Winners and losers from national signing day

— -- The fax machines are done working for the Class of 2018. After nearly 2,000 prospects signed in the December early signing period, there wasn't expected to be much drama on Wednesday. That certainly was not the case. Georgia not only held on to the No. 1 class ranking, but demolished the competition adding five-star Tyson Campbell, ESPN 300 receiver Tommy Bush and flipping ESPN 300 linebackers Quay Walker from Alabama, and Otis Reese from Michigan.

While Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs are the big winners in this recruiting cycle, several others enjoyed big days and some fell well short of expectations heading into the day.

THE WINNERS

Florida State: Willie Taggart's transition ends with a class that is near the top 10. That's pretty amazing, considering the Seminoles finished the early signing period at No. 36. The Seminoles picked up Wednesday signatures from in-state ESPN 300 defensive lineman Malcolm Lamar, ESPN 300 athlete Tre'Shaun Harrison, a Seattle native further accentuated Taggart's West Coast connections. Harrison joins fellow West Coast recruits Jaiden Woodbey and Camren McDonald. FSU also flipped two former Tennessee commits in four-star receiver Jordan Young and running back Anthony Grant. Wednesday's strong showing followed an impactful few days leading up to signing day and showed Taggart's recruiting chops and ability to rally this class.

USC: Another year and another signing day when the Trojans put on a recruiting show. Clay Helton and staff entered the day with eight ESPN 300 commitments, then proceeded to add No. 1 athlete Devon Williams, ESPN 300 cornerback and one-time UCLA verbal Olaijah Griffin, ESPN 300 cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart and ESPN 300 linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu. The day helped USC, again, assert itself as the Pac-12's top recruiter and gave the Trojans top-10 classes in three of the past four years.

Texas A&M: The Aggies enjoyed a monster signing day and it was just what Jimbo Fisher needed. It also showed Texas A&M fans the kind of recruiter they got in Fisher and his staff. The Aggies flipped Alabama commit Bobby Brown and then beat out Florida State and LSU for QB James Foster. After whiffing in the early signing period Fisher has some positive momentum and the 2019 class is already off to a potent start.

Big 12: The league was a loser at this time last year. Oklahoma and Texas, however, led a huge rebound Wednesday. The Longhorns put the cap on their top-five class with ESPN 300 pass-rusher Joseph Ossai and Oklahoma added ESPN 300 lineman Michael Thompson to finish with consecutive top-10 classes for the first time. Most importantly, the league got back to owning the state of Texas. Of the 40 Texas prospects ranked in the ESPN 300, Big 12 schools signed 25 of them.

THE LOSERS

LSU: It was a day of tough losses for the Tigers. Five-star Patrick Surtain Jr. was considered a long-time lean to LSU but signed with rival Alabama. Then Ed Orgeron lost ESPN 300 QB James Foster to fellow SEC West foe Texas A&M. On top of that, the Tigers missed on receiver Mario Goodrich, who signed with Clemson. LSU didn't walk away empty handed, signing four-star wide receiver Jamaar Chase, but the week began with higher hopes.

Miami: It's very difficult to place Miami into this category considering the Hurricanes finished with a top-10 class. Oh, but what could have been. Miami started the day watching Surtain, Tyson Campbell and Andrew Chatfield, all from a school 40 minutes from Coral Gables go elsewhere. On top of that, Florida State won out for Peach State four-star defensive lineman Jamarcus Chatman and Texas kept ESPN 300 DT Keondre Coburn. The Canes weren't shut out completely, signing ESPN 300 receiver Marquez Ezzard. But like the Hurricanes' season, it started big and fizzled out at the end.