Tuesdays with Gorney: Counting down to National Signing Day

The Early Signing Period is upon us as nearly all of the top prospects in the 2024 class will come off the board Wednesday. Here’s the latest on what Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing and he also makes some predictions in this Tuesdays With Gorney: National Signing Day edition.

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MORE NSD: Announcement Guide | Storylines to follow | Five programs in the spotlight | Rumor Mill | How things stand with the uncommitted prospects in the Rivals250

NSD PREVIEWS: Roundtable | ACC | SEC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12

TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS: ACC | BIG TEN | BIG 12 | PAC-12 | SEC | OVERALL

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Echols visited LSU over the weekend and he absolutely loved the camaraderie between the players and the love the coaches showed between each other and to the players was unmatched.

A big decision is coming up for the high three-star offensive lineman from Katy, Texas, with LSU, Auburn and Texas A&M (where he had been committed) in the mix.

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Is a flip coming up for Fields after his Oklahoma State visit over the weekend? The Del City, Okla., standout who caught 59 passes for 1,248 yards and 19 touchdowns this season has been committed to TCU since August but the Cowboys have been trying to flip him and a late visit to Stillwater has him thinking.

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Kirks is still planning to sign on Wednesday but he’s also hoping to get more information from the Washington coach staff about who his position coach will be after Eric Schmidt left to be San Diego State’s defensive coordinator. The four-star from Painesville (Ohio) Riverside is hearing from other programs but it looks like the Huskies should keep him.

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Syracuse was trying to make a run at the three-star cornerback from Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Cardinal Newman, especially with new coach Fran Brown in place, but after a weekend visit to Indiana, it looks like the Hoosiers will keep him.

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There have been some hearty denials but the word I keep hearing is that Smith was definitely at Texas over the weekend. That leads me to believe the Longhorns have a shot to flip him from Texas A&M but clearly the Jasper, Texas, four-star linebacker is trying to keep things quiet so it could go either way here.

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Texas A&M had Carrie on campus on the final weekend before signing day and NC State has been very involved since his decommitment from Michigan State. But there are a lot of Georgia Tech whispers here.

Could all three five-star prospects at Buford, Ga., flip? It’s becoming more of a possibility with five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola going to Nebraska, five-star defensive end Eddrick Houston possibly going to Alabama instead of Ohio State and five-star safety KJ Bolden flipping to Auburn. Bolden would seem like the biggest surprise but it’s more than possible – but not yet probable – that all three make that move.

I wrote on Monday that Alabama could steal the show on Wednesday as the Crimson Tide are in the running to flip five-star defensive end Eddrick Houston, they’re going after Auburn WR commit Perry Thompson again and then Miami commit Kevin Riley, four-star DE Jayshawn Ross and a few others would be in play.

After talking to some sources over the last day, I might have been underselling it. There are going to be other storylines but Alabama could be the talk of the day with what could be coming down the line for coach Nick Saban and his staff.

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Maybe there is some subterfuge going on especially as Oregon has made major in-roads here over many months, but Ohio State is still in a strong position to keep four-star Jeremiah McClellan on board. The Buckeyes are putting together another elite receiver class led by McClellan, five-star Jeremiah Smith (more on him next) and high four-star Mylan Graham, who isn’t being talked about nearly enough nationally because he’s an elite prospect as well.

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The tightest lips headed down the stretch are on No. 1 overall Jeremiah Smith, whose camp is not talking at all – even to some people who are pretty close to the situation. One source told me Ohio State might “sweat” a little bit because of NIL numbers from Florida State and Miami but the five-star receiver also has other priorities than just NIL when it comes to this decision.

There have been some rumors that if Miami lands a huge portal QB such as Cam Ward, then the Hurricanes can be back in it. But this feels like Ohio State needs to hold off Florida State most.

Debron Gatling: South Carolina should be in really strong shape for the high three-star receiver who had previously been committed to Texas A&M.

Perry Thompson: There has been a lot of talk that Alabama could flip Thompson back but late word here is that Auburn holds on to the four-star receiver from Foley, Ala.

LJ McCray: Throughout Florida State and Auburn trying everything to flip the four-star defensive tackle from Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland, McCray has stuck with the Gators. That’s expected to remain on signing day.

Jeremiah Smith: Call me a fool but I think he sticks with Ohio State. Brian Hartline only coaches at one school.

Aeryn Hampton: Hampton committed and backed off a pledge once. He then re-committed to the Longhorns but it sure sounds like there’s smoke around a flip to Alabama. It’s certainly one to watch.

Kevin Riley: Miami has done its share of flipping prospects this recruiting cycle and it looks like it could now happen to the Hurricanes. Riley took a late visit to Alabama and he literally lives just a couple miles from campus.

Armondo Blount: A late visit to Miami and a lot of flip talk has this one pegged as one that very likely happens as the Miami (Fla.) Central five-star has talked more about playing in front of the community and more as the Hurricanes beat FSU.

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