Road to NSD: Five team storylines

The days leading into National Signing Day are never without drama. They’re also full storylines when it comes to the Rivals.com recruiting rankings. The next few days will see commitments and last-minute changes of heart that result in shifts in the rankings. A recruiting champion will likely be crowed sometime on Wednesday evening, but there’s plenty to monitor between now and then. Below are five team-based story lines to track.

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No team packs Signing Day potential like Alabama. The national champions are currently ranked just outside the top 10, but will certainly not finish in such a position. Alabama’s Signing Day surge is happening. The only question is just how far the Crimson Tide will rise.

Nick Saban and company seem likely to land five-star linebackers Ben Davis and Lyndell Wilson. Four-stars Landon Dickerson (OL), Nigel Knott (DB), Michail Carter (DL) and Jared Mayden (DB) are also serious threats to join the Tide’s 2016 class. Add in the fact that five-stars prospects Mique Juarez and Terrell Hall are also seriously considering choosing Alabama, and the potential for a jump to the top is certainly on the table.

USC won’t end the cycle outside of the top 25, but it certainly sits there for the time being. That said, the Trojans have some serious work to do if they hope to land the sort of class to which fans of the program have become accustomed.

USC, which will sign a relatively small class, is likely to land five-star defensive back Jack Jones, but that’s where the near-locks on elite talent end. The Trojans are in play for in-state stars Devin Asiasi and Boss Tagaloa, but could lose both to rival UCLA. Surely, USC will win a few of its final battles but will struggle to match its usual lofty recruiting ranking because of both class size and missed opportunity.

Ole Miss already has two of its home state’s top five prospects committed with pledges from four-star wide receiver DeKaylin Metcalf and four-star defensive tackle Benito Jones. With a little luck, the Rebels could add the other three … or at least close to it.

Ole Miss is the favorite to land the state’s top prospect, five-star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. It is also in play to add four-star wide receiver A.J. Brown and four-star defensive back Nigel Knott, who is expected to announce his choice on Monday afternoon instead of Signing Day. The Rebels will need to hold off Alabama in the cases of Knott and Brown, but seem to have a leg up when it comes to the latter.

No prospect impacts the team rankings more than the class’ No. 1 prospect, so Rashan Gary being left on the board this close to Signing Day creates intrigue. Michigan is the favorite to land Gary’s commitment, and doing so would likely solidify The Wolverines’ spot in the top five of the rankings.

Michigan grabbing Gary to headline one of America’s best classes would add to the momentum that seems to be building all around program. An elite class topped by a signature recruiting victory says plenty about the future in Ann Arbor. Should Gary choose Clemson, Auburn or another school on his list of finalists, the bump in recruiting ranking prestige will be awarded elsewhere.

Trying to figure out what Florida State’s class may look like post-Signing Day seems to get harder as time passes. The Seminoles are the favorites to land athlete Carlos Becker and tackle Jauan Williams, but that’s where anything loosely resembling certainty ends.

Locking up four-star receiver Keith Gavin was a nice start to the homestretch, which could be an absolute feat for the Seminoles, which seem likely to fight for a top-five finish.

Four-star defensive lineman Brian Burns seems to favor the Noles as things stand now, and FSU is also in play for four-stars Trayvon Mullen (DB) and Landon Dickerson (OL). Texas-based linebacker Dontavious Jackson is also on the table.

Projecting how things may break for FSU is nearly impossible, which makes the program one of the more interesting ones to monitor.