The Biggest Winners of Early Signing Day

Early Signing Day has come and gone once again, meaning thousands of recruits across the country have finally found their collegiate home.

While some programs brought in historic hauls, others have found themselves struggling to the finish line of the 2024 recruiting cycle. This story will take a look at who Prep Ballers believes came away with the biggest recruiting victories on Wednesday.

Georgia Bulldogs

Kirby Smart's team already held the No. 1 overall recruiting class entering the day, even after losing a verbal pledge from the nation's top quarterback recruit. With 10 commits inside 247Sports' top-100 recruits, the Dawgs had already brought in another massive haul.

But the program's biggest recruiting win came on Wednesday afternoon, when five-star safety KJ Bolden flipped his commitment from Florida State to the in-state Bulldogs. His commitment was enough for every recruiting service to call the race for the No. 1 class in favor of the Dawgs.

Not only is the class talented towards the top, but a number of lesser-known commits may end up being impactful for the program as well. For example, four-star quarterback commit Ryan Puglisi and four-star offensive tackle Michael Uini are two guys that could carve out a role as big-time contributors down the line.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Yes, the Buckeyes' class did slip a spot or two in terms of class rankings. However, things were looking even more grim for Ryan Day's program as we began the day.

Rumors swirled all morning about the possibility of five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston and five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith flipping their commitments to other top programs. As the day progressed, the program did lose a commitment from four-star wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan, who flipped his pledge to Oregon. But Houston and Smith held strong and eventually signed with the Buckeyes, allowing the program to avoid a complete disaster.

According to 247Sports, Ohio State finished with the No. 4 overall recruiting class and landed five five-star prospects, which led the nation. It marks the fifth consecutive finish for the program.

Miami Hurricanes

After beginning the day with a borderline top-10 class, Mario Cristobal landed three big-time signing day commitments that vaulted the Hurricanes to the No. 4 overall recruiting class.

Top-50 defensive lineman Armando Blount flipped his commitment back to Miami after previous flipping to Florida. He was joined by two fellow four-stars in linebacker Adarius Hayes and running back Jordan Lyle, both of whom have officially signed with the program. In addition to the three high school additions, Cristobal landed another defensive lineman via the transfer portal when Marley Cook announced his commitment.

The No. 4 class ranking marks the highest of the Cristobal at Miami and the program's first top-five class since 2008, according to 24