National Signing Day: Emory Jones Switches From Ohio State to Florida

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Wednesday is the first day of a new event in the crowded college football calendar: an earlier national signing period.

Next year’s freshmen will be able to formally commit to a university now, instead of waiting until February (although if they choose to wait, they can.)

Some of the athletes signing this week had long ago announced their choices. But only now by signing their letter of intent are they officially committed.

The latest developments:

■ Emory Jones, a running and passing quarterback from Georgia who had verbally committed to Ohio State, reversed himself and will be going to Florida. He had told SB Nation in April that he was “100 percent committed to Ohio State,” but wanted “to take some more visits to make sure I pick the right place.” It turns out that place is Florida.

■ Trevor Lawrence, from Georgia, the consensus top quarterback, and perhaps top player in the country signed with Clemson, as he said he would a year ago. Lawrence, a 6-foot-6 pocket quarterback is said to have all the tools to succeed in college, and the N.F.L. as well. Clemson landed another top 10 prospect; defensive end Xavier Thomas of Florida also signed Wednesday.

■ Jackson Carman, a highly regarded tackle from Ohio, delivered something of a surprise when he, too, chose Clemson. Ohio State had been considered the leading candidate.

■ One of the biggest name players who had not yet indicated a firm preference, defensive end Micah Parsons of Pennsylvania, announced that he would attend Penn State, which beat out Oklahoma, Georgia, Nebraska and Alabama. He had verbally committed to the team last February but then dropped that pledge in April.

Parsons was involved in a late-breaking recruiting violation; Ohio State on Tuesday agreed to no longer recruit him after improperly introducing him to Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN while on a visit to the school, according to reports.

■ Jamaree Salyer, a guard from Georgia who was said to be deciding between Georgia and Florida, selected Georgia. It will be a strong recruiting class for Georgia by all accounts, with quarterback Justin Fields of Georgia running back Zamir White of North Carolina, both top 10 prospects, having verbally committed.