Recruiting 2021: 5 Things That Matter After National Signing Day

5 observations and things that matter after the 2021 recruiting season and National Signing Day are over.

5 observations and things that matter after the 2021 recruiting season and National Signing Day are over.


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Now that it’s all over, what mattered about National Signing Day 2021 and the entire recruiting period coming off the weirdest possible season?

Here are five observations and things that matter – especially if you don’t care about recruiting.

5. Yes, National Signing Day was last Wednesday

You can be forgiven if you didn’t notice that the first Wednesday in February passed without you noticing any sizable changes in your world.

There used to be a time when that date meant something to college football fans looking for something to care about in the middle of a random weeks, and was a national holiday for the fetish crowd that gets WAYYYYYYY to into the college whims of teenage guys.

But that’s all changed, and it’s good thing.

As a friend of mine put it, now it goes Early Signing Period > Transfer Portal > National Signing Day.

And that was what made the 2021 recruiting season so strange. The Early Signing Period in late December has destroyed the February National Signing Day, mainly because everyone signs on as soon as they’re able to.


2021 Recruiting
Coaching Changes & 2021 Recruiting
New Schools In The Mix | The Top Position
Alabama Dunked On Your Recruiting Class
Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC


(Why the superstar recruits don’t hold out until the last possible second as the value goes up and the “offers” become more tasty is beyond me – but that’s for another day.)

This year, though, late December meant something beyond the random bowl games, which meant that college football fans had to care about how the extended season ended, which meant that random interest in recruiting was next to nothing.

Coaches and recruiters couldn’t work like normal in the COVID year, there wasn’t a Terrelle Pryor or Justin Fields or Rashan Gary or Jadeveon Clowney who captured the recruiting world’s imagination, and there’s the one big aspect that has totally killed interest in recruiting …

Who cares about a bunch of questionable prospects who may or may not be worth the trouble when you can go get the guys you need in the transfer portal?

But recruiting still matters, especially at the highest level. Now, it’s a strength in numbers game considering so many players will be off to the transfer portal the second they see where they are on the depth chart. Obviously, the more great recruits you get, the more chances that a few will work out.

At the end of the day, whether recruiting has lost its mojo or not, you still need the guys.

Coaching Changes & 2021 Recruiting
New Schools In The Mix | The Top Position
Alabama Dunked On Your Recruiting Class

NEXT: The coaching changes in this weird year

Georgia football recruiting: Looking at UGA’s 2021 class

Reviewing Georgia football’s 2021 recruiting class led by five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff and four-star running back Lovasea Carroll.

Georgia has been busy on the recruiting trail during quarantine, as head coach Kirby Smart and his staff have secured two commits in the last 24 hours.

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That brings the total of commits in the Bulldog’s 2021 class to six.

(All player and class ratings via 247Sports.)

5-star QB Bock Vandagriff

The group is headlined by five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff of Prince Avenue Christian School. 247Sports Composite has the Bogart, Georgia native ranked as the No. 12 prospect nationally and the No. 2 ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class.

4-star OT Micah Morris

Next on the board is recently committed four-star offensive tackle Micah Morris of Camden County. Matt Luke added the 6-foot-4 316 pound blocker as his first o-line commit of the 2021 class. Morris is ranked as the No. 11 offensive tackle.

4-star ATH David Daniel

The next addition for the Bulldogs is David Daniel from Woodstock, Georgia. Daniel is ranked as the No. 4 athlete in the 2021 class and although he is listed as an athlete, Daniel looks to be best slotted at linebacker or safety for the Bulldogs.

4-star RB Lovasea Carroll

The most recent addition to the Georgia backfield is four-star running back Lovasea Carroll out of IMG Academy. He ranks as the No. 8 back in the 2021 class. The 6-foot-1 210 pound bruiser has all the measurables to be work horse for UGA.

4-star SDE Jonathan Jefferson

Jonathan Jefferson from Douglas County is the first defensive commit for the Bulldogs in 2021. The 6-foot-4 255 pound strong side defensive end is ranked as the No.11 end in the country and No. 12 player in the state of Georgia.

3-star DT Marlin Dean

The 6-foot-6 265 pound Elberton, Georgia native joins an always loaded UGA defensive front. Dean is ranked as the No. 25 defensive tackle in the 2021 class.


A key aspect to note is that all commits are from Georgia. Even Carroll, who plays for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, hails from Warrenton, Georgia.

As 5-star quarterback commit Vandagriff recently said on twitter,

“The best in GA stay in GA.”

Be on the lookout for more commits as the Bulldog’s No. 8 rated class  begins to take shape while coaches reach out to recruits during the  downtime.

And of course this classic from Georgia great Thomas Davis.