National Signing Day 2012: Arik Armstead to Announce Decision on Sunday

For schools and fans alike, February 1, aka National Signing Day, is going to be a flurry of excitement and disappointment as hundreds of sought after high school prospects will announce where they are going to college.

Today, we get a preview.

One of the best defensive end recruits in the country, Arik Armstead, has decided he wants to get this ordeal over with. He will announce his decision Sunday afternoon at his family church.

The talented defensive end will choose between Auburn, Cal, Notre Dame, Oregon and Washington. And all five will consider themselves lucky if they get him.

What makes Armstead so sought after is his versatility. ESPN, which rates him as the 24th-best prospect in the country, lists him as an offensive tackle.

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(Armstead) has great size and athleticism for the offensive tackle position at the major level of competition; it is quite possible with added bulk and improved technical skills this athlete could be an immediate impact player. We like his initial quickness and lateral ability on defense; demonstrates good playing strength; shows very good run block recognition skills along with the explosive pass rushing ability necessary to create havoc in the backfield.

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Then if you meander on over to Rivals, you'll notice this kid is listed as the 61st-best prospect and sixth-best strongside defensive end prospect.

And as for Scout? No big deal, but Armstead is listed as the second-best prospect in the entire country. For what it's worth, Scout also has him as an offensive tackle. 

What's more, Armstead is a fantastic basketball prospect and could play both ways if given the chance at the next level. At 6'8", 280 pounds, I bet he could make more than a dent on the court. 

Versatile might not even be a fitting enough word for this kid.

The Sacramento native will announce his decision today at 6 p.m EST, and you can bet there will be four schools with broken hearts at about 6:01 p.m EST.

And one school whose National Championship hopes just got a little better.