New coaches earn mixed results in early signing period
— -- Newly hired coaches have made it through their first early signing period with only a few weeks to gather themselves and figure out a recruiting direction. Some had more success than others, and a few are still trying to figure out how to fill the remainder of their classes. They'll all have another month to finish out the recruiting cycle, but here's how each new coach fared after the signing period.
Arizona State Sun Devils
New coach: Herm Edwards
Big win: Landing running backs A.J. Carter and Brock Sturges
Cause for pause: Edwards and Arizona State only have 12 commitments in the class and have now lost both of the original coordinators from the staff. There is a lot of work to do at Arizona State.
Where they're at: Edwards and his staff signed 11 of the 12 commitments on Wednesday and were able to add a few pieces, especially at running back. There are still so many questions, though, about Edwards, the staff and how this is all going to work. They need to put it in overdrive in January to secure some confidence that they can recruit and they can land their targets. Edwards has been out of coaching for so long and had only a few weeks to prepare for this early signing period, but they need to start making an impression now.
Arkansas Razorbacks
New coach: Chad Morris
Big win: Wide receiver Michael Woods
Cause for pause: As it stands, Morris and his staff have just 10 commitments in this class, three of whom have not signed. There is also only one commitment ranked as a four-star, so January is going to be important.
Where they're at: Morris and his staff have been on the job for just a few weeks, so it's hard to judge. He was smart about his recruiting efforts while at SMU and did a great job with marketing and bringing attention to the program. He will need to continue to find creative ways to get Arkansas to the forefront and get recruits excited about what's happening in the program.
Florida Gators
New coach: Dan Mullen
Big win: Flipping ESPN 300 QB Emory Jones from Ohio State and keeping him from Florida State
Cause for pause: Florida suffered some decommitments during the transition who could have really helped this class, including ESPN 300 wide receivers JaMarr Chase and Jacob Copeland, as well as Divaad Wilson and offensive lineman? Curtis Dunlap Jr. among others.
Where they're at: Landing Jones was a huge deal for Mullen and the future of the program. Quarterback has been such a point of contention and the cause of a lot of issues on offense, and Mullen was able step in and land his guy. The class is in a good spot right now with the pieces they have, so January shouldn't be too hectic for Mullen. He can now spend time figuring out what pieces they should add and where they can save scholarship spots.
Florida State Seminoles
New coach: Willie Taggart
Big win: Flipping ESPN 300 defensive back Jaiden Woodbey from Ohio State
Cause for pause: The Seminoles are ranked No. 36 in the ESPN 300 class rankings with only nine commitments. The early signing period wasn't great for Taggart and there is a lot to improve on in January.
Where they're at: Taggart came in with potentially the most difficult situation of any of the new coaches in terms of recruiting. He took over after the previous staff had lost any momentum in recruiting and while Jimbo Fisher sat around waiting to decide if he would take the Texas A&M job or not. That let prospects take a step back, decommit and rethink their recruitment, and left Taggart with a ton of ground to make up. January could be very good for Taggart and he could get things turned around, but it is an uphill battle with what he inherited.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
New coach: Joe Moorhead
Big win: Keeping junior college wide receiver Stephen Guidry
Cause for pause: Moorhead is taking over a completely different situation than he had as offensive coordinator at Penn State. There is quite a bit of unfamiliarity there, which leaves some unknowns in recruiting and on the field.
Where they're at: With the unknowns out there, Moorhead and his staff had a pretty successful early signing period. They kept Guidry onboard, and he could contribute right away. With 22 commitments onboard, only seven haven't signed, which means January should be relatively uneventful in a good way for the new staff. Bringing Penn State running backs coach Charles Huff on staff was a move that should help in recruiting, as Huff was one of the better recruits for the Nittany Lions. If the coaches can put together a good year on the field, this could be one of the better marriages in terms of new coaches.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
New coach: Scott Frost
Big win: Flipping ESPN 300 quarterback Adrian Martinez from Tennessee
Cause for pause: Frost recruited very well in Florida while at UCF with a ton of talent right around him. Will he be able to either attract that Florida talent all the way to Nebraska, or will he be able to find talent in other places to build this roster up?
Where they're at: Frost and his staff immediately went after Martinez the moment they were hired -- and for good reason. Frost brings a different offensive style, and Martinez will help make that transition easier to run the new offense. The staff was able to land Florida ESPN 300 safety C.J. Smith and also brought in a few junior college prospects for immediate help. The early returns are all positive for Frost and his staff. If he can add a few more pieces throughout January, this could be an excellent first recruiting class that will help turn this team around quickly.
Ole Miss Rebels
New coach: Matt Luke
Big win: Flipping ESPN 300 quarterback Matt Corral?from Florida after losing quarterback Shea Patterson to a transfer
Cause for pause:? NCAA sanctions?are still looming, and the program just saw a few transfers. There are some challenges that this staff faces going forward.
Where they're at: Despite those challenges, Ole Miss was probably the surprise of the first day of the early signing period. The coaches landed four commitments, including flipping ESPN 300 wide receiver Elijah Moore from Georgia. If that's the way that Luke and his staff will be able to recruit, then Ole Miss can build off of that. But the sanctions are still there, and the reduction in scholarships usually doesn't start to make an impact for a few seasons, so how that matches up with the product on the field could start to determine the recruiting success in the future.
Oregon Ducks
New coach: Mario Cristobal
Big win: Keeping most of this class together after Willie Taggart left for Florida State
Cause for pause: The concern is that Taggart was a big part of the draw for recruits and had a large impact on landing some of the top prospects. If Cristobal can squash that by closing strong in January, this staff might be on to something.
Where they're at: There were some decommitments, but for the most part, the staff did a great job keeping a lot of prospects committed. Oregon still has the No. 13-ranked class in the country, which is a testament to the remaining coaches and how they recruit. Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt decided to stay on staff at Oregon instead of jumping to Florida State, which was another step in keeping continuity for the Ducks and their commitments. The coaches also got a little help from the committed prospects, as some of them, including quarterback Tyler Shough, rallied to keep the class together. There is still room to add some big pieces, but with the current class, January should be more about rounding out the class rather than scrambling to fill it.
Tennessee Volunteers
New coach: Jeremy Pruitt
Big win: Wide receiver Alontae Taylor
Cause for pause: The coaching search was a complete mess that resulted in a very public, botched hiring of Greg Schiano and a change at athletic director. Pruitt and his staff inherited some challenges that came along with that to combine with the poor performance on the field, which means it's an uphill battle right now.
Where they're at: This class ranks No. 37 overall with 16 current commitments. Pruitt did a nice job landing Taylor, who is the No. 6 receiver in the class, but the Vols lost Martinez and fellow quarterback Michael Penix, eventually replacing those quarterback spots with three-star J.T. Shrout, who flipped from Cal. The staff added some junior college prospects to get some immediate help on the field, but if things don't pick up in January, this could be a missed opportunity and a class that doesn't help fill a lot of the needs this team has. It might not make an immediate impact on the field, but a few years from now we could look at this class as a part of what held back the progress on the field.
Texas A&M Aggies
New coach: Jimbo Fisher
Big win: The only commitment Fisher has landed so far is junior college tight end Jace Sternberger
Cause for pause: Fisher left Florida State a mess to deal with, and there wasn't much of a splash when he landed at Texas A&M. Add in that Texas is recruiting the state better than it has in recent years and this hasn't been a great few weeks for Fisher.
Where they're at: This class is ranked at No. 26 overall, falling eight spots on the first day of the early signing period after losing ESPN 300 defensive lineman Bobby Brown. The staff isn't complete yet, as Fisher is looking for a defensive coordinator, so there are more questions than answers right now regarding how this class will finish. There are some big targets still on the board, and for as much success as Fisher had at Florida State, it would make sense to think he could start reeling some of them in with more time to recruit.
UCLA Bruins
New coach: Chip Kelly
Big win: ESPN 300 athlete Bryan Addison
Cause for pause: Recruiting while at Oregon, Kelly had success in California. He has new academic standards at UCLA, though, so adjusting to those and finding the right players to match the academic portion need to figure out.
Where they're at: Kelly hit the ground running once he was hired at UCLA. He landed Addison and immediately started recruiting ESPN 300 defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles among others. Kelly was able to keep ESPN 300 quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the fold as well as most of the class thus far. He has a shot at landing a few more big pieces to this class and will need to do so with only 11 current commitments.