National Signing Day 2012: 3 Teams Headed into NSD Full Steam

With national signing day just days away, players are preparing to make a decision that will change the rest of their lives. The coaches are making their last pitches to these top recruits, doing whatever it may take to try and convince them why their program is better than the rest. 

While there are teams that are in the running for a few of these recruits, there are only a handful of programs that have an actual shot at landing them. These players have offers from nearly every school in the country and end up trimming that list down to just two or three schools. So in the end, there will be a few schools that receive late Christmas gifts, and then there will be a few schools that swing and miss. 

Here are three programs that are in the best position to succeed heading into national signing day.

Stanford Cardinal

Sure, Stanford will lose two great offensive linemen, and their star quarterback Andrew Luck. That doesn't mean that this program will just roll over and be forgotten about. Recently, they picked up solid running back Barry Sanders Jr. and one of this year's top offensive lineman in Joshua Garnett.

The Cardinal are also the favorite to land another top offensive lineman in Kyle Murphy, who is from the California area. He's also looking at schools such as Oregon and USC, but Stanford appears to be the place for the 6'7", 268 pound beast.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinal will likely land defensive tackle Aziz Shittu. He absolutely loved his trip out to Stanford, and is from the California area as well. Don't count the Golden Bears out of the race yet, but if I had to pick where he'd end up, it would be Stanford.

This program may lose a lot after this season, but that doesn't mean they will be off the map in the Pac-12.

Florida State Seminoles

Maybe next year will finally be the year Florida State rises to the top. They won't have a lack of talent, that's for sure. They've already picked up top-notch players like defensive ends Mario Edwards and Chris Casher, a top quarterback in Jameis Winston and a complete running back in Mario Pender.

Heading into national signing day, the Seminoles have made a huge push for cornerback Ronald Darby. The top corner prospect was originally committed to Notre Dame, but after visiting with Florida State, that's likely where he'll end up.

And although Florida State is already loaded on the defensive side of the ball, they also have interest in defensive tackle Eddie Goldman. Teams like Miami, Auburn and Alabama are also in the running, but Goldman visited the Seminoles first, and it seems they're the team he's favoring.

I know we've said it before, but I think it's safe to say that the Seminoles are back.

Florida Gators

The Florida Gators already have a top 10 recruiting class this season, including two of the top tight ends, a top cornerback in Brian Poole and a great defensive end in Jonathan Bullard.

Heading into national signing day, the Gators are the favorite to land wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Auburn is also a team in the running, but Diggs has always liked Florida and they'll likely end up with the speedy wide-out.

Cornerback Tracy Howard recently had a visit from Florida coach, Will Muschamp, and really enjoyed himself. While other schools—including Miami and USC, among others—have a shot at him, Florida is the favorite for his services as well.

Other players that are considering the Gators are Darius Hamilton and Nelson Agholor, although those two players are still tossups. Regardless, Florida is in a great position and could very well end up with the number one recruiting class if they land just a couple of those players.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]