Clemson, Penn State clean up Day 1 of early signing period
Rival schools have plenty of time to close the gap, and they'll need it because Clemson and Penn State hosed the competition on Day 1 of the early signing period.
Clemson signed a trio of five-star recruits Wednesday - that's three more than the Tigers landed last year when they were coming off a national championship.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence inked his letter of intent early in the morning, ensuring Dabo Swinney will get the nation's No. 1 pocket passer for a second straight year.
Defensive end Xavier Thomas followed Lawrence, giving Clemson the No. 2 and No. 3 overall recruits on the ESPN 300. Then came the real fun.
Top-ranked offensive tackle and No. 12 prospect Jackson Carman signed with Clemson over Ohio State, spurning the school he grew up a two-hour drive from. It was a major blow to Urban Meyer, who typically gets whatever he wants in his own backyard.
Jackson Carman is only the third prospect from Ohio who was the top prospect in the state to choose a school outside of Ohio State since 2011. The other two weren't really targeted by the Buckeyes (Sean Clifford, Odenigbo).
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 20, 2017
Clemson was one of two schools that had multiple five-star recruits signed by lunchtime Wednesday - the other one was Penn State.
The Nittany Lions went to work early in the morning, successfully keeping Harrisburg, Pa. native and No. 7 recruit Micah Parsons local. Parsons was the subject of great speculation coming into the day, with few having an inkling of where he'd sign.
James Franklin and his staff also received a signature from wide receiver Justin Shorter, the eighth-ranked player in the class, who was pledged to the program for over a year.
The cherry on top came in the form of Jahan Dotson, a four-star wideout who signed with Penn State despite being verbally committed to UCLA.
Plenty can happen over the next two-plus days so it's too early to crown the Tigers and Lions as the recruiting champions of the 2018 class. Still, their roars were heard the loudest Wednesday, and now everybody else is playing catch-up.