahead of bowl games, and a final recruiting push in early December makes conducting those practices more difficult.

Plus, the coaching carousel still hasn’t settled. As of Tuesday afternoon, Colorado still hasn’t hired a new offensive coordinator coach and only three position coaches are under contract for the 2022 season. The uncertainty creates questions of whether high schoolers should be signing with teams who can’t say who the their coaches will be.

Still, the December signing day has easily overtaken the traditional signing day. Last year, Colorado signed its entire freshman class in December and didn’t add anybody in February. That may not be true this time around, but the vast, vast majority of Colorado’s recruits will be signed up on Wednesday.

It’s a fairly large class

As of now, 247Sports’ composite rankings show Colorado’s 2022 class as the No. 6 class in the Pac-12 and the No. 42 class overall. Those numbers are boosted, though, by the fact that CU has 19 commitments, the second-most in the Pac-12. The average rating is 85.49, good for 10th in the conference.

On average, Pac-12 schools have 12 commitments in the 2022 cycle, so CU is certainly an abnormality.

Typically, Colorado brings in about 20 recruits, but the ability to pull players from the transfer portal has caused some teams to slow down on recruiting. With eight of their own players already announcing their intent to transfer, the Buffs have ample scholarships to spend on incoming transfers, and they’re likely to pick up a few more in coming weeks as we learn what the coaching staff will look like in 2022.

As for Wednesday, just about all of the the 19 commits are expected to sign their letters of intent, though a couple could back down. The only thing worth worrying about on signing day is last-minute recommits.

More could be on the way

The Buffs already have a big class, but they might not be done yet.

Colorado has offers out to plenty of uncommitted prospects, including two big names who are expected to announce decisions on Wednesday. Either would be the highest-rated prospect in Colorado’s ’22 class.

Four-star edge rusher Samuel Okunlola will announce his commitment on Wednesday. He took his final official visit with the Buffaloes. He has numerous offers, including from Clemson, Georgia, USC and Oregon.

Four-star running back Jaydn Ott committed to Cal, but decided to decommit this fall. He has an extensive offer list but Colorado is one of four schools Ott visited. He’ll announce his decision on Wendesday.

Colorado could also and safety Larry Turner-Gooden. He’s another four-start and the No. 189 prospect in the entire country. He originally committed to Arizona State but decided to back out. Now, he’s deciding between Colorado, Texas, Maryland, Penn State and USC. He won’t announce his decision until January 8, though.

These aren’t the only potential additions to the current group, but they’re the biggest names that have a real chance of choosing the Buffs… at least as of now.

The linebackers are the strength

According to the recruiting gurus, four of Colorado’s top six commits play linebacker.

With Nate Landman and Carson Wells moving on to the next level, it makes sense for the Buffs to build more depth at the second level.

Aubrey Smith, an inside linebacker out of Georgia, is Colorado’s second-highest-rated recruit, and he chose the Buffs over a number of big-name schools like Alabama and Georgia.

Eoghen Kerry is an outside linebacker who initially committed to Texas but flipped to the Buffs this month. He also had a litany of offers, but decided on CU.

All four of these linebackers are expected to put pen to paper on Wednesday, and they could form the future at the linebacker position moving forward.

Only one Colorado commitment

Colorado isn’t keeping many players home in this cycle.

Only Cherokee Trail’s Travis Gray is committed to Colorado. He’s a prototypical offensive tackle prospect and the No. 8 player in the state of Colorado.

Both of the state’s four-star recruits—Valor running back Gavin Sawchuk and Cherry Creek tackle George Fitzpatrick—opted for premier football programs. Sawchuk is headed to Oklahoma and Fitzpatrick will attend Ohio State. CU offered both players, but neither took an official visit to Boulder.

The Buffs pulled in a couple of Colorado kids as preferred walk-ons, like Dakota Ridge slot receiver Dante Capolungo, but overall it’s an incredibly light haul from the Centennial State.

This is the first cycle since 2010 that the Buffs haven’t brought in a top-seven player in Colorado, by the 247Sports Composite, and it’s the first time since 247Sports began compiling recruiting information in 1999 that the Buffs only brought in one player from Colorado.

As of now, all prospects from Colorado that have been rated in the composite have committed, though there’s still time to flip a commitment before the second and final signing day in February.