Oregon made waves on the first day of the early signing period when five-star safety Peyton Bowen flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to the Ducks — but that wasn’t the only big splash Oregon had on Wednesday, as coach Dan Lanning and his staff moved from outside the top 10 in the class rankings to No. 6 overall.
The week did not start on the right foot, when five-star quarterback Dante Moore flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA.
The Ducks staff quickly adjusted and flipped ESPN 300 quarterback Austin Novosad from Baylor. The Ducks were also in a recruiting battle with USC and Ohio State for ESPN 300 defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei, younger brother of former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and the No. 65 prospect overall. Oregon won that fight as well.
The Ducks also flipped four-star running back Jayden Limar from Washington and ESPN 300 cornerback Daylen Austin from LSU. In total, Oregon now has 12 ESPN 300 commitments.
The Ducks might have moved up in the class rankings with all of the movement from the day, but it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide who will finish at the top of the class rankings.
Alabama finished behind Texas A&M in the past cycle, and coach Nick Saban ensured his program came out on top in the 2023 cycle. He flipped five-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor from Iowa before the early signing period began.
Alabama then gained commitments from five-star teammates Jaquavious Russaw and James Smith on Wednesday. Russaw is the No. 7 prospect overall, and Smith is ranked No. 10. Those two commitments, in addition to Proctor, give the Crimson Tide four five-star commitments in this class, the most of any program.
Saban was able to land these highly sought-after recruits and also hold on to the recruits already committed to Alabama. ESPN 300 safety Tony Mitchell and five-star safety Caleb Downs both had other programs try to pull them away from Alabama, but both signed with the Crimson Tide.
Georgia started the day at No. 2 in the rankings…
