When DeVonta Smith hauled in the 41-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa that clinched Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in January’s national championship game in Atlanta, it resulted in euphoria on the Crimson Tide sideline and stunned silence for the Bulldogs.
In other words, there was a clear difference between finishing No. 1 and No. 2.
By the end of today’s traditional national signing date for coveted high school football prospects, a No. 1 class will be awarded. Ohio State, Georgia and Texas entered today as the top three programs in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, with Alabama No. 6 and not totally out of the running for an eighth consecutive top-ranked class of signees, but does finishing No. 1 really matter?
Lining up
Where the college football programs stood in the 247Sports rankings entering today’s traditional signing date:› 1. Ohio State› 2. Georgia› 3. Texas› 4. Penn State› 5. Miami› 6. Alabama› 7. Oklahoma› 8. Clemson› 9. Notre Dame› 10. AuburnOther SEC schools› 12. LSU› 18. Florida› 19. South Carolina› 20. Tennessee› 23. Texas A&M› 28. Ole Miss› 31. Mississippi State› 37. Kentucky› 38. Vanderbilt› 39. Missouri› 56. Arkansas
“I do think, to some degree, that we make too much of this,” ESPN national recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill said Tuesday. “It’s a fan-driven entity, and it’s a paper champion and a projection. You’re truly not going to really know for two or three classes how good an individual class is, because you’ve got to see who pans out and who doesn’t.