Recruiting winners and losers: Oregon, Colorado, UW thrive in early-signing period while Cal and Stanford struggle
The Hotline is delighted to provide college football fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Dec. 7 …
The earliest early signing period in college football history — it was moved up two weeks, from the third Wednesday in December to the first — concluded on Friday.
Here’s our breakdown of the schools that have reason to celebrate, that experienced mixed results and that should be shedding some tears.
Celebrations
Colorado: The Buffaloes recruited heavily at the high school level, something that critics of coach Deion Sanders had been advocating and — presto! — he ended up with a pretty good class.
It includes six prospects with four-star ratings, none bigger than Julian Lewis, the longtime USC commitment who flipped to CU.
Sanders also landed a pair of four-star receivers in Adrian Wilson and Quanell X Farrakhan Jr.
Oregon: Surprise, surprise, the No. 1 team in the country has the No. 1 class in the Big Ten and the No. 4 class nationally.
The Ducks started the week by flipping the top in-state player, Zac Stascausky, from Washington. Then they started the early-signing period by holding onto five-star receiver Dallas Wilson despite a late surge by his home-state school, Florida.
Next, the Ducks proceeded to flip Na’eem Offord, a five-star prospect ranked as the No. 2 cornerback in the country, from Ohio State.
But they weren’t done.
Oregon took the jewel of Cal’s class, quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele, the No. 1 recruit in Hawaii, and then ended the day by landing an intriguing edge rusher from Texas, Tobi Haastrup.
That wasn’t all. The Ducks went and flipped yet another player: former Oregon commitment Alai Kalaniuvalu, who has roots in Provo. He had committed to the Ducks, switched to Brigham Young, then switched back to Oregon.
Washington: Following a national championship game appearance, roster attrition and a coaching change, the Huskies could have ended up with a disappointing incoming class.
To the contrary: They currently have the No. 23 class in the 247Sports rankings despite losing Stascausky down the stretch.
Washington flipped a pair of longtime SEC commitments in Texas offensive tackle pledge John Mills, whose grandfather played for the Huskies in the 1960s, and Oklahoma receiver commitment Marcus Harris.
The week prior, the Huskies flipped Washington State tight end pledge Austin Simmons.
Some good, some bad
UCLA: The Bruins lost their highest-rated commitment, edge rusher Epi Sitanilei, to Ohio State, then lost their quarterback, Madden Iamaleava, and his teammate, receiver Jace Brown, at the last minute to Arkansas.
But they flipped Boise State commitment Lucien Holland and Michigan State pledge LaRue Zamorano.
And on Thursday, the Bruins snagged an Elite 11 finalist in quarterback Robert McDaniel (away from Arizona) in the aftermath of hiring offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, who had offered McDaniel a scholarship while coaching for Indiana.
USC: The Trojans ended up with the No. 13 class but lost out on linebacker Madden Faraimo, who’s from Orange County, to Notre Dame.
They also made late runs at edge rusher Marco Jones, but he stuck with Texas A&M, and defensive lineman Josiah Sharma, but he stayed with Texas.
However, the Trojans managed to land reclassified 2025 defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart and flipped four-star cornerback Alex Graham from Colorado.
Tears (not of joy):
Cal: Sagapolutele was the most important recruit of coach Justin Wilcox’s tenure. (He’s talented enough to beat out incumbent QB Fernando Mendoza as a freshman.) And as of Tuesday, it looked like the Bears would hold on to him.
Then came reports that offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch would be removed from his playcalling role in order to focus on the offensive line.
Alas, Oregon, which was Sagapolutele’s childhood favorite, finally found the entrance it needed and flipped the top-ranked player in Hawaii.
Stanford: The Cardinal didn’t have a great class. It’s ranked 45th nationally and 10th in the ACC with only two four-star prospects: edge rusher Nusi Taumoepeau and receiver JonAnthony Hall.
It’s not an active participant in name, image and likeness — at least to the degree other schools are — and lost a pair of offensive linemen. Siosiua Vete bailed in November, and Vaea Ikakoula de-committed the day before the early-signing period began.
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