Ohio State, LSU headline the winners and losers from college football signing day

Not even Alabama is immune from the havoc coaching changes can cause in recruiting. In addition to several key departures into the transfer portal, the Crimson Tide lost one of the top prospects in the country, quarterback Julian Sayin, not long after former coach Nick Saban announced his retirement last month.

With the first signing day in December doing most of the heavy lifting in recruiting across the Bowl Subdivision, the second signing period has become more notable for this game of musical chairs. In the case of Sayin, the Crimson Tide's loss was Ohio State's gain, giving the Buckeyes another elite prospect to toss into what should be a heated offseason competition to replace Kyle McCord.

Among the high-profile recruits still on the market heading into Wednesday five-star athlete Terry Bussey, a Texas A&M verbal commitment who was also considering Georgia and LSU. That Bussey stuck with his pledge to the Aggies is a major coup for new coach Mike Elko.

Wednesday put a bow on the 2024 recruiting cycle. Here are the biggest winners and losers from the day:

Winners

Ohio State

Sayin is the second impressive prospect to join the Buckeyes' quarterback room, following December signee Air Noland. After landing five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston during the early period, Ohio State added a key flip in former Washington commitment Dominic Kirks. While the defensive line was a point of concern in recruiting leading into December, the threesome of Houston, Kirks and Eric Mensah is a solid group given where things stood before the first signing date. Overall, the Buckeyes are headed for another top-five class and one of the top two classes in the Big Ten. Ohio State has also been on a tear in recruiting for the 2025 class, recently adding a second five-star cornerback to the currently eight-member class in Alabama prospect Na'eem Offord.

LSU

Adding Bussey would've been the cherry on top for a class that isn't too far behind Georgia and Alabama for the best in the SEC. The group includes one key Wednesday addition in five-star defensive lineman and former Texas A&M commitment Dominick McKinley, an in-state prospect who held offers from nearly every major player in the FBS. The class features 18 players from Louisiana, a noticeable uptick from the 10 in-state prospects who signed with the Tigers in coach Brian Kelly's first full recruiting cycle. It's very heavy on linemen, with six coming in on offense and seven on defense.

Stanford

The Cardinal's group under coach Troy Taylor was buoyed by the late additions of offensive lineman Charlie Hoitink and linebacker Maxwell Richardson, two 2025 recruits who reclassified to join the 2024 class. Headlined by four-star quarterback Elijah Brown, the 25-person class illustrates the program's potential reach as members of the ACC: Stanford signed multiple players from six different states, led by five from California, as well as single recruits from Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Alabama

Losing Sayin is a tough but survivable blow given the depth in Alabama's quarterback room, led by returning starter and early Heisman Trophy favorite Jalen Milroe. While the losses have made headlines — the biggest is rising sophomore safety Caleb Downs, a superstar in the making who left for Ohio State — you have to be impressed with the work new coach Kalen DeBoer has done to retain the heavy majority of the signing class while adding two key recruits into the mix. One, edge rusher Noah Carter, was committed to DeBoer and Washington but flipped to the Tide last month. The second is five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams, one of the most decorated players in Alabama high school history and an easy pick to make waves as a true freshman in DeBoer's offensive scheme after reclassifying to this year's class.

Texas A&M

Bussey has the athleticism to shine at wide receiver but is destined to play in the secondary for Elko, the college coach for two current NFL standout defensive backs in Jessie Bates and Kyle Hamilton. The Aggies suffered a huge recruiting loss in five-star Auburn signee Cam Coleman, the most notable of several decommitments at receiver. But A&M rallied on Wednesday to sign Ashton Bethel-Roman, one of the top available skill players in the second signing period. Bethel-Roman signed with Arkansas in December but was let out of his letter of intent after the Razorbacks fired former receivers coach Kenny Guiton.

Losers

Arizona

The Wildcats lost five commitments in the wake of former coach Jedd Fisch leaving to replace DeBoer at Washington. The highest-rated loss was four-star athlete Rashawn Clark, who joined Fisch with the Huskies after getting his release from Arizona. Add that to the 18 players who entered the transfer portal, many of whom also followed Fisch, and you have a roster that has been altered dramatically in the wake of this year's coaching cycle. It's not all bad news: Arizona was able to keep four-star quarterback Demond Williams, giving new coach Brent Brennan a nice piece to develop behind established starter Noah Fifita.

Washington

While Fisch has done a good job replenishing the Huskies' ranks, losing DeBoer to Alabama decimated what had been a very strong haul of defensive linemen. Beyond losing Carter to the Tide, the Huskies lost edge rushers Ratumana Bulabalavu and Jaxson Jones to Southern California and Oregon, respectively, while fast-rising prospect Keona Wilhite signed on Wednesday with Nebraska.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football signing day: Ohio State, LSU lead winners and losers