Mid-South Spotlight: Five Early Signing Period predictions
National Signing Day is only two days away and so it's time for some predictions. Today, we look at five potential happenings in the Mid-South Region.
*****
NSD PREVIEWS: Announcement Guide | Rumor Mill
PREDICTIONS: East Coast predictions | West Region | Midwest
FLIP WATCH: East Coast prospects | Mid-South | Southeast | Midwest | West
*****
*****
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Message board | Transfer ranking | Transfer Tracker
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
*****
PEYTON BOWEN WILL TAKE THE EXCITEMENT INTO SIGNING DAY
No recruitment in the Mid-South region has generated more buzz than that of Denton (Texas) Guyer five-star safety Peyton Bowen. Committed to Notre Dame since New Year's Day, the DFW Metroplex product has seen a big push from Oklahoma in recent months, and it has generated a lot of buzz toward a flip to the Sooners late in his process.
Some thought, including myself, that this recruitment could have already seen movement going into Monday, but Bowen remains committed to the Irish, at least publicly. I still like the prediction that I entered in November of Bowen flipping to Oklahoma, and I still expect the Sooners to be the choice, but the drama of this recruitment is starting to foreshadow a final conclusion coming after the sun rises on Wednesday.
*****
AUSTIN NOVOSAD WILL MAKE THINGS INTERESTING
Dripping Springs (Texas) four-star quarterback Austin Novosad was at the center of flip rumors back in the summer amid a push from Texas A&M and Notre Dame, but the Central Texas product re-emphasized his commitment to Baylor after visits to each program.
However, some noise is starting to pick up late with Oregon as the Ducks look for a potential replacement at the signal-caller position after they lost out on five-star Dante Moore to UCLA. Everything around the Novosad camp is being kept seal-tight, which leads me to believe that there will be some interesting things happening ahead of Wednesday here.
Ultimately, I think Baylor holds on, but I don't think it will be without a little drama along the way.
*****
JAYVON THOMAS WILL KEEP IT INTERESTING
A Texas A&M commit since April, Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff four-star cornerback Jayvon Thomas has flirted with visits to some in-state contenders in recent months, and that manifested into a trip to TCU in early December to see the Frogs.
That trip did a lot of good toward the Horned Frogs potentially flipping Thomas, and it has him and his family thinking about staying in the DFW Metroplex. Thomas was in College Station this past weekend after his state championship win for one final visit to Texas A&M before he puts pen to paper on Wednesday, and the Aggies are putting the majority of their focus into his recruitment ahead of the Early Signing Period.
One source considered this a 50-50 battle going into the final 48 hours, as both in-state powers look to land one of the nation's top secondary playmakers.
*****
TEXAS TECH MAKES A BIG SPLASH
At the time of this article being written, Texas Tech is trending for two defensive prospects committed to other programs that could immediately bolster the Red Raider defense in 2023. River Rouge (La.) John Curtis linebacker Justin Horne and Sheldon (Texas) C.E. King defensive end Dylan Spencer were in Lubbock this past weekend for an official visit, and both could be making the flip to Joey McGuire's squad ahead of the Early Signing Period.
This would be a major last splash for Texas Tech, which has benefitted from some key early evaluations, but also have seen some of those early commitments move on other big Power Five pledges. To get two defenders of this caliber, especially one that is committed to Texas, would be the confidence needed to go into the final stages of the 2023 cycle after the Early Signing Period.
*****
TCU CONTINUES ITS RUN
I've been talking about the potential for TCU in the month of December on the recruiting trail, and that potential has manifested into some major commitments down the stretch for the Horned Frogs including four-star defensive backs Channing Canada and Randon Fontenette along with former Texas commit Jamel Johnson.
TCU has shot into the top 20 of the Rivals team rankings, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Sonny Dykes and his squad continue to inch further up with one or two more splashes ahead of National Signing Day. The Horned Frogs remain in the mix to flip Jayvon Thomas, and the quarterback position still remains open in the class.