12/21/2023 football Edit

NSD 2023: The Gorney Awards

Adam Gorney • Rivals.com

National Recruiting Director

National Signing Day is in the books so it’s time for another edition of the Gorney Awards. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney hands out some hardware.

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

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

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BEST DRAMA: Jeremiah Smith

Jeremiah Smith was committed to Ohio State since last December so it was not a shock that he stuck with the Buckeyes on signing day over flipping to Miami or Florida State.

What ensued after he signed his paperwork was completely unexpected though as the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class did not send in his LOI for hours.

And hours.

People close to him outside of his immediate family wondered what was going on as apparently his NIL paperwork was being reviewed. A little after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Smith sent the papers to Columbus.

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RETURN TO SENDER: Armondo Blount

Early on, for a short time, Armondo Blount was committed to Miami. Then he flipped to Florida State and stuck with the Seminoles until signing day when he went back to the Hurricanes. This one was not quite as shocking as some other signing day flips because in the week leading up to decision day it became pretty obvious that Blount was looking to stay closer to home.

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CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: LJ McCray

Florida State tried. Auburn tried. But no luck. LJ McCray even considered postponing his signing but by the end of signing day, the four-star defensive tackle from Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland signed with the Gators and his recruitment was over.

Many teams tried to flip McCray late in the process but he committed to Florida in late October and stuck with the Gators.

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CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR II: Eddrick Houston

In the days leading up to signing day, it very much looked like five-star defensive end Eddrick Houston would flip to Alabama. He took a late visit to Tuscaloosa and that’s never a good sign for the other team in his recruitment.

But the Buford, Ga., standout had been committed to Ohio State since late August and playing for position coach Larry Johnson was always a dream. Instead of flipping to the Crimson Tide, Houston decided to stick with the Buckeyes.

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STAND BY YOUR MAN AWARD: DJ Lagway

Five-star quarterback DJ Lagway has been committed to Florida since December 2022 and has been the ringleader of trying to put the best recruiting class together. But in the closing weeks, Baylor, Texas A&M, Houston and others made a run at him.

Perhaps the biggest threat emerged after five-star Malachi Nelson left USC for the transfer portal and the Trojans made a late run.

Both sides had conversations but in the end, the Willis, Texas, standout stuck with the Gators.

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SLEEPING IN ST. LOUIS AWARD: Ryan Wingo

Very early Wednesday morning, rumors started to fly that five-star Texas receiver commit Ryan Wingo was going to flip to Missouri. Whether those rumors were grounded more in speculation is not clear but one thing is certain: Wingo was sleeping when everything on social media started trending to the Tigers.

A few hours later, Wingo woke from his slumber and without much fanfare or drama, signed with Texas.

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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT: KJ Bolden

Florida State beat out Georgia this summer for KJ Bolden and it was a massive recruiting win for the Seminoles. Bolden stayed pledged to FSU throughout his senior season but took numerous visits elsewhere and it started to look like Auburn was the biggest threat to flip him.

But on signing day, the Buford, Ga., standout flipped to Georgia and told reporters that he had his mind made up for three weeks that he was going to pick the Dawgs.

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HURRY UP AND WAIT: Dealyn Evans

Dealyn Evans committed to Texas A&M in late July and it looked like the Aggies locked up one of the best defensive ends in the class. He’s from Longview (Texas) Pine Tree and always had a lot of love for Texas A&M but in the ensuing months, the Aggies had another disappointing season and coach Jimbo Fisher was fired.

Florida was a school Evans was also high on but then Texas started to make a run at him. So instead of signing anywhere, Evans decided to wait until the February period.

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HURRY UP AND WAIT II: Jordan Seaton

Jordan Seaton pulled off a recruiting stunner in early December when the five-star offensive tackle committed to Colorado over Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State and others. It was another flash pledge for coach Deion Sanders, who has pulled signing day coups in recent recruiting classes.

But then the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout didn’t sign on Wednesday and now it looks Maryland could be a significant player. His timeline for when he signs – or flips – is now uncertain.

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FLIPPING OUT: Jeremiah McClellan

Earlier in the week, I asked four-star receiver Jeremiah McClellan what hats he would have on his signing day table and his response was “O-H” since he was committed to Ohio State at the time. Oregon was making a serious push and Missouri was also there but not as high.

On signing day, the talented St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers standout flipped to the Ducks and while other news was going on as well, this one should not have been overlooked.

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