Gone are the screeching chirps of the fax machines, college football fanatics all over the country calling in sick on a day early in September and more flips than a cheerleader competition on the biggest day of recruiting.

National signing day as we knew it once is now gone. The February fiasco has been replaced by a more muted December date. With the advent of the early signing period, the vast majority of top-tier high schoolers sign on the dotted line with their schools of choice at the end of one year rather than the beginning of the next.

Oh, there are still some shenanigans. But it's not like it used to be.

This year's February late signing session still included a couple of exciting signings, even if most everybody knew where Ty Haywood and Zahir Mathis were going.

The former signed with the Michigan Wolverines, spurning his longtime pledge to Alabama. After Mathis decommitted from the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes just days before December's early session, he wound up at Maryland, choosing them over Florida State.

USC also made an underrated splash by landing former Washington State linebacker signee AJ Tuitele.

So, who made out the best the past couple of months? Who took it on the chin? Let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the late session.

Winner: Michigan's Offensive Line

When the Michigan Wolverines were at the top of the college football world, they built the title run and became a Big Ten power behind the strength of the trenches.

Back-to-back seasons, they won the Joe Moore Award for the nation's best offensive lines in 2021 and '22, and they were a finalist in the 2023 national championship season.

Coach Sherrone Moore is determined to outfit that unit with elite players again, and the major recruiting victory to get Denton (Texas) High School star offensive tackle Ty Haywood will go a long way in helping that.

Haywood was a longtime Alabama commitment, but after not signing with the Tide in the early session, it was evident that he was going to wind up elsewhere. The Wolverines always made the most sense, and he signed with Big Blue on Wednesday.

The 6'5", 285-pound stalwart is the nation's No. 39-ranked overall player and sixth-rated offensive tackle in the class. He considered Florida State and Oklahoma late.

Joining 5-star tackle Andrew Babalola fortifying the front, Haywood will spend the next few seasons protecting dynamic 5-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who spurned LSU to stay home.

Don't sleep on 4-star tackle Avery Gach and 3-star interior lineman Kaden Strayhorn, either. This is a loaded group up front.

Loser: Oregon Ducks

A No. 5 recruiting ranking takes some of the sting out, but after December's early signing period, it's been nothing but a plunge into a hornet's nest for coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks when it comes to high school recruiting news.

Not only did the Ducks lose out on McKay Madsen to BYU (despite the fact that the electrifying athlete is taking a mission trip before playing college ball), but they also were the victim of two massive signees changing their minds.

Dallas Wilson—the nation's No. 35-ranked overall player and the eighth-rated wide receiver—and elite quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele both had a change of heart shortly after signing scholarship papers with the Ducks.

Sagapolutele entered the transfer portal after mere weeks in Eugene and decided to sign with his first love, the California Bears. The Hawaii prospect flipped late but now will battle Ohio State transfer Devin Brown for the job in Berkeley.

Wilson asked for and received a way out of his letter of intent to stay close to his Sunshine State home and play for the Florida Gators. He will join a loaded class for coach Billy Napier in a make-or-break season.

There's nothing wrong with Oregon's final haul, and the transfer portal makes things better, too. But these were two huge losses from a quality class.

Winner: Mike Locksley's Closing Skills

The biggest unsigned defensive player left on the board made Maryland coach Mike Locksley a very happy man on Wednesday.

The Terrapins closed the deal on 4-star edge-rusher Zahir Mathis, beating out Florida State for a guy who should be an instant-impact type of weapon coming after quarterbacks. The Imhotep Institute star from Philadelphia marks the highest-ranked defensive player in Locksley's class.

He is the nation's No. 114-ranked overall player and the 12th-rated edge-rusher in the class, and his signing pushed Maryland into the top 25 rankings at 25th nationally.

There's a long way to go before the '26 signing day, but the potential pairing of Mathis with 5-star pledge from next year's class, Zion Elee, is tantalizing for the Terps. He discussed why he ultimately chose an out-of-the-box program like Maryland.

"It stood out to me the most because, for my next chapter, I have to be uncomfortable to be great," Mathis said on 247Sports' The Ultimate College Football Show. "Being a hand-down edge, it's a natural dream for me. That's amazing for me. I love being a hand-down edge."

Mathis seemed all set on Ohio State and being a part of the national champion Buckeyes' class, but he decommitted just days before the early signing period started, reopening his recruitment.

Locksley—who has developed a reputation as an elite recruiter, both as an assistant and a head coach—swooped in and cultivated that already-established relationship and ultimately got a difference-maker on his way to College Park.

Loser: Scott Frost (Sort Of)

Even after his failed tenure at Nebraska, pretty much all the rabid Knights fans are excited that UCF went with Scott Frost as the next head coach.

He is a veritable legend in Orlando after leading his team to an undefeated record the final year he was there in 2017. Frost may very well be the man to get things going again after former coach Gus Malzahn left to be Florida State's offensive coordinator, but he did take some recruiting gut punches.

After elite pass-catcher Jayvan Boggs followed Malzahn to Tallahassee, flipping to the Seminoles and signing with Florida State in early December, UCF lost another major piece of the offensive rebuilding puzzle.

Warner Robins (Georgia) 6'7", 270-pound offensive tackle Chastan Brown decided to join Malzahn as a 'Nole after being committed to UCF. Those were huge wins for Florida State in the late session and gave Frost a big "L."

It's hard to give Frost a big-time failing grade, though, because he was able to hold onto guys like 4-star running back Taevion Swint and 4-star safety Tony Williams, but a class that's ranked 77th is simply not going to cut it in the Big 12.

Frost will need some time to build his program his way, but Brown could have been a major block to help up front, and he will be playing for Mike Norvell instead.

Winner: Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick's manifesto to make a college program great and his formula, which includes a fully-stocked recruiting staff and a general manager, have gained a lot of attention this offseason.

Even though the new North Carolina coach will have better recruiting classes, he kept this year's together in a big way and even added some pieces late. All in all, it was a big victory for the Heels as they move on from the Mack Brown era.

With Belichick on the sideline, the powder blue will be all over everybody's television in 2025, and the coach will have some exciting young players in a class that ranks 43rd.

Keeping 4-star Bryce Baker in the fold after he elected not to sign in the early session was massive. The East Forsyth (North Carolina) High School quarterback is the No. 8 signal-caller in the nation.

"Would I want to go in there and take Penn State to the national championship or would I want to be an up-and-coming thing in my home state and help turn things around at North Carolina?" Baker said, according to The Athletic's Grace Raynor. "I chose the second option to help turn things around at North Carolina. Build my legacy in North Carolina, where I'm from."

For a little insurance, Belichick grabbed a commitment from 3-star quarterback Au'tori Newkirk and landed defensive tackle Nicco Maggio, who left his letter of intent with Wake Forest after Dave Clawson resigned. Belichick flipped Trey Giddens from Navy on signing day, as well.

Loser: Those Writing off Florida's Late-Season Surge

Facing a gauntlet of a 2024 football schedule with a lame-duck coach, not many believed Florida coach Billy Napier would survive. Instead, though, the Gators rose to the occasion by reeling off four wins to close the season.

They finished with an 8-5 record, knocking off No. 21 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss, Florida State and Tulane to ramp up expectations heading into the offseason.

If you thought this was just a flash in the pan, though, Napier's '25 recruiting haul says otherwise. He's surrounding quarterback DJ Lagway with playmakers, and there are defensive reinforcements coming, too.

The Gators added weapons on both sides of the ball in the late signing period, the biggest of which was Dallas Wilson, who was once a 5-star prospect but wound up the No. 35-ranked overall player and eighth-rated receiver.

The Tampa Bay product signed with Oregon but realized quickly he wanted to be closer to home, and he enrolled in Gainesville on January 31. Now, he will team with Vernell Brown III for an incredible one-two punch for Lagway.

On the defensive side of the ball, after Florida flipped longtime Tennessee safety commitment Lagonza "Shaedy" Hayward from the Vols in the early period, they did the same with another UT pledge in the late session.

Onis Konanbanny decided he wanted to play for an SEC rival rather than Tennessee, giving the Gators another quality defensive back prospect. It was a very good couple of months to be a Gator.

Winner: Keelon Russell

There wasn't any drama the past couple of months with elite quarterback Keelon Russell.

The 6'3", 175-pound Duncanville, Texas, product has been committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide since way back in June after flipping from SMU. He signed with coach Kalen DeBoer's team back in December, and the only gasp surrounding him in the last few months came from an ankle injury during the Under Armour All-America Game.

He starred in that game, by the way, completing seven passes for 120 yards. After dazzling everybody that week, the elite dual-threat signal-caller proved enough to surge up to the No. 2-ranked overall player in the class, according to the 247Sports composite.

That's enough to be considered a "winner" for Russell, who overtook Michigan signee Bryce Underwood after the latter rarely played in any showcase camps or games.

It wasn't all roses for the Tide in the late signing period, as you already know, with Ty Haywood doing the expected and decommitting from Alabama to play for Michigan. So, while it wasn't the greatest ending of the class for DeBoer, he still did just fine.

Alabama has another top-tier class, and it's anchored by the nation's top-rated player. With only Ty Simpson standing in his way, don't be surprised if Russell gets the opportunity to start some games right away.

He is that good.

Loser: Clemson Losing Major In-State Battle

For a while toward the end of his recruitment, 4-star wide receiver Donovan Murph had coach Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers on top.

In the end, though, the 6'1.5", 188-pound Columbia, South Carolina, native elected to stay home. He is from Irmo High School very near where the Gamecocks play, and, ultimately, he decided to play SEC football.

This was a massive win for coach Shane Beamer's program. Not only is it a big deal that they added another dynamic weapon to their roster, but it's also always fun to beat your hated rival off the field after beating them on it late in the season.

Murph is the No. 164-ranked overall player in the class and the 22nd-rated wide receiver, and he went on several visits to both schools over the course of the season and last few weeks before announcing a decision at the Under Armour All-America Game.

Can Murph get onto the field right away? He certainly showed his immense talent during high school, registering 153 catches for 2,412 yards and 29 touchdowns in 28 career games. With LaNorris Sellers under center in Columbia, Beamer needs to surround him with big-time weapons.

Murph definitely fits the bill, and he is the kind of recruiting victory Beamer needs to consistently get over Swinney to keep the momentum swinging in South Carolina's direction and get the team over the hump into the playoffs.