Published Dec 22, 2023
NSD 2023: Five highest-rated signees heading to Group of Five programs
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Adam Friedman  •  Rivals.com
Rankings Director and National Transfer Portal Analyst
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@RivalsFriedman

Among the many signings and commitments that occurred during the Early Signing Period, many of them involved Group of Five programs. Take a look at the five highest-ranked Group of Five signees in the 2024 class.

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MORE NSD: Latest on the top unsigned defensive prospects | Ten biggest recruiting stings of the 2024 cycle | Gorney Awards | How each Power Program announced its signees | Five teams with work left to do | Latest on the top unsigned offensive players | All the news, analysis and interviews | Winners and losers | Who's still left? | UGA leads the race for No. 1 | National Signing Day Studio Show

NSD INTERVIEWS: South Carolina coach Shane Beamer | Florida signee Gregory Smith | Georgia Tech signee Anthony Carrie | Rutgers coach Greg Schiano | NC State coach Dave Doeren | Oregon State coach Trent Bray | TCU coach Sonny Dykes | Florida State coach Mike Norvell | Stanford coach Troy Taylor | Arizona coach Jedd Fisch | Illinois coach Bret Bielema | Washington State coach Jake Dickert | Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith | Auburn signee Amaris Williams | Syracuse coach Fran Brown | Georgia Tech coach Brent Key | No. 1 prospect Jeremiah Smith | West Virginia coach Neal Brown | Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry | Auburn coach Hugh Freeze | Amaris Williams announces live on Rivals | Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham | Clemson coach Dabo Swinney | Nebraska coach Matt Rhule | Purdue coach Ryan Walters | Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire | Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea | Larry Tarver discusses flip to Nebraska | Legendary coach Lou Holtz | CFB analyst Yogi Roth | Fitz and Gorney preview the big day | John Garcia Jr. previews signing day in the Southeast

TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS: ACC | BIG TEN | BIG 12 | PAC-12 | SEC | OVERALL

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer tracker/player ranking (football) | Transfer team ranking (football) | Transfer tracker/player ranking (basketball) | Transfer team ranking (basketball) | Rivals Portal Twitter

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Echols had a fascinating recruitment that began with teams pursuing him as a defensive end. It soon became clear he preferred tight end and he committed to Tennessee in July of last year.

Echols is an impressive athletic specimen who shined at various points in his high school career. A late official visit to South Florida laid the groundwork for a flip from the Vols to the Bulls earlier this month.

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One of the surprises on National Signing Day was Lang's flip to Toledo. The longtime South Carolina commit out of Florida had been loyal to the Gamecocks since his commitment in late July.

Toledo is getting an impressive prospect who should be able to contribute early in his career in a variety of situations.

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Henry is a one-time Boston College commit and a former Purdue commit. He reopened his recruitment earlier this month despite Purdue still wanting him to remain in its class. By the time signing day came around, both Purdue and Henry had moved on and he landed at Memphis.

This past season Henry was credited with more than 600 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

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Mitchell didn’t get to play for about half his senior season due to transfer rules but it’s clear he brings impressive athletic traits to the field. His recruitment featured plenty of visits to Power Five programs and he was close to committing on a number of occasions.

Utah, Colorado and Texas A&M were all involved late in the process but an official visit to San Diego Stage prior to National Signing Day sealed the deal.

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Ross was very productive at the high school level and seemed to have a skillset that would make him a legitimate Power Five prospect. Plenty of Pac-12 programs were pursuing him early in the recruiting process but injuries during his junior season derailed his recruitment a bit.

He committed to Colorado State in late June and stuck with his decision through National Signing Day.