2012 Stock Report for Every BCS College Football Team After National Signing Day

By (Featured Columnist) on February 2, 2012

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As the letters of intent flew into schools all over the nation, the 2011 season finally has been put to rest and the 2012 season has begun. 

Schools across the United States got a glimpse into how their football program's future would look, and for some it was a beautiful sight but for others it was a cause for concern. 

Regardless of the returning talent on the team already, here is a stock report on each BCS team and if their stock went up, down or stayed even after National Signing Day. 

Florida State

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As is the case most years, Florida State brought in a solid haul and finished better then most expected with a top-five class according to Rivals.com. Florida State is a hot spot for young recruits and it is only a matter of time before this kind of talent translates to bigger wins on the field. 

Stock Up

Clemson

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Dabo Swinney did another impressive job for Clemson this year. While Florida State may have gotten most of the attention in the ACC, the Tigers finished with a top 15 class according to Rivals.com and has them in position to stay towards the top of the conference. 

Stock Up

NC State

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Despite being able to thrive without Russell Wilson this year, Tom O'Brien did not have the same kind of success on the recruiting trail. NC State finished towards the bottom of the conference and will need to take a big step forward next year.

Stock Down

Boston College

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Boston College has been trending down for the past couple of seasons and after this recruiting class, that trend will continue. The other team to have a worse class in the ACC was Wake Forest.

Stock Down

Wake Forest

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Speaking of Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons had a rough National Signing Day as they came in last in the ACC according to Rivals.com.While Wake Forest did make a bowl game this year, Jim Grobe will have to continue to coach up his lesser-known recruits to repeat the task. 

Stock Down

Maryland

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In his second year as head coach, Randy Edsall is going to have to deal with the rising expectations that Maryland fans have since he has arrived from Connecticut. While he may not have secured a great class, it is in the middle of the pack in the ACC and certainly should help them improve from last year.

Stock Even

Virginia Tech

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With a head coach like Frank Beamer, you would expect Virginia Tech to have a much better recruiting class than they did. The Hokies finished fourth in the conference and lost out on some big recruits.

Stock Down

Virginia

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Not only is Virginia nipping at the heal of Virginia Tech on the field, they are coming up quickly off the field as well. The Cavaliers came in right behind the Hokies and coach Mike London is doing an outstanding job attracting talent. 

Stock Up

Georgia Tech

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Despite some on-the-field successes, Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech did not have a great signing day. The Yellow Jackets finished towards the bottom of the ACC in terms of their overall recruiting class and only managed to secure a couple 4-star recruits.

Stock Down

Miami

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Despite their lack of success on the field, Miami continues to do well in recruiting and a lot of it has to do with the state they are located in. Florida is a breeding ground for outstanding talent and Miami does a great job of not letting players out of their own backyard. 

Stock Even

Duke

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Duke fans have come to the understanding that they are never going to be a hotbed for college football recruits, and this year was no different. Head coach David Cutcliffe has done as good of a job as possible but will be challenged to ever lead the Blue Devils to a bowl game.

Stock Even

North Carolina

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With the understanding that Larry Fedora came into the fold late at North Carolina, the Tar Heels still brought in 23 recruits and managed to set themselves up for a brighter future than they started 2011 with. 

Stock Up

Oregon

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Despite the flirtation with the NFL, Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks still finished out their recruiting class strong and managed to get a commitment from Aric Armstead, a previous Cal lean. With the speed and skill Kelly brought in, the Oregon offense should continue to keep on rolling.

Stock Up

Washington

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While the Washington Huskies class was shaping up to be pretty good, they received a twitter commitment on Monday that pushed them over the top. With the addition of Shaq Thompson to the secondary, the Huskies finished the recruiting class strong. 

Stock Up

Oregon State

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While coach Mike Riley is known for getting the best out of his players and doing a lot with not-so-well-known recruits, the Beavers had a pretty good recruiting class. 

Riley managed to lock down a few 4-star recruits, according to Rivals.com, and this should help the program start to bounce back in the Pac-12 North.

Stock Up

Stanford

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Instead of spending time missing Andrew Luck, Stanford and its coaching staff went out and put together a good recruiting class. Stanford ending up finishing with one of the top classes in the Pac-12 and remained inside the top 20 in the nation according to Rivals.com.

Stock Up

Cal

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While Cal still had a decent class, the potential was there to have a top 10 class. Down the stretch and in the last week, Cal lost out on both Shaq Thompson and Aric Armstead which are huge blows to their over class talent. 

Stock Down

USC

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Despite everything they had to go through with the NCAA, USC and Lane Kiffin were still able to put together a strong class that should help continue to propel the Trojans back towards the top of the Pac-12. With a top 15 class according to Rivals.com, the Trojans are getting back to the theory of reloading instead of rebuilding.

Stock Up

UCLA

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Despite their poor play on the field, UCLA has done a nice job of securing one of the top classes in the Pac-12. Jim Mora has brought some new excitement to the program but the Bruins are a long way away from catching up to USC, even with the sanctions they are dealing with. 

Stock Even

Utah

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As Utah heads into their second season in the Pac-12, Kyle Whittingham did a nice job of putting together a solid class that finished under the first tier of Pac-12 teams like Oregon, USC and Stanford. 

While the class was good, he will need to do more if they hope to compete with USC in the future. 

Stock Even

Colorado

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Despite their bad first season in the Pac-12, Colorado put together a very strong recruiting class that should help them rebound in the future. Overall, Colorado was able to secure a top 35 class, which for the Buffs is a great finish.  

Stock Up

Arizona State

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Todd Graham's reputation may finally be catching up to him as the Sun Devils did not do a great job this year. With the amount of times that Graham has skipped around, he may have paid the price in this year's class. 

Stock Down

Arizona

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2011 was a tough year for the Arizona Wildcats and after this year's recruiting class, the Wildcats appear to be staying put towards the bottom of the Pac-12 South division.

While this may not have been the greatest of years for Arizona, fans of the program are confident that new coach Rich Rodriguez will help bring them back towards the top of the conference. 

Stock Down

Washington State

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Much like Arizona, Washington State fans are optimistic despite a below-average recruiting class. After taking a step forward on the field this year, the Cougars made an upgrade by bringing Mike Leach on board as their new head coach.

While the Cougars may have finished outside the top 50 in terms of recruiting class, the hope is that Leach can make the difference this coming year.

Stock Even

Michigan

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Michigan has surprised a lot of people this year and continues to push forward to gaining their old status near the top of the Big 10. 

Not only did Brady Hoke lead the Wolverines to a BCS win this year, but closed it out strong by locking up a top 10 recruiting class. This type of class will help the Wolverines moving forward.

Stock Up

Michigan State

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Despite their recent success inside of the Big 10, Michigan State has not been able to help translate that to off-the-field success with recruiting. This year, Michigan State had a decent incoming class but found themselves outside the top 30 according to Rivals.com. 

Eventually the inability to cash in on their success may cost the Spartans down the line.

Stock Down

Nebraska

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As is the case most years, Bo Pelini and Nebraska were able to put together a top 25 recruiting class according to Rivals.com. The class was good enough to come in third in the conference and has the Huskers set up for Big 10 success. 

Stock Up

Ohio State

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Despite the bowl band that has been placed on the Buckeyes for 2012, it has not stopped new head coach Urban Meyer from hitting the recruiting trail and doing an outstanding job. In Meyer's first class, he managed to help Ohio State secure a top 10 spot in Rivals.com ratings and a bright future. 

Stock Up

Iowa

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Iowa football has really fallen into the middle of the pack in the Big 10 and so has their recruiting. Out of the 12 Big 10 teams, Iowa finished sixth and will likely find the same result on the field for the next few years.

Stock Even

Illinois

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The descent towards the bottom of the Big 10 has continued for the Illinois Fighting Illini as they finished 10th in the Big 10 according to Rivals.com and missed out on some of their bigger targets.

Stock Down

Minnesota

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After a poor performance in 2011, Minnesota and Jerry Kill hit the recruiting trail and had about as many victories there as they did during the regular season. The Badgers are coming in with one of the worst recruiting classes in the Big 10 and certainly will not help their ability to get things turned around.

Stock Down

Northwestern

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Pat Fitzgerald continues to do the best he can at Northwestern but is going nowhere fast. As the Wildcats continue to struggle to look for their first bowl win in years, the struggle is taking place off the field as well as their recruiting class was subpar. 

Stock Even

Wisconsin

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Surprisingly, after back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances, the Badgers are not finding the same success on the recruiting trail. Overall, Wisconsin came in towards the lower half of their own conference and appear to have their work cut out for them in the 2013 class. 

Stock Down

Purdue

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Despite a lackluster season, Purdue is actually putting together an impressive recruiting season. The Boilermakers find themselves in the top half of the Big 10 and are making moves to bring themselves back to a competitive level in the conference. 

Stock Up

Indiana

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As if last year's 1-11 record was not bad enough, the Hoosiers did not find a way to improve themselves on National Signing Day and are set up for a rough future. While Indiana is a basketball school, the football program continues to try and find a way to become more competitive on the football field. 

Stock Down

Penn State

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There is no question that off-the-field issues and scandals have cost Penn State a lot of recruits in this class and in future classes. This year, Penn State ended up falling to the bottom of the top 50 in overall class ranking and this may be the trend for the next few years out in Happy Valley. 

Stock Down

Alabama

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Another outstanding job by Nick Saban and the Alabama coaching staff as they once again pulled in the best class in the nation. Saban managed to add a lot of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and is already hard at work on the class of 2013. 

Stock Up

Texas A&M

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After leaving Houston for Texas A&M, coach Kevin Sumlin jumped right in and put together a solid class. Despite heading to the SEC and tougher competition, Sumlin appears to have the Aggies heading in the right direction.

Stock Up

Arkansas

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One of the bigger surprises from National Signing Day was the lack of success that Arkansas experienced. When it was all said a done, the Hogs finished towards the bottom of the SEC and lost out on a lot of close recruiting battles.

Stock Down

LSU

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After running the table in the regular season and winning the SEC, LSU fell flat in the national title game and may be seeing some of the results from that. While they still finished with a top 15 class, you would have expected the Tigers to close on some recruits that would have put them in the top 10 or higher. 

Stock Even

Vanderbilt

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James Franklin continues to do his best to elevate the Vanderbilt program. Through his efforts, Franklin was able to help the school finish strong and inside the top 35 Rivals.com classes. 

Stock Up

South Carolina

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The old ball coach is up to his old tricks as he helped South Carolina wrap up a top 20 recruiting class. While the success off the field hasn't resulted in a SEC title, Steve Spurrier continues to help the Gamecocks improve.

Stock Up

Kentucky

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One way to ensure that you will not be competitive in the SEC is to come in last in terms of recruiting class, and that is exactly what Kentucky did this year. With all of the skill and talent inside the conference, this could be a setback for Joker Phillips and the program. 

Stock Down

Mississippi State

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Dan Mullen has been selling the Bulldogs program as an up-and-coming program in the SEC. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, the wins have not come on the field and they are not happening on the recruiting trail. The only upside is the fact that they finished with a better class than rival Ole Miss.

Stock Down

Ole Miss

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A once proud program like Ole Miss has fallen on hard times and are paying for it off the field. Along with playing in an extremely tough conference, the Rebels are not producing off the field with recruits and have set themselves back another year. 

Stock Down

Auburn

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Although they were outdone again by Alabama and Nick Saban, Gene Chizik still brought home another impressive recruiting class for the Auburn Tigers. Chizik helped guide the Tigers to a top 15 recruiting class and have them prepared for the future. 

Stock Up

Missouri

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As Missouri prepared to enter the SEC for the first time, they were heading in on a down note but after a commitment from Dorial Green-Beckham came through, things turned around. During the 2012 season, Missouri is about to find out how much they must step up their game on and off the field. 

Stock Up

Tennessee

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Derek Dooley continues to do an outstanding job at Tennessee. This year, the Vols were able to secure a top 20 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com, and were competitive with some of the SEC's elite. 

Stock Up

Florida

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Since Tim Tebow left the University of Florida, the school has been unable to match the successes that they were becoming accustom too. During this offseason, Florida put together an outstanding class that included a couple of 5-star performers as well as putting them in the top 10 classes according to Rivals.com.

Stock Up

Georgia

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Mark Richt and the Georgia Bulldogs finished the recruiting period strong and pushed them into the top 20 in terms of overall recruiting class. Along the way, Richt picked up big commitments from a few ESPN 150 players and gave Bulldog fans something to be happy about.

Stock Up

Notre Dame

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Brian Kelly and Notre Dame had a relatively quiet signing day, but did fail to close on some of their bigger targets. The upside is Kelly still has some available slots and still finished with a Rivals.com top 25 recruiting class.

Stock Even

West Virginia

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Surprisingly, West Virginia didn't finish things out as strongly as the program and its fans had hoped. Despite winning the Big East and their BCS bowl game, the Mountaineers finished with an average class and that gives them a lot to work on for 2013.

Stock Down

Connecticut

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After being the Big East champion just two years ago, Connecticut has fallen and has fallen hard. The Huskies ended up coming in dead last in the Big East and just appear to be spiraling down both on and off the field.

Stock Down

Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh ended the recruiting season with yet another below-average class and that is starting to show on the field. Until the Panthers can show some stability in their program, recruits will be hesitant to commit to them. 

Stock Down

Louisville

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After earning a share of the Big East conference championship in 2011, Louisville built on that momentum by putting together a top 50 class this year. After picking up a few 4-star athletes, the Cardinals will continue to improve and push teams like West Virginia.

Stock Up

Rutgers

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Despite the loss of Greg Schiano to the NFL, Rutgers still closed out the recruiting period strong as they secured a top 30 class according to Rivals.com and also finished on top of the Big East.

Stock Up

South Florida

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South Florida's recruiting class was much like their 2011 season, they started fast and finished slowly. Despite being in a talent-rich state like Florida, the Bulls and their staff could not put together a top 50 class and left much to be desired in 2013. 

Stock Even

Syracuse

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While they didn't finish last in the conference, the end to the recruiting period was not a good one for Syracuse. The Orange failed to attract any of the nation's top talent and continue to find it difficult to find consistency.

Stock Down

Cincinnati

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After earning a piece of the conference title, Cincinnati put together an average class that is neither good nor bad. The talent that is coming in should be enough to keep them in the hunt, but certainly not enough to take them over the top.

Stock Even

Oklahoma

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There are two ways to look at this recruiting class for the Oklahoma Sooner faithful. First is that Bob Stoops landed another top 10 class and brought in some amazing talent to Norman. The second way to view this is that he pulled in a great class but still lost out to Texas.

Stock Even

Texas

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Being Mack Brown or the head coach of Texas has to be a beautiful thing. You coach in a state neck deep in 5-star talent and they grow up wanting to be a Longhorn. Brown did an outstanding job of closing a top three class and is already set up for 2013's class. 

Stock Up

Oklahoma State

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This offseason has been one to forget for the Cowboys as not only do they lose Justin Blackmon to the NFL, but they finished middle of the pack in their own conference for recruiting and appear to be heading for a dip in performance on the field.

Stock Down

Iowa State

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After a disappointing 2011 season, Iowa State saw the recruiting class be just as disappointing. Finishing second to last in the Big 12 and not being able to sign a 4- or 5-star recruit will prevent the program from having the ability to move forward and be more competitive. 

Stock Down

Kansas

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While Charlie Weis may have gotten Kansas fans to pay attention for a few minutes to their football program, it appears that recruits did not take notice. Kansas finished dead last in the Big 12 and will need more than just a new head coach to turn things around. 

Stock Down

Kansas State

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Despite a great season, Bill Snyder appears to have his hands full as Kansas State was not able to pull in the kind of recruiting class they had hoped for. Finishing outside the top 50 according to Rivals.com, Snyder will need to have a greater focus on making up for things in the 2013 class.

Stock Down

Texas Tech

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While Texas and Texas A&M may have snagged up most of the gems in the Longhorn state, Texas Tech still did a good job and managed to finish in the top 30 overall classes. 

Stock Up

Baylor

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Much like Oklahoma State, Baylor is not only having to deal with the loss of Robert Griffin III but also, the Bears had a below-average recruiting class. With the excitement that was around the program last year, some thought that Baylor could capitalize on that, but it appears that is not the case.

Stock Down

TCU

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As TCU prepares to start their first season inside of the Big 12, they did a nice job of making sure they will have the talent to compete. Recruits not only bought into the program but now, also the automatic tie-in to the BCS which helped TCU finish with a solid class. 

Stock Up

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