Georgia Tech Football: Post-National Signing Day 2015 Scholarship Update

On Wednesday morning, Georgia Tech signed their 23 remaining recruits to polish off their 27-member 2015 recruiting class. Although that total number is above the maximum of 25 signings per recruiting class, 4 players enrolled early and were allowed to be counted towards the previous year's class. That said, the program is still obligated to offer a maximum of 85 scholarships per year, a number evaluated at the beginning of the fall semester.

With 27 new players, how does Georgia Tech stack up against that limit of 85?

Click to embiggen: link.

As it stands, if everyone with eligibility from last year's team returned, and everyone who signed today were enrolled for this fall, and nobody else were to get a scholarship, the team would have 87 players on scholarship -- two more than the NCAA's limit of 85. That said, in accepting this many commitments, the coaching staff is clearly aware of a few players who will not count towards that number, due to leaving school early or enrolling late. Note also that this number does not account for Jabari Hunt-Days' potential return from academic suspension. If that is to happen, three players on the above list will not be counting towards this year's scholarships. That said, who is likely to leave?

I hate bringing this up on a day as exciting and celebratory as Signing Day, but there's a strong chance that Ratliffe will be unable to enroll at the beginning of the fall and will be pushed back to January 2016. That has to do with his academics, though not his academic shortcomings. Chances are that Ratliffe will need extra time to graduate after spending the fall recovering and rehabilitating from the head injury he suffered in an ATV accident before the season started. That said, it may just end up working out best for all involved if he is to enroll late, not counting towards this fall's scholarship count and not rushing through his senior year classes.

Ratliffe enrolling late leaves the team at 86 committed scholarships, although that doesn't include Jabari Hunt-Days. As for early departures, there has been speculation about a couple of candidates, although it looks like they will stay on at least through spring practice. But, again, the coaches offering as many scholarships as they did and accepting as many commitments as they did (not to mention changing Brad Stewart's offer to a full one) should tell you that they have a plan in place and know who will be making room. In any case, I wouldn't expect the team to be as short-staffed as it was last year after suffering serious attrition from 14 players departing the team earlier than expected.

Any ideas on who might be leaving early? Worried about the coaches going over the limit as it stands now?