National Signing Day 2012: Ohio State and Unheralded Teams That Need a Big Day

With February 1st national signing day, the 2012 final recruit classes are starting to come to fruition. The picture is becoming very clear.

While powerhouses like Texas and Alabama dominate the recruiting trail year after year, there are other big-time programs that are developing a stellar class.

All of the following teams have put forth a great effort this offseason developing for the future, and they are all on watch on national signing day for any surprise enrollees. All stats and recruit info can be found at Scout.com.

Ohio State

For those who don’t know, Urban Meyer may be one of the few coaches in the sport that has the power to get almost any recruit he wants. Ohio State already has the third-best class in the nation, but much of that credit belongs to former head coach Jim Tressel.

As good as the Buckeyes recruit class looks right now, there are still four scholarships open and plenty of big-name recruits that have Ohio State at the top of their lists.

With top recruits like wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham yet to decide, there are bound to some huge surprises. I would not be shocked to see at least three of the nation’s uncommitted top 100 players jump to Ohio State for a chance to play with Meyer.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners are not an unheralded team. They are one of the perennial powerhouses of college football, but they have an odd way of doing business when it comes to recruiting in-and-out of state.

With just two current recruits from Oklahoma, that means the team will be more heavily dependent on other states for players than almost any other team in the NCAA.

There are four scholarships left to offer, still no top 100 recruits committed to OU and just one 5-Star talent in Trey Metoyer. While it looks like the Sooners had a down year, signing day could see Oklahoma jumping into the top five of recruit classes if the right pieces fall into place.

UCLA

With Jim Mora taking the helm for the UCLA Bruins after Rick Neuheisel was let go for failing to turn the coveted Bruins program around, his energy is already causing a stir amongst the biggest prospects.

As much a Neuheisel deserves some credit for the Bruins' 10th ranked recruit class, the 25 committed players had to believe that Mora was still the right coach for them. He did that in spades.

Mora knows the NFL style of football and will incorporate as much of his knowledge as he can into the way he develops his players. As UCLA starts sending more and more student athletes to the NFL, it will continue to be a serious consideration for most top recruits again.

Check back for more on the NCAA Football as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s College Football Page to get your fill of College Football.

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