2017 Early Signing Period Recap: USF Football Lands 24 Signees

Alongside its last minute 38-34 victory over Texas Tech in the Birmingham Bowl, USF football received another major gift just in time for the Christmas holiday.

24(!) #Stampede18 prospects officially signed their national letter of intents for the Bulls during the newly implemented 72-hour December signing period last week, all of which we kept track of here.

Entering the early signing period with 23 verbal commits, USF actually added on to its already large 2018 class during the three-day period.

18 of those original verbal commits officially signed on, going right in line with the expectation that upwards of 80% of classes being locked in during the period.

Currently ranked 56th nationally according to the 247 rankings, Charlie Strong's first class at the moment stands as the second best class in both the AAC and the entire Group of Five, just behind Cincinnati.

Top priority guys like WR Zion Roland, OG Sebastian Sainterling, CB Vincent Davis Jr., and C Brad Cecil all signed early as well as both quarterback prospects in Octavious Battle and Jordan McCloud. Their signings sealed the decision for fellow top QB target Michael Penix Jr. to head to Indiana.

Six new faces also joined the class during the period- OT Donovan Jennings, ATH Terrence Horne, DE Armon Williams, RB Johnny Ford, P Trent Schneider, and a surprise signing from former Florida State commit Stacy Kirby.

The five USF verbal commits who have yet to sign are Lakeland Jenkins DE Jordan Domineck, St. Pete Admiral Farragut DT John Waller, Sarasota Booker WR Talik Keaton, Venice DT Tyrone Barber, and Tampa Sickles ATH Jontrey Hunter. We'll see if they stand firm with their verbal commitments or look elsewhere between now and the February signing day.

Speaking of February, there's still a few targets on the coaching staff's radar that they'll try to snag by then. They include Tampa Jesuit CB Kendrick Torain, Toombs County (Georgia) RB Keshawn Morgan, and four-star Hollywood Miramar wide receiver Dominick Watt, who included USF in his final six.