National Signing Day 2015 Recap: Alabama Reigns Supreme Again; Auburn, Ohio State, USC Win Big
ByMany would agree Nick Saban and his Alabama football coaching staff won National Signing Day once again, but what else is new?
The Tide secured commitments from 19 ESPN 300 prospects and was awarded the publication's top recruiting class for a fourth straight year. Saban's class was highlighted by three five-star recruits: cornerback Kendall Sheffield, quarterback Blake Barnett and athlete Bo Scarbrough.
Accompanied by 19 four-star recruits, and combined with the talent returning for the team, the Crimson Tide will certainly stay in competition for the SEC and National titles for now and the foreseeable future.
Auburn's recruiting class may be the one in the SEC to rival Alabama's, making the Iron Bowl all the more interesting. After securing Byron Cowart, ESPN's top recruit overall, the defensive end reportedly did not sign his letter of intent right away. Cowart is seen as not having quite as high a ceiling as other defensive end recruits, but will likely be a key contributor immediately.
SB Nation named USC has the biggest winner from National Signing Day and ESPN ranked coach Steve Sarkisian's class the third-best overall. USC is getting out from under NCAA sanctions that had crippled the powerhouse's recruiting efforts in past seasons. This season is Sarkisian's first full class as head coach and it includes five-star cornerback Iman Marshall, a top-five prospect in ESPN's 300.
But UCLA was arguably the biggest mover in the recruiting class rankings, which includes five-star running back Soso Jamabo and four-star wide receiver Cordell Broadus, the son of Snoop Dogg.
Another one of the biggest National Signing Day winners was the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes. With three quarterbacks seemingly ready to return, Ohio State added 27 recruits, the most in the Big Ten. But of those 27, two were rated with five stars and 16 with four. As SB Nation noted, Ohio State's biggest success is their returning talent, highlighted by running back Ezekiel Elliot and the QB trio of Braxton Miller, Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.