Pac-12 Spotlight: Looking ahead to National Signing Day

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Even though the early signing period was busy, there are still a lot of top prospects still on the board and Pac-12 teams are working hard heading into National Signing Day. Here is a breakdown of some storylines with less than one week remaining.

Arizona State has a tremendous opportunity to close strong and it’s important for the Sun Devils as first-year coach Herm Edwards faces questions about just how much he understands recruiting even with outstanding assistant coaches on staff. The Sun Devils are currently last in the conference with only 11 pledges and only one four-star but a big close could be coming on National Signing Day. Sources say four-star linebacker Merlin Robertson is going to end up there and former Long Beach (Calif.) Poly coach Antonio Pierce is on staff in Tempe and a bunch of his former players are leaning that way as well. If Arizona State lands four-star safety Aashari Crosswell, three-star prospects Jermayne Lole, Darien Butler, Joshua Gray and possibly some others in the coming weeks then this class could come together pretty nicely. In-state receivers Solomon Enis and Gunner Romney are also in play as well, so don’t count out ASU just yet.

Five-star cornerbacks Olaijah Griffin and Isaac Taylor-Stuart are the biggest prospects left on the board and their recruitments could be wild leading up to National Signing Day since both are so unpredictable. Sources say Griffin, out of Mission Viejo, Calif., is serious about the SEC schools recruiting him - namely Tennessee and Alabama - but those close to home would like it if he picked USC. He’s the son of rapper Warren G. As for Taylor-Stuart, the five-star from San Diego Helix, he’s talked seriously about maturing in the recruiting process over the last few months and is high on Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M and possibly others along with USC. It would not be a shock if both ended up at USC, or both ended up in the SEC, or one with the Trojans and one in the SEC. It’s still too unpredictable at this point.

Washington had such an exceptional run to the early signing period it was impressive to see and now the Huskies are sitting pretty with everyone in the class signed already. That’s no surprise since coach Chris Petersen and his staff saw little to no drama from any of the commits through the fall and early winter and the early period was smooth for the Huskies. Washington is going after four-star USC defensive tackle commit Tuli Letuligasenoa and some other top-notch recruits, but this is already a fantastic class looking for some final pieces leading up to National Signing Day.

Oregon’s class was already one of the best in the Pac-12 but it’s getting even better closer to Signing Day with some blockbuster commitments and at least one other on the board that’s expected to come. The transition from coach Willie Taggart to Mario Cristobal has not slowed down the Ducks at all and in recent days four-star receivers Isaah Crocker and Jalen Hall made their pledges. Both are fantastic, game-breaking players who could compete for playing time early on. And then there is four-star athlete Devon Williams, who is down to Oregon and USC, with the Ducks considered the favorite. If Oregon wants to use Williams at receiver, that’s a devastating trio. If he flips to defense, he could be fantastic there, too.

There was some thought Kevin Sumlin being hired at Arizona was going to mean an immediate recruiting boon but that has not been the case - yet. No prospects have committed to the Wildcats since Sumlin’s arrival, but Arizona could be gearing up heading into next week. More than anything, Sumlin and his staff deserve credit for stabilizing things in Tucson by keeping four-star DE Adam Plant and three-star QB Jamarye Joiner, arguably the two best players in the class, committed through the unexpected transition.

No surprise here, it’s going to be tough to beat USC. The Trojans already have three five-stars in the class in wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, quarterback JT Daniels and linebacker Palaie Gaoteote. No other five-stars are committed to or signed with a Pac-12 school, so USC is way out on front with only days left before Signing Day. What’s more is that Griffin and Taylor-Stuart are still seriously considering USC so its lead could expand even more.