re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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2. What's going to be the top storyline at the end of the day on Feb. 7?

Rob Cassidy (Southeast): I think we’ll be talking about Georgia again. And this time, we’ll be speaking of it in terms of Smart spending the next few years challenging Nick Saban for title of SEC Emperor. Will he actually topple Saban? Who knows, but I can see this being the narrative. The aging teacher pitted against time and his promising former pupil.

Mike Farrell (National): It will probably be that Alabama didn’t win the recruiting title because it’s such a rarity when that happens. Whomever takes the title home will be the talk of the day but you can bet Alabama will be mentioned a million times even though it will likely end up with a top five class.

Adam Friedman (Mid-Atlantic): There will be two national storylines following National Signing Day. The first will be about Texas and how the Longhorns are stacking up quality recruiting classes and should be surging in the next couple years. The second will be about how the SEC dominated the top of the team rankings with more than one-third of the top 15 coming from that conference.

Adam Gorney (West Coast/National): How the Early Signing Period has taken over. I was shocked and surprised to see just how smoothly everything went in the early period and I think a lot of 2019 prospects saw it, too, and will decide to sign early next recruiting cycle. There are plenty of elite-level recruits still on the board leading to National Signing Day but my prediction is that Early Signing Period will take over starting soon.

Josh Helmholdt (Midwest): Alabama has won six of the last seven team recruiting rankings title. The Crimson Tide are not going to get there this year, and that should be the biggest storyline. While there are likely to be surprise decisions, prospects who don't sign and last-minute flips, the whole recruiting game is about building winning teams down the road. Alabama's dominance on the field over the last decade has mirrored its dominance in recruiting, but other programs are stepping up to meet the Crimson Tide.

Nick Krueger (Texas): While Patrick Surtain is the highest-ranked player in the Rivals rankings that has yet to make a commitment, the more interesting prospect to keep an eye on is Nicholas Petit-Frere. Opinion varies on who is the presumptive favorite with him - most commonly led by Florida or Alabama, but he is taking his final official visit to Ohio State on the weekend ahead of National Signing Day, and that could very well shake up everything that was thought about his recruitment up to this point. He was one of the stars during Under Armour week, and after seeing his stock soar, many teams are hoping to snag him at the last minute.

Chad Simmons (Southeast): The top storyline will be that Alabama not only didn’t sign the No. 1 recruiting class, but that they possibly finish outside the top five. Look for Alabama to close well, but not well enough to be at the top where it customarily finishes every year under Nick Saban.

Woody Wommack (Southeast): It's going to be where Alabama finishes. This has been an odd year for the Tide as they've been hanging back in the team rankings for most of the process. They currenlty sit at No. 9 and could go higher, but with so many changes on the coaching staff it remains to be seen how things will shake out over the next two weeks.

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