Ten National Signing Day predictions

Making predictions about what will happen on National Signing Day is usually a fool’s errand, and Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell is willing to play the fool. Here are 10 things to look out for on Wednesday.

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Let’s start with a layup. Barring something crazy, Alabama will win its eighth recruiting title in the last 10 cycles which is freaking amazing. Whether the Crimson Tide adds LaBryan Ray, Aubrey Solomon, Henry Ruggs, DeVonta Smith, Todd Harris, all of them or others, they will be adding to their No. 1 class heading into the day. Nick Saban's program pretty much has an insurmountable lead unless some freaky stuff goes on. But….

The Buckeyes currently have a 4.21 average star ranking per recruit. Historically, that puts them a shade behind the 2007 USC class (4.22) and the 2013 USC 12-prospect class (4.42) limited in numbers due to sanctions. This Ohio State class, with five-stars from Texas, California, Florida and Maryland and with zero JUCO five-stars, is the best pound-for-pound class in the 2017 cycle even if Alabama adds yet another five-star in Solomon and a few others.

I still think LSU lands five-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and four-star defensive back Todd Harris. The Tigers will also land Phildarian Mathis and have a good shot at K’Lavon Chaisson. Flipping Jacob Phillips was key. This is a top-10 class, but there will be some nice additions down the stretch.

The Trojans should finish with offensive tackle Austin Jackson, wide receiver Joseph Lewis, athlete Greg Johnson and could add a key player like Jay Tufele, Elijah Blades or someone else as well. Whoever they finish with, it will be another very good top-10 class for USC.

Yes, the Gators could flip Brandon and Breyon Gaddy away from Maryland and should land four-star wide receiver James Robinson, and I’m sure they will add a few more three-stars and perhaps another four-star here or there. Despite all of that, this class has been a bit of a disaster for Jim McElwain and his staff from the start. They will be scrambling to pull into the national top 20, which is ridiculous based on Florida's brand name and the program's back-to-back SEC East titles.

While USC could certainly land him, cornerback Elijah Blades will end up at Nebraska. His decommitment from Florida was the first step and I think super recruiter Donte Williams pulls this one out. Has there been a better hire in recent months than Williams away from Arizona?

Miami will land former West Virginia wide receiver commitment Mike Harley and I think they add fellow speedster Jeff Thomas as well. Add in JUCO defensive back Jhavonte Dean and high school defensive backs C.J. Henderson and Brian Edwards and I think this is the best Miami class in a while. Even if the Hurricanes miss on Edwards, I like what Mark Richt is doing at The U.

While I don’t think the Seminoles will land Marvin Wilson, I think Florida States hits a couple key position groups with commitments from linebacker Leonard Warner, linebacker Levi Jones. You have to figure they will pull an upset at wide receiver with either Henry Ruggs or Devonta Smith, right?

The Utes could land Tufele, wide receiver Bryan Thompson, linebacker Daniel Green and they just stole running back T.J. Green away from Oregon State. This will be a small class, but its quality will be off the hook.

The key names to watch on National Signing Day include Jamyest Williams, Neil Farrell, Russ Yeast, Bubba Bolden and Mark Webb. Of course, knowing how this prediction has gone down in the past, there will be a huge, unexpected flip on Wednesday that sends shockwaves throughout college football.