AT LEAST FOUR FIVE-STARS WILL FLIP IN DECEMBER

Should we have led with this? There is always drama the week of and rolling into the actual National Signing Day and this time around won’t be any different. We have already seen a few prospects near the top of the rankings have a change of heart — none bigger than Bryce Underwood and Julian Lewis in November — but even more splashes with the nation’s best appear on deck. We’ll take the over in comparing the five-star flips from November versus December, and potentially by a wide margin.

The final call is still up in the air with many top recruits, wrapping up visits on Sunday and fielding updated NIL numbers into the week all while the coaching carousel starts to spin. It will lead to considerable change, though it’s easier to see with certain recruits weighing one program against the other like David Sanders (committed to Tennessee, considering Ohio State) or Michael Carroll (Alabama, Colorado).

The next group of elite recruits holds three or more programs somehow still battling this late in the game. Offensive linemen Solomon Thomas (committed to Florida State, considering LSU, Florida) and Michael Fasusi (Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M), No. 1 athlete DJ Pickett (LSU, Georgia, Miami, Oregon) and cornerback Na’eem Offord (Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon) check this box, among others.

Then there are those elites who truly move the needle with the surprise, to the point few knew other programs are in the mix at this stage. This could be the tier Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin High School teammates Hylton Stubbs (committed to Miami) and Jaime Ffrench (Texas) lay in. We know several programs haven’t slowed down the pursuit of either though each reports solidity to their current program at last check.