In years past, National Signing Day was everything a football fan could want in the offseason. Before NSD, no player could officially sign with a college, meaning every recruit could still change their mind at the last minute.

It always resulted in a day of wild fluctuations in the final recruit rankings, and the element of surprise was always there. Well, not this year. Not really.

National Signing Day passed on Wednesday, and it was a bit sleepier this year, thanks to a new fall signing period implemented for the first time in 2017. The early signing period meant that most of the nation’s top recruits were already signed, so there wasn’t a lot of excitement for teams at the top of the recruiting rankings.

Georgia stayed at No. 1 and the usual suspects — Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Clemson — were all near the top of the list too.

Not much changed in the top 10.

However, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big deal for many. Not every player is going to play football at the Division I level, and many of those players were still left on the board trying to decide their future Wednesday.

Eighteen players signed locally, completing childhood dreams to earn football scholarships to play their way through school. Signing with Mercer, Georgia State and Savannah State isn’t as flashy as some of the big name schools.

The most important part is they’ll be given a chance to earn a good education.. That’s life changing.

The parents of each of these students should be extremely proud, as well as the teachers and administrators that helped them along the way.

We wish them the best of luck as they prepare for their college journeys.