National Signing Day 2011: The Top Teams Who Stole Recruits

National Signing Day 2011 has come and gone, and the after-effects of college recruiting's biggest day will be felt for some time. 

We'll take our time to sort out the details and look at the winners and losers from a wild day of announcements, decommitments and other shocking news. 

But the day wouldn't be complete without programs snatching highly targeted recruits from rival schools. 

As we begin to make sense of all the events of National Signing Day 2011, here are the Top 10 Teams Who Stole Recruits:

10. Auburn

The national champions went into National Signing Day as a distant second or even third in the running for top-ranked offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio.

Yet the Tigers wrap up National Signing Day with Kouandjio verbally committed and ready to join Christian Westerman in what will undoubtedly be the top offensive lineman duo of the 2011 recruiting class.

Auburn gladly plucked Kouandjio out from under the eyes of both Alabama and Iowa, who remained favorites for the highly touted recruit.

9. USC

The Trojans experienced the pain of losing a recruit (read on for more information on that announcement), but they also had their hand in ruining a few other teams' days. 

USC picked up Kentucky linebacker recruit Lamar Dawson, who up until today, seemed like a lock to remain in state and play for the Wildcats. 

It was also predicted that if Dawson didn't end up in Lexington that he'd sign with Tennessee. 

USC had other thoughts about that.

8. Alabama

For all of the players Alabama lost on National Signing Day-Isaiah Crowell and Cyrus Kouandjio come to mind-the Tide did hit on Brent Calloway.

Calloway was originally an Alabama commit before opting to go with Auburn at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. 

He recently decommitted and ultimately signed with the Tide today.

7. Notre Dame

Troy Niklas

The Fighting Irish considered the actual Letter of Intent from defensive end Stephon Tuitt a win, but their landing of Troy Niklas should be celebrated with as much excitement. 

Niklas was one of the top remaining tight ends on the board and remained a key target for the Irish. He chose Notre Dame over Stanford and USC.

6. Miami

The Hurricanes are still awaiting word from quarterback prospect Jacoby Brissett but they did manage to steal Jalen Grimble from a pair of Pac-12 powers. 

Grimble, a 4-star, highly-touted defensive end from Bishop Gorman (NV) High School was deciding between USC and UCLA with a lean towards the Trojans. 

Miami swooped in and grabbed the 6'4'', 252-pounder.

5. Oregon

The Ducks followed up their National Championship loss to Auburn with a quiet end to January. 

February has been a bit different for the Ducks, though, as they recently received a verbal commitment from former USC commit De'Anthony Thomas.

4. Ole Miss

C.J. Johnson

The Rebels have experienced plenty of ups and downs throughout the 2011 recruiting season. 

Luckily for Houston Nutt and Co., they finished on a high note. 

The Rebels stole wide receiver Nickolas Brassell from a host of other SEC schools, including Alabama and Arkansas and welcomed C.J. Johnson, a former Mississippi State commit to the class.

3. Georgia

The Bulldogs have continued to compile a fantastic 2011 recruiting class and it got even more talented today with Isaiah Crowell's interesting announcement. 

The acquisition of Crowell, of course, means that Alabama didn't get their main running back target.

2. Tennessee

Curt Maggitt

The Vols entered National Signing Day with a middle-of-the-road recruiting class in the SEC. 

By stealing Curt Maggitt from Florida and DeAnthony Arnett from Michigan and Michigan State, Tennessee catapulted into the Top 15.

1. Clemson

Tony Steward

The Tigers came away as the most successful program on National Signing Day, signing four different 5-star recruits. 

Each of Clemson's singing day announcements were in tight races between the Tigers and other programs, meaning that head coach Dabo Swinney and Co. were thefts throughout the day. 

The Tigers got Tony Steward from Florida State and Stephone Anthony from Virginia Tech, among others.