Even as most people’s attention turns to conference championship weekend and the race for the College Football Playoff, college football’s early signing period began on Wednesday. The early signing period runs through Friday, Dec. 5.

The “Early” signing period has become college football’s new national signing day as programs across the country are pushing their top prospects to enroll early, allowing them a chance to spend the spring semester on campus.

Rankings are expected to shift over the new few days as players potentially flip their commitment, choosing to sign elsewhere. The rankings below are updated as of Thursday morning after the first day of the early signing period.

Below are the updated college football recruiting rankings for the 2026 class, per the Rivals industry ranking.

10. Texas Longhorns (SEC)

Total Commits: 23

5-Stars: 3

4-Stars: 10

Avg. Rating: 90.18

Avg. NIL: $178K

Despite not breaking into the Top 5, the Longhorns signed a star-studded class, continuing the momentum from last season’s No. 1-ranked class. Five-star quarterback Dia Bell headlines the class, which also features five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley and five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson. An underrated signing was four-star cornerback Hayward Howard Jr. out of Edna Carr High School in Louisiana.

9. Miami Hurricanes (ACC)

Total Commits: 30

5-Stars: 1

4-Stars: 19

Avg. Rating: 90.42

Avg. NIL: $155K

The Hurricanes have continued to set the pace on the recruiting trail in the ACC, landing the conference’s top-ranked class once again. Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell is the gem of the class, ranking as the No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class, according to the Rivals industry ranking. Miami also made sure to secure some homegrown talent, landing key in-state players such as Jaelen Waters, Somourian Wingo, and Asharri Charles.

8. Texas A&M Aggies (SEC)

Total Commits: 27

5-Stars: 1

4-Stars: 21

Avg. Rating: 90.83

Avg. NIL: $85K

The Aggies have secured another Top 10 recruiting class under head coach Mike Elko. Five-star cornerback Brandon Arrington appears to be an instant-impact signee, while KJ Edwards and Jayden Warren were massive in-state recruiting wins. Texas A&M also reached into Georgia, taking two promising prospects: defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright and wide receiver Aaron Gregory.

7. Tennessee Volunteers (SEC)

Total Commits: 28

5-Stars: 2

4-Stars: 13

Avg. Rating: 90.28

Avg. NIL: $151K

Tennessee continues to load up on elite offensive weapons, landing five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon and five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys. Both could compete for immediate playing time next season in Josh Heupel’s offense. The Volunteers also signed some underrated defensive prospects, including Hezekiah Harris and Jordan Carter, winning key recruiting battles against SEC rivals.

6. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC)

Total Commits: 20

5-Stars: 3

4-Stars: 10

Avg. Rating: 91.95

Avg. NIL: $205K

It’s safe to say we can put the Kalen DeBoer recruiting concerns to rest with Alabama landing another Top 10 recruiting class. Five-star running back Ezavier Crowell was a massive in-state recruiting win, while five-stars Xavier Griffin and Jireh Edwards could have an immediate impact defensively. The Crimson Tide signed three of the Top 4 players in the state of Alabama, showing off its in-state dominance once again.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten)

Total Commits: 27

5-Stars: 1

4-Stars: 14

Avg. Rating: 90.91

Avg. NIL: $135K

Ohio State holds onto a Top 5 spot for now, but all eyes are watching five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., who did not sign yesterday. Even without Henry, the Buckeyes should still firmly remain in the Top 10, but would not have a five-star signee, according to the Rivals industry ranking. Defensive lineman Khary Wilder and cornerback Jay Timmons are the next highest-ranked signees, both earning five-star ratings from Rivals, but are not industry five-stars.

4. Georgia Bulldogs (SEC)

Total Commits: 31

5-Stars: 1

4-Stars: 20

Avg. Rating: 90.77

Avg. NIL: $130K

Even with a smaller signing class, the Bulldogs secured one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Five-star tight end Kaiden Protho headlines the class, while offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko has been a prospect that’s rising through the player rankings, earning a fifth star from Rivals in the latest update. It was a strong defensive back class for the Bulldogs, who signed four-star cornerbacks Justice Fitzpatrick and Caden Harris, along with safety Jordan Smith.

3. Oregon Ducks (Big Ten)

Total Commits: 21

5-Stars: 5

4-Stars: 11

Avg. Rating: 92.13

Avg. NIL: $253K

If you are looking for quality over quantity, Oregon’s 2026 recruiting class is the perfect example. The Ducks signed five five-star prospects, including offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho, safety Jett Washington, and edge rusher Anthony “Tank” Jones. Oregon landed the No. 1 player from four states, including New York and Arizona. It was another impressive recruiting cycle under head coach Dan Lanning.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Ind.)

Total Commits: 27

5-Stars: 4

4-Stars: 15

Avg. Rating: 91.60

Avg. NIL: $101K

After missing the Top 10 last season, head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff really delivered on the recruiting trail. The Fighting Irish signed four five-stars, including edge rusher Rodney Durham, cornerback Khary Adams, tight end Ian Premer, and safety Joey O’Brien. Notre Dame continued its tradition of signing talented running backs, landing four-star Javian Osborne and Jonaz Walton.

1. USC Trojans (Big Ten)

Total Commits: 35

5-Stars: 1

4-Stars: 21

Avg. Rating: 90.83

Avg. NIL: $160K

After finishing 15th nationally in last year’s recruiting rankings, head coach Lincoln Riley ended the 18-year SEC streak of top recruiting classes. Five-star Mark Bowman headlines the class, representing a massive in-state recruiting win over other national powers. The Trojans also signed 16 Top 300 players in the Rivals industry ranking, along with the top JUCO tight end in Josiah Jefferson.

It was a celebration of Kentucky football when Will Stein was introduced to Big Blue Nation. Once the press conference ended, Mitch Barnhart took questions from the media. If you thought they had plenty of fireworks when Stein walked up to the stage, wait till you see what Mitch had to say.

Mitch has had “Enough” of Questions about NIL

Will Stein comes from Oregon, the home of Phil Knight and Nike. Their roster-building war chest is large. How does Kentucky’s look?

It’s a fair question, especially since the Wildcats moved all NIL Collective efforts in-house under the JMI umbrella. Barnhart and JMI’s Paul Archey shared why they are doing it, but have not explained how it will work. It’s a question Mitch Barnhart did not want to hear.

“We’re confident in what we’re doing. People ask that question 19 different ways with all that stuff that’s been going on, and it’s exhausting. Enough. Enough about, ‘Have we got enough?’ We’ve got enough. And we’re working at it just like everyone else is working at it,” said the Kentucky athletics director.

“We’re no different than everybody. We’ve got JMI. They’ve got Learfield. They’ve got Learfield. We’ve got JMI. They’ve got Learfield. They’ve got PlayFly. This notion that we don’t have enough is ridiculous.”

Barnhart continued: “We’ve got enough. We got to resource it the right way. We got to assess talent the right way. We got to acquire it the right way, and we got to make sure we’re within the boundaries of the rules. We’re not going to break the rules. That’s flat-out, we’re not doing that. We will do it the right way, we don’t need to do that, we’re good enough at what we do, we’ve got good people. That’s why we hired this guy; he’s really smart. He’s put together a really good gameplan of how they’re going to do it and on the first day they’ve made some really nice adjustments to what we’re doing, and we’ll be fine. That notion, all this nonsense that’s been created, by a variety of places, we don’t have enough or we’re not working at it, it’s gotta stop. That’s enough.”

Rules. What rules? The biggest criticism of Kentucky’s in-house NIL move is that it falls under rules that are not being enforced. Lawsuits were filed to ensure NIL Collectives could maintain business as usual, even after the House settlement passed. Those rules could only be enforced if the SCORE Act. Congress was supposed to vote on it today, but you’ll never guess, it was postponed.

Barnhart: General Managers are just “Semantics”

On Wednesday afternoon, a report confirmed some Drew Franklin scoop. Former Oregon director of recruiting Pat Biondo will serve as Stein’s general manager. When KSR asked the new Kentucky head coach how the front office would be structured, Stein essentially described Biondo as the budget balancer. Barnhart had a different description of the general manager position.

“I think it’s just semantics. General manager, player personnel, talent acquisition coordinator, I’ve heard all that stuff. There’s 19 different titles out there. The structure, it all comes down to the same thing. It comes down to talent evaluation, talent acquisition, and putting things in place that legally allow you to compete,” said Barnhart.

“All this notion that coaches aren’t controlling their rosters and they’re not making decisions, it’s ridiculous. At the end of the day, the coach is going to put in that program who he wants to put in that program to make plays. Period. Or he’s not going to be the coach very long. If he’s allowing someone to sit down the hallway and make those decisions for him, he will not be the coach very long. So it has to be integrated. It has to work together. It will work together for us.”

Barnhart says Stoops was “Great” During Final Conversations

Today would not have happened if Mark Stoops was unwilling to negotiate his buyout and allow it to be paid over time, rather than in 60 days. The way Barnhart tells it, Stoops might’ve still had a job if Kentucky won one more game this season.

“I don’t want to get into all of that, other than to say we were still competing for postseason play the last two weeks of the season, and that was important for this team to have an opportunity to do that and for us to have an opportunity to move forward,” said the Kentucky athletics director.

Barnhart commended the way Stoops carried himself and the success he had during his tenure at Kentucky. However, he got riled up and said it “irritates the snot” out of him when people criticize the former Kentucky football coach.

“I want to focus for Mark on the eight years he gave us in that middle stretch where we went to eight straight bowl games, and 10-8-10 (win) run that we had in the middle that was spectacular. We hadn’t seen that ever here. People all get hung up on the very beginning when it was a struggle, and he inherited a program that was really, really difficult, and they want to get hung up on the end, where it was a struggle, and we weren’t doing what we wanted to do. Forgetting the middle, where he absolutely gave this program a new set of boundaries, moved the goalposts for us — you can call it whatever you want to call it — he raised expectations. It’s what this place needed here.”

Barnhart continued: “So let’s not get hung up on what he didn’t do. He did a lot. That really irritates the snot out of me when people take shots. He was GREAT on Sunday, spectacular. He’s a good man and has a lot of love for this program and this city. Don’t ever walk out of here thinking I don’t have an unbelievable amount of respect for Mark Stoops and what he did here. We all need to be grateful for what he did. He did change expectations here.”

UCF head coach Scott Frost didn’t hold back when asked how much the recruiting landscape has changed in recent years.

“It’s broken,” Frost said bluntly during his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday. “College football’s broken. Yeah, I don’t know if you’ll get that honest answer from everyone, but everyone would agree if they were honest.”

That candid assessment came as Frost shared his frustration over the widening gap between schools that abide by emerging revshare frameworks—and those that appear determined to circumvent them through guaranteed NIL promises, even after signing the CSC (College Sports Commission) participation agreement meant to prevent it.

LSU’s widely publicized hire of Lane Kiffin, which included reports of $10 to $15 million in annual NIL guarantees in addition to revshare compensation, is one recent example. Another is BYU’s contract extension of Kalani Sitake, which similarly promised a stacked NIL war chest on top of base revenue share.

“That’s baffling to me,” Frost said. “We’re going to sign participation agreements saying we’re not going to do any of that, and then have newspaper articles come out about how much you’re guaranteed to spend over revshare.

“So, you know, there’s no bigger fan of the people trying to put guardrails around this than me and us. And honestly, mostly because it’s best for college football if this gets under control.”

CSC aims to formalize oversight—but will it stick?

Frost was referring to the College Sports Commission, a regulatory body created to bring order and consistency to the evolving NIL and revshare ecosystem. Schools that opt into CSC agree to subject themselves to formal oversight, allowing the organization to monitor and investigate NIL transactions, revenue-sharing audits, and compliance with emerging regulations. That would give CSC the authority to not only review and reject deals, but also impose penalties on schools that engage in blatant rule-breaking.

The CSC’s enforcement capabilities are designed to go well beyond toothless warnings. Under its charter, the group could levy fines, suspend NIL privileges, and take other disciplinary actions against members who violate the rules. The intent is to create a framework where all programs operate under the same standards, something that has largely been missing during the early years of NIL and player compensation.

In theory, participation in CSC would bring much-needed transparency to how schools structure NIL and revshare offers. But in practice, Frost and others remain concerned that enforcement is inconsistent, with some programs openly ignoring the terms of the agreement while continuing to benefit in recruiting. Without meaningful oversight, Frost fears the imbalance will only worsen.

“You know, any sport where whoever has the richest boosters wins—that’s not a good model for a sport,” Frost said. “So we’re rooting for it to get curtailed. In the meantime, we’ve got to try to do the best we can.”

UCF’s strategy: Culture, compliance, and a long game

Despite the inequities, Frost was quick to credit UCF Athletics Director Terry Mohajir and general manager Trent Mossbrucker for building a stable infrastructure that allows the Knights to compete with integrity.

“Terry and people here have done an unbelievable job getting us on a level playing field with everybody else from a revshare standpoint,” Frost said. “That gives us a great chance. We need to keep pushing forward and trying to do even more.”

Compared to this time last year, when Frost had barely met his players and was blindsided by immediate NIL demands, he believes UCF is in a much stronger position.

“I laugh about it now, but I did my press conference last year and had a couple players and their agents waiting outside my office five minutes after I did my press conference to start telling me how much money I needed to pay them, and I didn’t even know who the kids were,” he said.

“We’re going to know our team now. We’re going to know our strengths and weaknesses. I think we’re at a better financial position to approach this, and hopefully we’ll build around some people rather than try to build the whole thing from scratch.”

Impact on high school recruiting, development and loyalty

Frost also lamented the erosion of long-term player development and loyalty, two cornerstones of what used to define the college football experience.

“The days of going to a school and being loyal to the school and being able to go back to homecomings and support a school that you were at for four or five years… some kids will never have that because they’ve been at three or four schools,” Frost said.

“One of the things that I think a lot of coaches love about coaching is the mentoring side of it… That’s getting harder and harder to do. The time frame that you have to impact some guys can be a lot shorter now.”

Instead of a multi-year developmental arc, college football is now largely a year-to-year rebuild, with teams scrambling each offseason to reassemble a roster from the portal, recruiting classes, and returning players. Frost believes UCF is better suited for that challenge in Year 2, with stronger culture keepers in the locker room and a clearer understanding of roster needs.

“You’ve got to build a team and a team culture year by year now,” he said. “The good thing for us is we’re going to have a lot of guys that understand what we want and our standards. And when you have culture keepers in the locker room that hold everybody else to the standard, that’s a big piece.”

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Good to see someone being sensible about the money being thrown at teenagers in college football.

PublishedDecember 4, 2025 12:50 PM EST•UpdatedDecember 4, 2025 12:10 PM EST

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If Barstool founder Dave Portnoy being measured about NIL was on your Bingo card for 2025, then congratulations, but for the rest of you, I’m sure you’re just as shocked as I am.

For the uninitiated, Portnoy, being a massive Michigan fan, was instrumental in the Wolverines landing five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood last year.

Since then, however, it’s been anything but smooth sailing.

Underwood has been a solid player as a freshman, but nothing like the superstar many thought he would be, prompting even Portnoy himself to voice his displeasure at times with his “investment” on X.

Not exactly glowing remarks from El Pres!

It gets even crazier, as now, Portnoy has publicly stated he’s not about to get into a bidding war for Underwood, and if another team comes along and poaches him or the young signal caller asks for more money, Davey Pagviews is ready to let him walk.

“I’m out of it. He’d have to have some big balls to say he wants to renegotiate now,“ Portnoy said during an appearance on The Triple Option podcast. “I don’t think that’s coming down the ‘pike. That would be surreal.”

I’ve had my gripes with Portnoy in the past, but he’s spot on here.

If we learned anything from the Nico Iamaleava situation, it’s that you can’t let one player hold an entire program hostage.

Yes, landing Underwood on signing day last year was a coup for Michigan, and it gave them a surge in momentum to land another five-star, Andrew Babalola, in the process.

But if Underwood’s output for the season makes him think he’s entitled to a raise, then I might as well march into my boss’s office right now and ask for one too!

More donors should follow Portnoy’s lead.

Paying players for mediocrity is not the answer, and the sooner we start to see boosters put their feet down, the sooner we will see an end to these insane “contracts” being given out to freshmen who haven’t proven a lick yet.

The going rate for a five-star football player at a premium position (quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher) is staggering.

Maybe Portnoy’s admission is the first step to the market correcting itself, because Lord knows this system is anything but sustainable.