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          College Football Nation Blog

          SEC schools make noise early on signing day

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          No. 24 OT believes UCLA is best place for him to excel (0:52)

          Stephan Zabie announces he will play college football at UCLA and explains why he chose the Bruins. (0:52)

          • Erik McKinney, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 1, 2017, 02:25 PM
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            • Covers recruiting in the Pac-12
            • Joined ESPN in 2009
            • Graduated from USC
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          There will be very little drama at the top of the ESPN 300 today, as 11 of the top 14 prospects have already enrolled early at their school of choice, led by No. 1 overall prospect Trey Smith at Tennessee and No. 3 prospect Jaelan Phillips at UCLA.

          The biggest commitment will come later in the day, as No. 4 overall prospect Marvin Wilson will announce his commitment on ESPN2 at 4:35 p.m. ET.

          Plenty happened in the first hour of signing day, and we'll catch you up on the biggest news that took place from 8-9 a.m. ET:

          • The morning began well for Georgia, which entered the day with the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. The Bulldogs held on to ESPN 300 wide receiver Mark Webb despite an official visit to Penn State and a very strong push from the Nittany Lions coaches. Georgia also landed four-star safety Ameer Speed and three-star running back Eric Stokes.

          • It was also a case of the rich getting richer for Florida State, as the Seminoles landed ESPN 300 linebacker Leonard Warner over offers from Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Stanford and others. Florida State entered the day with the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class and a real opportunity to climb higher.

          • Florida got some much-needed good news as ESPN 300 offensive tackle Tedarrell Slaton signed with the Gators. There had been plenty of talk about how Florida’s class scuffled for much of the season, but the Gators have some momentum heading into signing day and could be poised for a big day. Slaton immediately became the top-ranked prospect in Florida’s class and the second ESPN 300 prospect added in the past five days.

          • Auburn landed another big man to its class in four-star defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell. He is just the second defensive tackle for the Tigers, joining Alec Jackson.

          • LSU added a big linebacker in ESPN 300 inside linebacker Tyler Taylor, over offers from Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said early in the day that linebacker would be an important position for the Tigers in this class, and landing Taylor is a big part of that.

          • Maryland received a boost to its top-20 class when it was able to flip four-star wide receiver Tahj Capehart from his Virginia Tech commitment. Capehart is another addition to a big wide-receiver class for the Terrapins, as he is the sixth wide receiver set to join the class.

          • Staying in the Big Ten, Penn State had a big early addition with four-star defensive tackle Corey Bolds. It’s another significant recruiting win in New Jersey for Penn State, as they added two of the top three defensive tackles and added three of the top 20 prospects in the state.

          • UCLA landed its first big commitment of the day in ESPN 300 offensive tackle Stephan Zabie, pulling the nation’s No. 207 prospect out of Texas. The Bruins had a big need along the offensive line in this class and are continuing to add bodies, though Zabie is a big win as the lone tackle in the class to this point.