A college program can do all the right things recruiting a prospect, only to have everything go horribly wrong in the end. On Wednesday of the Early Signing Period, teams across the country missed out on top targets who flipped to other teams at the last minute or decided to hold off on signing their National Letter of Intent. We run down the list of 10 impactful prospects that made headlines by changing things up.
Cormani McClain not signing with Miami
The Hurricanes closed strong in the 2023 cycle and are on track for a top-five recruiting class, but the day did not end as planned. In an odd turn of events, five-star corner Cormani McClain did not sign with Miami on Wednesday. The Hurricanes are still expecting to sign McClain, but Alabama and Florida have pushed hard to land him.
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Peyton Bowen flips from Notre Dame to Oregon
It’s been hard to keep up with Bowen’s day-to-day recruiting journey over the last month. The five-star safety out of Denton, Texas committed to Notre Dame in January, but that didn’t stop programs like Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oregon from pursuing him. On Wednesday, Bowen flipped his commitment to the Ducks but, at this point, has not submitted a signed National Letter of Intent. This situation may take some time to sort out.
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Kayin Lee flips from Ohio State to Auburn
The casual fan wouldn’t know the difference, but the Buckeyes’ class saw some restructuring from mid-October all the way to the start of the Early Signing Period. The numbers are the same as they were in October, with Ohio State’s class boasting 20 total commits, including two five-stars and 17 four-stars, but there were losses late. Mark Fletcher decommitted in mid-November and Lee flipped to Auburn on Wednesday. This was a big win for the Tigers, giving new head coach Hugh Freeze and his staff some extra bragging rights. Back in Columbus, the Buckeyes still have the country’s fourth-best recruiting class.
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Daylen Austin flips from LSU to Oregon
There was a time when a Los Angeles native would never think of leaving the area because of how strong USC‘s pull was. Landing Austin was another spotlight grabbing moment for the Ducks. Oregon was one of the strongest finishers in this cycle, out-recruiting other heavy-hitters and moving up to No. 8 in the the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings.
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Keldric Faulk flips Florida State to Auburn
Auburn also made noise by pulling Faulk away from Florida State. The Rivals100 prospect is one of the nation’s best pass rushers and could have signed with virtually any program in college football. Missing on Faulk was a big blow to a Seminoles class that was on the verge of breaking into the top-20 of the team rankings. As for the Tigers, they could close with a top-15 class if things break their way.
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Isaiah Nixon flips Florida to UCF
UCF is expected to lean on the transfer portal to beef up its 2023 roster but that did not stop the Knights from signing some great players in this cycle. The fanbase was worried about losing four-stars John Walker to Florida and Braeden Marshall to Auburn but instead flipped two Florida commits, receiver Tyree Patterson on Dec. 21 and four-star end Isaiah Nixon on Wednesday.
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Dylan Spencer flips from Texas to Texas Tech
It’s rare to see a Lone Star State prospect flip from Texas to Texas Tech, but that is exactly what Spencer did. The three-star had been verbally committed to Texas since March but an official visit to Lubbock over the weekend put the Red Raiders out in front. Spencer announced his decision to sign with Texas Tech earlier this week. The change was big for the Red Raiders as they closed in on a top-25 class.
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Kadyn Proctor flips Iowa to Alabama
Alabama got Proctor on campus back in June for an official visit but, about three weeks later, the five-star announced his commitment to Iowa. As is often the case, Alabama got his last visit, an unofficial over the weekend, and closed the deal. Proctor announced his commitment on Tuesday and inked with the Tide on Wednesday.
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Micah Tease flips from Arkansas to Texas A&M
There are no gentlemen agreements in the SEC West when it comes to recruiting. Tease gave Arkansas fans something extra to celebrate when he committed on July 4. The four-star prospect took an official to Texas A&M during the season and, last weekend, word began to spread that Tease was going to flip. Sure enough, on Monday Tease decommitted from the Hogs and flipped to the Aggies.
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Dante Moore flips from Oregon to UCLA
Oregon rebounded in a big way, but the Ducks effectively lost their top recruit just before National Signing Day. With Bo Nix returning to Eugene, Moore found another landing spot out West where he could play early. UCLA pounced on the opportunity to bring the five-star to Westwood. After five seasons with the Bruins, head coach Chip Kelly may have found his next Marcus Mariota.
