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The excitement of national signing day is usually reserved for February, but the impending early signing period is sure to capture the attention of college football fans.

This year's early signing period will begin on Wednesday, making for a busy week. While not every unsigned prospect will be signing their NLIs early, there's still a number of notable players set to make some important decisions. The drama of potential flips and commitment switches adds even more intrigue.

Here are some predictions for where some of the top recruits will land this week.

Alabama Will Land Hometown Tandem of Jaquavious Russaw and James Smith

Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama, boasts a pair of top defensive recruits in linebacker Jaquavious Russaw and defensive tackle James Smith. The duo has maintained for a while that they are a package deal with the intention of committing to the same school, and there's a strong chance that they decide to stay home.

Alabama is already putting together an impressive 2023 recruiting class. The addition of Smith and Russaw would make it a historic haul for head coach Nick Saban.

Smith is ranked as the No. 2 defensive lineman in the nation by 247Sports' composite, while Russaw is ranked as the No. 3 edge-rusher. Smith earned an invitation to the Under Armour All-America Game, which will be played on Jan. 3.

The Crimson Tide have been known for their seemingly never-ending cycle of talented defensive players. Smith and Russaw will have the chance to develop into NFL-caliber prospects by choosing to spend the next three or four years under Saban.

Top Offensive Tackle Kadyn Proctor Will Flip His Commitment from Iowa

Kadyn Proctor is an Iowa native and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation, per 247Sports' composite. That formula indicates that he's destined to be the next great anchor on the Iowa Hawkeyes offensive line, but things have changed in recent weeks.

Proctor, who committed to Iowa in June, took a visit to Alabama this past Friday. He also has been linked to Oregon throughout the fall. To add even more to the mix, he received an 11th-hour offer from new Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

At 6'7" and 330 pounds, there's no surprise that Proctor is one of the most coveted players in the nation. He has the traits to be a future NFL first-round draft pick.

Alabama, in particular, is worth keeping an eye on when it comes to Proctor. The Crimson Tide had five offensive linemen enter the transfer portal since it opened on Dec. 5, so they will need to replace some depth. Nick Saban will be working hard to secure one of the top players in the 2023 class.

Coach Prime Will Make His Presence Felt for Colorado

In his three years at Jackson State, Deion Sanders has proved to be a savvy recruiter. After being hired as head coach at Colorado, there's no question that Coach Prime will do his best to continue his recruiting success.

Sanders has wasted no time in his short time with the Buffaloes. He already flipped former Notre Dame running back commit Dylan Edwards, who was 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kansas. This past weekend, he hosted edge-rusher Tausili Akana, the No. 1 prospect in the state of Utah, as well as athlete Malachi Coleman, the No. 1 prospect in the state of Nebraska.

Earlier this month, Sanders also boldly made an offer to top offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, who is already committed to Iowa. After his historic recruitment of 2022 top prospect Travis Hunter away from Florida State, anything is possible when it comes to Coach Prime.

Speaking of Hunter, he intends to transfer from Jackson State, and he has not made his decision as to where he's headed. There is no doubt that Sanders will also be looking at the transfer portal to improve the Colorado roster, and it wouldn't be a surprise if Hunter and others follow him to Boulder.

It's looking increasingly like Odell Beckham Jr. will not be a Dallas Cowboy.

Owner Jerry Jones made his weekly appearance Tuesday on Shan & RJ on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan, saying the chances of Beckham signing in Dallas diminish every day.

"I don't have an assessment of that, but as of this morning we don't have anything," Jones said. "I don't have an assessment. The reality is, though, that time is moving down the road relative to playing in the playoffs, and so every day diminishes our chances of going forward."

Beckham met with the Cowboys, New York Giants and Buffalo Bills this month as he explored his options for a return from a torn ACL. The three-time Pro Bowler said he does not plan to play during the regular season.

"I haven't made a decision, and for me, I would like to be in a stable environment, get up at 6 a.m., leave at 6 p.m. for four weeks, and then let's talk about it," Beckham said this month on TNF in the Shop. "I've played football for a long time. I'm not saying that I couldn't step in and play regular season, but I don't see the point. I really don't. I would rather play when the pressure is on."

The longer the situation plays out, the more likely it is Beckham sits out the entire 2022 season and reenters the free-agency pool this offseason. Sitting out would allow Beckham to be fully recovered from the ACL tear suffered in Super Bowl LVI—his second in as many seasons—while increasing the suitor pool and driving up his potential asking price.

Still, Beckham is a 30-year-old who has not made a Pro Bowl since 2016 and has a questionable knee. His name value is much higher than his expected production value.

With the Cowboys signing T.Y. Hilton last week as well, there's no real reason for urgency in Dallas.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert showed his holiday spirit Monday, gifting Target Center employees $50 each to thank them for their work:

More than 450 employees, including ushers, security, concessions staff and more, also each received a signed card from Gobert, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Gobert is in his first season with the Timberwolves after an offseason trade from the Utah Jazz. The three-time All-Star has a history of helping people who work behind the scenes. In January, he gifted $50 and a card to employees at Utah's Vivint Arena. He also donated $200,000 to a relief fund for Vivint Arena employees in 2020 after the NBA season was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even in a new location, Gobert's generosity has remained.

It's just not happening for the 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers.

First, there was the abysmal 2-10 start to the season that put them in a hole they may not climb out of before the playoffs. Then, just when things were starting to look better, their best player went down with another injury that will reportedly sideline him for significant time.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Anthony Davis will "miss at least one month" with a right foot injury.

It's more of the same for Davis, who is a generational talent but struggles to stay on the floor. He played 40 games last season and 36 in 2020-21, and he has never appeared in more than 75 games since he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

With all due respect to LeBron James' greatness, the Lakers' best chance to compete in 2022-23 is through Davis. He was playing some of the best basketball of his career right before the setback, making the timing all the more difficult to deal with for the Purple and Gold.

Not counting the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when he exited early, Davis notched 10 straight double-doubles before the injury during a stretch that saw him score 55 points against the Washington Wizards, 44 points against the Milwaukee Bucks and 37 points with 21 rebounds against the Phoenix Suns.

Without that level of production on the floor, the 12th-seeded Lakers will surely fall even further in the standings and become more untenable in terms of a potential championship run.

That should impact the front office's approach ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

"Even before Davis was hurt, the team was conflicted internally about sacrificing its future for anything that didn't catapult the franchise back into contention," Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus reported in reference to the team's available first-round picks in 2027 and 2029.

Pincus also highlighted the reality that Los Angeles doesn't have much leverage with other teams knowing it is facing pressure to win now with James turning 38 years old this month ahead of his player option for 2024-25.

That led to an "inflated trade market at the deadline" last season, and that will surely be the case again in 2022-23. Throw in Pincus' reporting that the Indiana Pacers could re-sign Myles Turner this offseason, and the much-discussed potential trade that would send the big man and Buddy Hield to Los Angeles may not even be an option.

It's not a pretty picture for a team that also has to worry about the health of its franchise cornerstones.

It is a testament to James' individual brilliance that he is still playing at a high level, but the aging star missed Monday's loss to the Suns and hasn't played more than 67 games in a season since joining the Lakers before the 2018-19 campaign.

Los Angeles' ceiling at 13-17 with Davis out for a month or more feels like the play-in tournament, and even that is only if everything goes right with the health of its two future Hall of Famers once the big man returns.

It is difficult to imagine the team competing with the likes of the Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets and even New Orleans Pelicans from that position, even if it adds another impact player or two via trade.

Perhaps such a trade would involve Russell Westbrook, which seemed inevitable this past offseason before he settled into a sixth-man role. His contract will come off the books after the 2022-23 season, and the Lakers would likely still have to attach one of their 2027 or 2029 first-round picks to move him.

Success is defined by championships for this franchise, and that isn't happening this season.

Instead, they can reset with that additional cap space after Westbrook's deal expires, hold onto those future picks to either use or perhaps move in a different season with a better outlook and avoid mortgaging the future for a bleak present.

It's just not worth jeopardizing future Lakers teams for the 2022-23 one.

Donovan Mitchell said it's "comforting" being in Cleveland after dealing with racial issues as a member of the Utah Jazz, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape:

It's no secret there's a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah off the floor. If I'm being honest with you, I never really said this, but it was draining. It was just draining on my energy just because you can't sit in your room and cheer for me and then do all these different things. I'm not saying specifically every fan, but I just feel like it was a lot of things.

Mitchell spent his first five NBA seasons with the Jazz, earning three All-Star selections before an offseason trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He noted that having a larger proportion of "people that look like me" in the crowds at Cavs games is a "blessing" after playing in front of predominantly white crowds in Utah. A census in 2021 estimated the white population in Salt Lake City at 72.5 percent, whereas Cleveland was said to have 47.4 percent Black or African American residents.

"I tried my best to make sure I invite young Black and brown kids to games, to be around the community," he said. "But just to not see us there, it was definitely tough. And being in Cleveland now, you see us courtside. It's just refreshing."

Mitchell said he experienced multiple off-court issues in Utah, including criticism from an Instagram post about Juneteenth and being called out by Utah Senate President Stuart Adams.

"As far as Utah, it became a lot to have to deal with on a nightly basis," Mitchell said. "I got pulled over once. I got an attitude from a cop until I gave him my ID. And that forever made me wonder what happens to the young Black kid in Utah that doesn't have that power to just be like, 'This is who I am.' And that was one of the things for me that I took to heart."

The 26-year-old, who originally hails from New York, has enjoyed his time with the Cavaliers and spending time in the community, noting he has attended a high school game (as he previously did in Utah) in addition to other sporting events.

Mitchell is also thriving on the court, averaging a career-best 29.3 points per game while helping Cleveland start the year with a 21-11 record.

On Jan. 10, he returns to Salt Lake City with the Cavaliers to take on the Jazz. Mitchell said he is "excited" to return: "You're there for five years. You lay roots there as far as relationships you build in the organization and with different people in the community. To come back again and play in front of the crowd will be dope."

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and All Elite Wrestling.

Sasha Banks Headed to Japan Early

While it's the wrestling world's worst-kept secret that Sasha Banks will be making her New Japan debut at Wrestle Kingdom, she's apparently getting a jumpstart on her new career by heading over to Japan early.

Hiraki Sawa reported in a since-deleted tweet that Banks will head over to Japan this week in hopes of landing sponsorship deals with Japanese companies.

A Grand Slam champion during her tenure in WWE, it appears Banks is set for a full-scale world tour after abruptly leaving the company alongside Naomi in May. While there has been no confirmation she will step into the ring during her New Japan appearance, it's been suggested that Banks could go one-on-one with KAIRI for the IWGP women's championship.

There has also been buzz about Banks potentially joining AEW, likely as Saraya's mystery partner at the Jan. 11 edition of Dynamite in Los Angeles. It's noteworthy that no one within AEW has gone out of their way to tamp down the buzz, and the company rarely fails to deliver in these hyped-up moments.

At the very least, we'll all be getting Sasha Banks—or whatever her new moniker is—on our screens very soon and that's a win.

Bronson Reed Makes Surprising WWE Return

Of all the possible endings to Monday's ladder match between The Miz and Dexter Loomis, no one predicted this one.

Bronson Reed made his shocking return to WWE as Loomis was preparing for victory, handing the victory to The Miz in exchange for a heaping pile of cash.

Reed was released by WWE last year as part of across-the-board cuts at the NXT brand, and he wasted no time flourishing after his departure. The Australian spent time in Impact but made his biggest impact (pun intended) in New Japan, where he defeated Kazuchika Okada in perhaps the most surprising result of this year's G1.

It didn't take any time for Wrestling Twitter to point out it's a bit of a downgrade going from winning against Okada to being The Miz's hired hand, but Reed clearly secured a hefty bag—both in kayfabe and real life—for his services.

Hopefully we'll get to see a more complete version of Reed during his second WWE run.

Matt Cardona Praises Cody Rhodes

Since his 2020 WWE release, Matt Cardona has not been shy about putting his body on the line. His "king of the deathmatch" gimmick got him over big time in GCW and was one of the best heel storylines of 2021.

While Cody Rhodes defeating Seth Rollins in Hell in a Cell didn't quite present the visual brutality of a deathmatch against Nick Gage, it was likely the most physical pain any wrestler has gone through during a match in 2022.

Cardona heaped praise on Rhodes, a longtime friend, and called the moment "iconic."

"He had to do that match," Cardona said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. "Was it the smartest for his health? Maybe not, but it was such an iconic moment. And it really showed that he had the balls and passion for pro wrestling. I think he gained a lot of people's respect if he didn't have it already."

Rhodes has been out of action since the night after Hell in a Cell, though he should be primed for a return in the coming month or so.

Cardona could also be finding his way back to WWE sooner than later. While nothing has been confirmed, his wife, Chelsea Green, is reportedly on the precipice of returning to the company.

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