Happy National Signing Day! Here is where Big Bend athletes will be heading

College football programs across the country will close out their 2023 recruiting cycle Wednesday.

Make sure to follow live at www.Tallahassee.com as local high schools host signing-day ceremonies for athletes.

At Florida State, the Seminoles are expected to add one more signee to its 2023 recruiting class in 3-star linebacker Dylan Brown-Turner.

Brown-Turner, who is from Dallas, flipped his commitment from North Texas to FSU, announcing the decision on social media on Monday. He is the 18th member of the recruiting class for the Seminoles.

FSU saw 17 players sign on the signing day in December, with nine players enrolling early, including 5-star receiver prospect Hykeem Williams and 4-star quarterback Brock Glenn.

A Twitter List by Ehsan_Kassim

The Seminoles entered Wednesday ranked as the No. 20 recruiting class for high school prospects, according to 247Sports. They rank as the No. 2 transfer class, adding talent to a team that could be a College Football Playoff contender in 2023, led by quarterback Jordan Travis.

Looking ahead, FSU is currently No. 3 in the 2024 recruiting cycle with nine total commitments.

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At Florida A&M, Rattlers football director of recruiting Devin Rispress called the 2023 class 'star-studded' after signing 11 players during December's Early Signing Day.

Four of those players are former Big Bend Preps stars - running back Jaquez Yant (Godby/Nebraska), running back Kelvin Dean Jr. (Rickards/FAU), safety Jalen Glaze (Lincoln/Minnesota), and punter Trey Wilhoit (Chiles/Eastern Illinois).

The Rattlers look to add more Big Bend products to that list on National Signing Day as Gadsden County running back Cedric Byrd, and Maclay five-star kicker Michael Smith are expected to finalize their commitments.

Rickards three-star ATH Rico Watkins will decide where he will continue his academic and athletic career at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. He holds a FAMU offer, putting the Rattlers in the mix of his awaited decision.

The Rattlers are ranked No. 2 in 247Sports' HBCU recruiting rankings behind SWAC rival Jackson State and No. 6 in all of FCS entering National Signing Day.

At the preps level, a handful of Big Bend Athletes are set to sign with colleges.

Some notable names include All-Big Bend Offensive Player of the Year Tre'avis Jones, All-Big Bend Pitcher of the Year Bryce Jevyak, West Virginia commit and NFC senior Traylon Ray, and more.

Rickards three-star senior wide receiver/defensive back Rico Watkins announced Wednesday morning that he'd be signing with East Carolina over Coastal Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Florida A&M. Watkins was the only Big Bend football player to make All-Big Bend first team on offense and defense.

"The coaching staff was really good at communicating," Watkins said. "When I went there, I didn't want to leave. They're [East Carolina] a winning program that produces draft picks and a hard-working program. I'm ready to be a part of that."

Watkins finished his senior season with 765 receiving yards for three touchdowns, 32 tackles, 10 pass deflections, and seven interceptions. A staple of the Rickards program throughout his entire time on Jim Lee Road, Watkins talked highly about his time on the Southside and what it means to him.

"They mean everything to me," Watkins said. "When we're winning, they come out and show their support. They just mean a lot to me."

If you, a family member, friend, or classmate is signing an NLI on Wednesday, keep us in the loop. Tag us on Twitter (@bigbendpreps and @jackgwilliams), Facebook (Big Bend Preps), or Instagram (@tlhbigbendpreps). We want to include every signee in our area roundup, which will be updated throughout the day on the Tallahassee Democrat website.

Chiles

Taylor Bell, Florida A&M (golf)

Bryce Jevyak, West Alabama (baseball)

Trent Lovett, Coffeeville Community College (football)

Rayqwon Smith, Tennessee State (football)

Matthew McQueen, West Florida (football)

Tre'avis Jones, Coffeeville Community College (football)

Rickards

Rico Watkins, East Carolina (football)

Ja'Kari Winters, Central Georiga Technical College (football)

Reshard Mack, Wilmington College (football)

David Laws, North Carolina Wesleyan (football)

Daviyon Thomas, Ottawa University (football)

Kelvontae Gilley, North Carolina Wesleyan (football)

Arnnell Person, Miles College (football)

Maclay

Michael Grant, Florida State (football)

North Florida Christian

Traylon Ray, West Virginia (football)

Gadsden County

Cedric Byrd, Florida A&M (football)

Leon

Malek Jackson, Clark University (football)

Mikel Myrick, Tuskegee (football)

Godby

Malakei Owens, Florida A&M (football)

Munroe

DJ Johnson, Duquesne (football)

St. John Paul II

Avery Howard, North Alabama (football)

Patti Patterson, Murray State (golf)

Markel James, Middle Tennessee State (football)

Rickey Ransom, Valdosta State (football)

Florida High

Virgus Broxton, St. Thomas (football)

Rhyder Poppell, The Citadel (football)

Donovan Barnes, West Florida (football)

Chris Cotton, North Alabama (football)

Tay Young, Warner University (football)

Eli Williams, Clark Atlanta University (football)

Wakulla

Todd Williams, Delaware (football)

Andrew Huntsberger, Waynesburg (football)

DeAndre Strong, St. Thomas (football)

Jefferson County

Juvon Pettway, Clark Atlanta University (football)

Jack Williams covers prep sports for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Happy National Signing Day! Here is where Big Bend athletes are heading