When is National Signing Day in college football for Class of 2025?

National Signing Day is set for Wednesday, opening the period for schools to sign new student-athletes. Division I programs can sign players until April 1, while Division II programs have until Aug. 1.

Ahead of this year's National Signing Day, the top-ranked recruiting classes, according to ESPN, are those of Texas, Georgia and Oregon. Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns lead the way with 18 commits from the ESPN 300 list.

Kirby Smart's Bulldogs have 15 and Dan Lanning's Ducks have 16. Many schools have already signed players through the early signing period in December. That group includes a vast majority of the top 100 prospects of the Class of 2025.

While players have already most likely committed to the school of their choosing, there's always the chance for last-minute drama on National Signing Day.

National Signing Day has traditionally occurred on the first Wednesday of February. However, changes made by the NCAA in 2017 established a signing period and introduced an early signing period in early December.

What changes happened to National Signing Day in 2025?

Usually, high school seniors sign National Letters of Intent as a way for a player to indicate their desire to become part of the program. However, in October 2024, the NCAA abolished the practice, and now the players will receive written offers of athletic financial aid from their prospective schools.

This was allegedly changed due to ongoing legal debates regarding college sports and the potential creation of a revenue-sharing model between the schools and the student-athletes.

The class of 2025 will be the first one since 1964 to go through the process without using NLIs.

OT Ty Haywood is expected to be the most important commitment of National Signing Day

Four-star offensive tackle prospect Ty Haywood is the most important player left without a strong commitment ahead of National Signing Day. Previously committed to Alabama, he did not sign during the December period and decommitted in January.

A week after his decommitment, Haywood visited Michigan, and most analysts expect him to join the Michigan Wolverines. Florida State and Texas Tech are also pursuing him. Haywood is set to announce his decision on Monday.