Farrell Awards: Reviewing the Early Signing Period

The Farrell Awards are always popular - or unpopular, depending on which team and prospects you like - and are a must after Signing Day. So, while wearing my best tux, here is the hardware from the Early Signing Period - the Oscars of recruiting, so to speak.

MORE FARRELL AWARDS: National Signing Day 2017 | Best of CFB's first half

Does this really need to be explained? No team had a better day, as Georgia moved up to No. 1 in the team rankings, landed an in-state five-star as well as an in-state four-star, pulled a five-star out of Knoxville, flipped a commitment from Florida and another from Alabama, landed one of the top players in South Carolina and signed the best tight end around. Oh yeah, they also held onto James Cook as Florida State tried to sway him. From Jamaree Salyer to Cade Mays to Nadab Joseph and Channing Tindall and everything in between, it was an amazing day.

Did anyone see this coming? Clemson felt good about its chances, but still likely had questions whether they could pull a five-star out of Ohio away from Urban Meyer. I had questions about that, as well. Meyer doesn’t lose battles like this, but Dabo Swinney is an elite recruiter, too.

Was there a more heart-warming scene than watching five-star defensive end K.J. Henry call longtime West Forsyth High School assistant coach Patrick Murphy up on stage and allow him to announce his choice of Clemson? Murphy, who has a mental disability and has been a fixture at the school for 26 years, made every day special for Henry, according to Henry and he wanted to show the world. This wasn’t a puppy being pulled out of a bag or a hat trick - it was just plain cool and great to see.

Showing up to his announcement as a Florida State commitment decked out in FSU gear, only to take it off and commit and sign with South Carolina is gutsy stuff for a mid three-star kid. He was clearly not happy with the 'Noles.

Jones is the most important commitment of the day, after Florida whiffed on Justin Fields (Georgia) and lost a commitment from Matt Corral (Ole Miss). If the Gators struck out on Jones, a former Ohio State commitment, they’d be in big trouble. Instead new head coach Dan Mullen has a mobile, athletic signal-caller who he can develop as he’s done with players like Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott. If Jones had gone to Alabama or Florida State or stuck with the Buckeyes, the Gators would be in more offensive trouble than they are already.

Florida State hired the high school coach of Dalvin Cook and put on the full-court press this past weekend on a visit to get the younger Cook to flip, but it didn’t work. James Cook, a former Florida State commitment, stuck to his guns and decided to sign early with Georgia, which was a big part of the Dawgs' huge day.

The term recommitment has become more and more common these days, and Parsons, an early Penn State commitment before decommitting, is the biggest in this category nationally. Ohio State wanted him badly before they were forced to back off due to recruiting violations, and Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia and others threw everything they could at him, but James Franklin won out in the end.

This was a tough blow to the Aggies' class as big men are hard to find and Brown was committed for some time. Losing a Rivals250 prospect the first day of the Early Signing Period is not great for momentum.

I could choose many five-stars for this award, but Pope will be an instant star for the ‘Canes. He still has some work to do in the weight room, but his speed, hands and route-running ability are much needed in Miami, and he could be a go-to-guy early and often. Pope could have an impact at Miami the way former South Florida stars Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley had at Alabama.

The biggest flip of the day came from Woodbey, who chose Florida State, a school that offered him less than a week ago, over his longtime commitment to Ohio State and a big push from USC. Woodbey is so physically gifted that he could follow in the tradition of Jalen Ramsey and Derwin James if he adjusts properly, and getting him on campus for a last-second visit truly paid off.

This one came out of left field. Yes, there could be some academic concerns involved here, but it doesn’t matter in the long run. Kirby Smart took another recruit away from Nick Saban (Jake Fromm, remember him?), and that’s how it will play out nationally.

Emory Jones could be in here, as well as a few others, but Dotson was known to be flipping from UCLA about a week before it happened - or maybe more. This is a great get for Penn State because he’s a slot receiver with speed and fits the Nittany Lions' offensive needs.

The Huskers did a good job adding some key talent from the JUCO ranks, as running back Greg Bell was coveted, defensive back Deontai Williams can play early and a couple of teams tried to steal away Jaron Woodyard. Linebacker Will Honas, who picked NU over Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas State, is another impact JUCO. This won’t be the trend of the future under Scott Frost, but he needed a few instant impact guys and hit the JUCOs to get them.

The comparisons to Cam Newton are crazy, although he is physically built the same way, but is there a more polarizing player at a bigger position than Gatewood? He’s either going to be great at quarterback at Auburn or be a tight end.

Georgia likes to run the ball and play power football, so could they have recruited three better linemen for that? Yes, they are very solid pass-blockers as well, but these guys are road graders, and the UGA offensive line could be scary in a couple of years. I mean scary.

Marshall is one of the few prospects to wait beyond Day One of the Early Signing Period to sign. He’s expected to pick between LSU and Texas A&M by the time you read this. There were others, like cornerback Asante Samuel, who are highly ranked kids committed to a school (Florida State) who decided to wait until February, as well. Luke Ford, who decided to sign with Georgia on Day Two, should also be mentioned here.

Maryland produces a lot of high-end talent, and the Terps need to keep as much of it at home as possible. So losing out on Anoma, while not a surprise at all, is a big loss. I seem to give this award every year to a highly ranked five-star from Maryland or Virginia, don’t I?

McClain took a last second visit to USC, which led to a flip from UCLA to the crosstown rival Trojans. It will be interesting to follow his career and that annual UCLA-USC game could mean a bit more to him than some others.

This is huge for Florida State and his presence will help the Seminoles close on others and could open up more doors out West. Willie Taggart recruited out West for a year, but he will make or break FSU classes in Florida. But does it hurt to land a five-star here or there from California? Nope.

Is there a better group than this – Anthony Cook, B.J. Foster, Caden Sterns, Jalen Green, DeMarvion Overshown and D’Shawn Jamison? Nope. This is a freaky group of talented guys in coverage, and Texas could be building more for the defense this year than the offense.

This award goes to the coach who raised his stock to a different level, based on what happened this week, and Smart has done that. He’s now in the Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Dabo Swinney level of recruiting after only two years on the job. That’s beyond impressive.

The Vols jumped up around 40 spots overall by closing on locals Jeremy Banks and Jerome Carvin, West Coast quarterback JT Shrout and tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, among others. The Vols are still outside the national Top 25 but are in much better shape than before the Early Signing Period started.

How do the Bears have a Top 25 class after such a horrible year on the field and coming off all the sexual assault scandals? The main reason is super recruiter Fran Brown, who is responsible for the majority of a very good class.

Some expected him to flip to Mississippi State and join his buddy and ex-Kansas commitment Devonta Jason, but he stuck firm to his commitment to Kansas despite other opportunities. This was a huge deal for the Jayhawks.

Even with Jeremy Pruitt’s close and Oregon’s Top 15 class under Mario Cristobal, it’s tough being a new hire right now - tougher than it’s ever been. The Early Signing Period makes it nearly impossible to play catch-up if you’re recently hired.

How often do these two schools end up going head-to-head for recruits? Not that often, but it could happen more and more as Clemson recruits at the highest level and Ohio State focuses on the Southeast. But the Jackson Carman recruitment, an Ohio prospect bolting for South Carolina, just doesn’t happen that much.