Most – but not all – of the top prospects signed during the Early Signing Period. Some committed prospects held off for different reasons, while others will go into January truly uncommitted. We take a look at the top five offensive line prospects that won’t put the pen to the paper until February.
MORE: Top unsigned QBs | RBs | WRs
Doug Nester has been committed to Ohio State since the first week of August and looked to be an early signee for the Buckeyes less than a month ago. With the changes made in Columbus, the four-star offensive guard has kept the door cracked, giving other schools one more look. He visited Penn State unofficially right before the Early Signing Period and he plans to take an official visit to Happy Valley in January. Another school to watch is Georgia. He has been in regular contact with the Bulldogs and he is likely to take an official visit there too. Virginia Tech is another school to still in the mix.
LSU commit Ray Parker not signing during the Early Signing Period was a little surprising. We know Ed Orgeron and staff urged him to sign, and there has not been too much out there linking Parker to other schools, so he is one we are still gathering information on. If there is a school to keep an eye on, it could be Ole Miss. Its name has popped up once or twice in recent weeks around Parker, but leading up to Dec. 19, Parker looked to be solid to the in-state school.
Javonne Shepherd was not expected to sign with Texas early despite being committed to the Longhorns since the summer, so that gives Texas A&M more time to to try and flip him. He has an official visit lined up to College Station for Jan. 11. He was on the A&M campus for a game in the fall, so the Aggies are in the picture. Tom Herman and the Longhorns will be tough to beat, but with Shepherd not signing early, that means he is not completely locked in with Texas yet.
It looks to be a three-team race for Rivasl250 offensive guard Enokk Vimahi of Hawaii. He has already taken official visits to Notre Dame and USC, then Oklahoma will host him Jan. 11 for what looks to be his final visit. Vimahi is set to announce his decision at the Polynesian Bowl on Jan. 19. According to the analysts’ picks on FutureCast, the Irish are the favorites.
The recruiting process has moved at a snail’s pace for five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright. He just doesn’t get out too much. January will likely change that. He visited Tennessee unofficially the weekend prior to the Early Signing Period and the Vols are considered to have a strong lead. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Penn State are others still in pursuit of Wright, but Tennessee could be tough to beat.
