Drama not absent from signing day
Some notable players have yet to declare college intentions
With two college football National Signing Days, the drama has kind of been taken out of the first Wednesday in February.
Gone are the multitudes of signing-day ceremonies during which top college prospects reveal their schools of choice. Most of that now happens just before Christmas during the early National Signing Day.
February is left for those still undecided, but few players are taking advantage of that extra time as the national recruiting calendar has already moved up considerably with the new format, which is in just its second year.
That became obvious this past December, when 18 of the top 20 players in the Sentinel’s 2019 Central Florida Super60 signed letters of intent, locking in their school choices. Altogether, a little more than half of the players in the Super60 have already signed with Football Bowl Subdivision programs, and a good portion of that group is already one month into college classes after enrolling early.
It doesn’t mean, however, there won’t be any drama come Wednesday, when more players make their choices public. The school most eyes will be on locally is Winter Park, where Under Armour All-America defensive
tackle Jaquaze Sorrells is down to Alabama, Penn State and South Carolina as his likely choices, although Florida has made a late push.
Sorrells, who transferred to Winter Park from Largo High for his senior season, was once committed to UF but pulled back his pledge before his junior season. Dan Mullen, fresh off his first season as Gators head coach, was in to visit Sorrells during the past week, as was Alabama’s Nick Saban.
Sorrells took an official visit to Tuscaloosa during the weekend.
Sorrells’ Winter Park teammate Peter Hayes-Patrick, one of the top running backs in the area, recently committed to Akron after entertaining numerous high-level scholarship offers earlier in his high school career. He too transferred to Winter Park for his senior season, moving over from Orlando Timber Creek.
That move probably proved to be a costly choice in his recruitment.
Hayes-Patrick and several other Winter Park transfers had to sit out the first few games of the season while Orange County Public Schools and the Florida High School Athletic Association reviewed whether their moves complied with rules.
Once cleared, HayesPatrick played the final seven games, rushing for 849 yards and 10 touchdowns in that short period of time, and Akron stayed on the 6-foot, 190-pound running back, who is the brother of FSU senior Jacques Patrick.
Hayes-Patrick committed to coach Tommy Bowden’s bunch Jan. 25.
Also Wednesday, West Orange and Bishop Moore will watch six players sign letters of intent. Warriors linebacker Nasir Carter leads the way, landing a late offer from FIU after a slow recruiting process.
For the first time in school history, every senior starter at West Orange will sign with a college.
At Bishop Moore, linebacker Nick Spitulski, the son of UCF Hall of Famer and former NFL player Bob Spitulski, will sign with Charleston Southern.
Meanwhile, Wekiva will add to its record number of FBS signees.
Six Mustangs signed letters of intent in December, and Wednesday wide receiver Malik Tolbert will sign with Marshall, wide receiver Terrence Moore will sign with Old Dominion and linebacker James Lynch Jr. could also sign. With Lynch included, it would be nine players from Wekiva signing at the highest level of college football, the most ever for any Orlando-area school.