2018 National Signing Day recap: USC Trojans finish strong to claim nation's No. 4 class
Before we walk away from 2018's National Signing Day, let's revisit some of our favorite moments from the day.
— First of all, hats off to USC. The Trojans finished incredibly strong and inked the No. 4 overall class nationally and No. 1 in the Pac-12. They received Signing Day commitments from Devon Williams, the nation's No. 1 athlete by ESPN, and Olaijah Griffin, also a five-star recruit. Clay Helton has had tons of success on the recruiting trail since taking over at USC and showed Wednesday he's certainly not slowing down anytime soon.
In all, USC signed eight players Wednesday to finish with 18 overall. It was a week to remember for Helton, who also received a contract extension through 2023.
So, how will Helton celebrate? "Maybe a nap," he quipped during our NSD Special. "It's been a great January and finishing strong yet again. So proud of our staff for the accomplishments they made in Decemeber [and] how they closed today."
— Speaking of Williams, we loved the graphic he posted to Twitter to pick USC over Oregon. The detail is extraordinary and definitely memorable.
Sorry For The Wait pic.twitter.com/iziuTeniN1
— Devon Williams (@2eraa) February 7, 2018
— Serra High School's Merlin Robertson chose ASU over USC and Oklahoma on Wednesday and delivered an awesome announcement to tell the world he's headed to Tempe. The Sun Devils got a quality prospect, too. Robertson has 4-star status and is ranked No. 129 overall nationally by 247Sports.
Attention college football, we'll take more announcements like Robertson's in years to come.
The. Best. Commitment. Ever! Serra LB Merlin Robertson uses infant son to announce selection of Arizona State! @_Merlin_2 | @Serra_Football | @FootballASU | #NSD18 pic.twitter.com/1qCHlf25z3
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) February 7, 2018
— Not to be overlooked amid all the hustle and bustle of National Signing Day: Chris Petersen and Washington inked another stellar class. In fact, 247Sports wrote Wednesday that the Huskies landed the top QB cohort nationally. In addition to December signees Colson Yankoff and Jacob Sirmon, UW added Georgia transfer Jacob Eason, a former five-star recruit. Washington anchors what has been a terrific quarterback class in the Pac-12.
Here’s a look at where Pac-12 schools finished in the national landscape:
School |
ESPN* |
247Sports |
Arizona |
63 |
58 |
Arizona State |
47 |
36 |
Cal |
50 |
43 |
Colorado |
42 |
51 |
Oregon |
17 |
16 |
Oregon State |
65 |
70 |
Stanford |
38 |
39 |
UCLA |
19 |
18 |
USC |
7 |
4 |
Utah |
45 |
38 |
Washington |
15 |
13 |
Washington State |
44 |
45 |