There's no place like home.
Although Terry Beckner Jr. technically plays at East St. Louis (Ill.) High School, he has long considered the Missouri Tigers an in-state school.
After a long recruitment that took the five-star defensive tackle on official visits to Florida State, Auburn and Ohio State, the No. 2 player in the ESPN 300 announced Wednesday morning on ESPNU that he was staying home to play for Mizzou.
"I just followed where my heart told me to go," he said after the announcement.
Beckner continues a long tradition of East St. Louis Flyers crossing the Missouri River to play for Gary Pinkel. The Tigers have always recruited the high school like it was an in-state school, especially since coach Darren Sunkett took over in 2008 and started producing Division I prospects on an annual basis.
Beckner has a chance to be the next great defensive lineman at twice-defending SEC East champion Missouri, following the likes of Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson, Michael Sam, Kony Ealy, Shane Ray and more.
Alabama No. 1 for fourth straight year: There was no stopping coach Nick Saban and the Alabama recruiting machine as the Crimson Tide finished No. 1 in the ESPN RecruitingNation class rankings for a fourth consecutive year on Wednesday, signing 24 prospects in all, including a staggering 19 ESPN 300 recruits.
In fact, the Crimson Tide landed more players inside the Top 100 than the entire Big Ten combined (12 to 9), and the SEC finished the day with 10 of the top 20 classes, according to ESPN's recruiting rankings.
Among Saban's haul were No. 1 QB-PP Blake Barnett, No. 1 wide receiver Calvin Ridley, No. 2 running back Damien Harris and No. 3 cornerback Kendall Sheffield. In addition to the seven signees from the state of Alabama, there was No. 4 cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick from New Jersey, No. 8 receiver Daylon Charlot from Louisiana and No. 10 offensive guard Richie Petitbon from Washington, D.C., among others.
In stark contrast to players withholding their letters of intent and flipping their commitments elsewhere, signing day passed at Alabama with little drama.
"Most of them stuck to it," Saban said of those players who committed to Alabama in advance of signing day. "That's not the way to get the most attention from the media, and that certainly speaks highly to what a commitment means. I'm really proud of the players we got from that standpoint."
UCLA lands four major recruits: You could likely hear the roars coming from UCLA coaches across the Westwood campus, as recruit after recruit announced their commitments to the Bruins on ESPNU.
Tight end Chris Clark, athlete Soso Jamabo, offensive guard Josh Wariboko and outside linebacker Roquan Smith all announced their commitments on live television, jump-starting a tremendous day for the Bruins. But some of the cheering likely died down when Smith's letter of intent didn't show up and continued its absence well into the afternoon.
Reports eventually surfaced that UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would be joining new Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn as the team's linebackers coach. Ulbrich was one of the key reasons Smith selected the Bruins and his departure from the staff would certainly shift momentum toward hometown Georgia.
The Bulldogs are continuing to push hard for Smith and should get a boost from defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and Terry Godwin, who will likely look to recruit Smith to join them in Athens. Should Smith eventually flip from UCLA, it would be a blow to the Bruins' phenomenal day, but it likely won't dampen the celebration too much, as UCLA signed five other potential impact prospects.
USC lands No. 1 cornerback Marshall: The most heavily guarded recruitment in the West region has come to a close, as No. 4 overall prospect Iman Marshall announced his commitment to USC in an online video.
Marshall, who goes by the nickname "Biggie," took six finalists into signing day, with Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, UCLA and USC all in the picture, and kept everybody guessing throughout his recruitment. At various points it looked as though he could wind up at any of the six schools, but USC, which was thought to hold an edge from the beginning, won out for the nation's top cornerback.
This is a massive signing for the Trojans, as coach Steve Sarkisian and staff won a hotly-contested battle for the top local recruit for the second straight year, after landing Adoree' Jackson in the 2014 class.
Not only does Marshall give the Trojans another stellar cornerback to pair with Jackson, his commitment to USC gives Sarkisian and staff momentum with the 2016 class, as Marshall is a well-known commodity and can have an impact with younger players. It also continues USC's presence at Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, where the Trojans have enjoyed plenty of success over the years, including last year, with highly-recruited athlete JuJu Smith.
Had Marshall escaped Los Angeles, or gone across town to UCLA, it would have been viewed as a significant loss for Sarkisian and the Trojans. Instead, it's easily their biggest recruiting win of the year.
Rumors began swirling in the last week that new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh had made a strong push. But ultimately Marshall said his roots helped him decide.
"Michigan was a strong contender, but I'm a Trojan for life," he said. "I grew up a Trojan. And to have the opportunity to play in The Coliseum, why wouldn't you take that?"
Gators land No. 5, No. 9 recruits: New head coach Jim McElwain and his coaching staff are hoping to get the Florida Gators back on track after landing No. 5 recruit Martez Ivey and No. 9 CeCe Jefferson.
Ivey, the No. 1-ranked offensive tackle prospect in the ESPN 300, picked the Gators over Auburn in a ceremony at Apopka (Fla.) High.
The recruitment of Ivey was back and forth due to him having a very close relationship with former high school teammate and current Auburn fullback Chandler Cox.
In the end, Ivey followed his heart and went with his childhood favorite -- the Gators.
"He's a guy that can really get after you," McElwain said. "We're going to do our darndest here as we keep rolling through this state. I think we've made some huge inroads."
Jefferson, the No. 2-ranked defensive end in the ESPN 300, also picked the Gators over Auburn during a celebration at his house in Glen St. Mary, Florida.
"I felt like that was home for me," Jefferson said making his announcement on ESPNU. "I fit great in the defense they're trying to bring."
Jefferson has the ability to come in and help replace the loss of end Dante Fowler Jr. Ivey, meanwhile, fills an immediate area of need on the offensive line.
Aggies land No. 3-ranked DT Mack: Defensive tackle Daylon Mack, No. 6 in the ESPN 300 and the No. 1-ranked player in Texas, committed to Texas A&M over TCU and Texas in a ceremony at Gladewater High in Texas.
Mack was committed to the Aggies for more than a year before decommitting on Dec. 19. At that time, he named LSU and TCU as his top two but Mack eliminated LSU when Tigers defensive coordinator John Chavis left to take the same position at Texas A&M.
Mack said Chavis' presence at Texas A&M was a big factor in his decision to recommit. Mack, the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game MVP who is ranked as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country, said he silently recommitted to the Aggies during an official visit in January.
"Nobody knows that," Mack said of his silent commitment. "Coach (Kevin) Sumlin said there have been good times and bad times, but he stuck with me the whole way. He never blew up at me and that meant a lot to me."
National signing day: Around the nation
• Defensive tackle Rasheem Green joined high school teammate John Houston Jr. in committing to USC on Wednesday, giving the Trojans two important pieces on defense. The No. 41 overall prospect and No. 8 defensive tackle narrowed his sizable list of scholarship offers down to a final four of Arizona State, Miami, Oregon and USC before settling on the Trojans.
"I just felt like USC was the best fit for me, feel like USC is on the rise and I can have a big impact there. It was the best school for me," he said.
• The nation's No. 1 inside linebacker is staying home for college, as Houston Jr. announced his commitment to USC in a ceremony at his school. Though the Trojans were leaders for the nation's No. 56 overall prospect since close to the beginning of his recruitment, USC needed to hold off pushes from Arizona State, Miami, Oklahoma and a hard charge from Oregon, which impressed Houston and family on an official visit but couldn't quite overcome the Trojans.
• Charlie Strong was proud of his first full class at Texas, a No. 9-ranked group of 28 signees that added ESPN 300 recruits running back Chris Warren III and receiver Ryan Newsome on Wednesday. Nine of the Longhorns' 14 ESPN 300 signees joined the class after the state's top linebacker, Malik Jefferson, made his pledge on Dec. 19.
"Any time you're in a recruiting process, there's got to be a player and it's got to be a marquee player. That was Malik Jefferson for us," Strong said. "When he jumped on board, it got us jump-started."
• One of the nation's unique recruits is headed to South Bend, as wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Wednesday. St. Brown, the nation's No. 9 wideout and No. 63 overall prospect, is trilingual, speaking German, French and English, and is the son of former Mr. Universe John Brown. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound receiver selected the Fighting Irish over offers from Stanford, UCLA, USC and Utah.
• DaMarkus Lodge, ranked No. 57 in the ESPN 300 and the No. 7-ranked wide receiver prospect out of Cedar Hill (Texas) High, committed to Ole Miss over Texas A&M and Texas.
The 2015 Under Armour All-America Game participant is another talented receiver for the Rebels to add to a rotation that will feature Laquon Treadwell, Quincy Adeboyejo, Cody Core, Markell Pack and Damore'ea Stringfellow, who sat out this season due to transfer rules.
• Dexter Williams, No. 78 in the ESPN 300 and the No. 5-ranked running back prospect, committed to Notre Dame over Miami and Louisville.
The Orlando-area running back could vie for immediate playing time at running back. While starter Tarean Folston returns, Greg Bryant has not established himself as a consistent second back and No. 3 back Cam McDaniel has graduated.
• David Sills, the prospect largely responsible for the massively sped-up timeline when it comes to recruiting, signed his letter of intent with West Virginia on Wednesday.
Sills sparked national conversation when he was offered by and committed to USC as a 13-year-old still in the seventh grade. Many wondered if offering a scholarship to a prospect that young was a wise move for then-USC head coach Lane Kiffin, or fair to a recruit as young as Sills.
The quarterback decommitted when Steve Sarkisian took over with the Trojans, and the three-star prospect also earned scholarship offers from Boston College, Clemson, Maryland and Mississippi State.
Gerry Hamilton, Sam Khan, Erik McKinney, Kevin Gemmell, Max Olson and Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com contributed to this report.