National Signing Day is just five days away and today we conclude our weeklong series previewing the power conferences' top storylines.
NATIONAL SIGNING DAY PREVIEWS: Key Big Ten storylines | Key ACC storylines | Key SEC storylines | Ten potential flips to watch heading into NSD | Flip candidates who will stick with commitments
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
COLORADO MIGHT NOT BE DONE YET
If you missed Colorado's massive recruiting run on Thanksgiving night, that's understandable since it was close to midnight as four players in rapid succession committed to the Buffaloes.
It all started when former four-star Ohio State defensive end pledge London Merritt chose Colorado. The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout was supposed to wait until signing day but that didn't happen.
Minutes later, IMG teammate Alexander McPherson, who had been pledged to Oklahoma State, then chose Colorado. Minutes after that, Colorado landed a commitment from speedy receiver Quentin Gibson and then the night was polished off by a pledge from four-star offensive lineman Carde Smith, who had been committed to USC for months.
It was an incredible holiday heist that shot Colorado all the way up to sixth in the Big 12 conference rankings after being near the bottom with only 15 pledges.
Coach Deion Sanders has made some splashy moves recently with this Thanksgiving run and the commitment of five-star QB Julian Lewis.
Colorado might not be done. The biggest targets remaining are five-stars Michael Carroll and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng. With how well Deion Sanders knows how to close, the Buffaloes should definitely not be counted out.
CURE WATCH
High four-star tight end Linkon Cure was supposed to visit Oregon earlier this season but he’s a rural kid and so he could only fly out of Denver – nearly three hours away – to get to Eugene. But a major snowstorm was coming through the area and so the Goodland, Kan., standout, who committed to Kansas State on July 1, could not make the trip.
It looked like Mother Nature made Cure’s final decision of sticking with the Wildcats instead of being tempted by Oregon and all the Ducks have to offer.
But that would not be the case as the high four-star tight end rescheduled for the last second and he’ll be at Oregon this weekend for the regular-season finale against Washington.
Oregon already flipped former Washington tight end pledge Vander Ploog but the Ducks could be in the market for a second one as well and now Cure will be there for a game-day visit.
It would be huge if Oregon could flip the small-town Kansas kid committed to Kansas State. It would be even bigger for the Big 12 if Cure – arguably the best tight end in the class – stayed with the Wildcats.
COACHING CHANGES IN FOCUS
National Signing Day is Wednesday, about three weeks earlier than usual, and right in the middle of the coaching carousel. It could be pretty wild in the Big 12 if Arizona makes a move away from coach Brent Brennan and if West Virginia moves on from coach Neal Brown.
Could that be all? Sanders has been mentioned for bigger Power Four jobs and potential NFL jobs. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy dismissed retirement questions recently but he’s had some unfortunate comments in recent months and the Cowboys had a terrible season.
UCF coach Gus Malzahn also dismissed retirement chatter in recent days but that could be another one to watch.
All that being said, it might not affect a lot of players signing on Wednesday since that news won’t leak out like coach Mack Brown’s forced retirement at North Carolina. But it could have major implications down the line.
