National Signing Day 2012: Ranking the Top 10 Defensive Recruiting Classes

The old motto "defense wins championships" certainly proved to be true this past season, as both LSU and Alabama rode the two strongest defenses in the country all the way to the BCS championship game.

In college football, most of the credit and publicity goes to quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, but having a top-notch defense can be a huge advantage for a team, as we saw this past season.

Many of the top programs in the country managed to land some huge defensive pieces and future defensive stars on national signing day today.

Here's a look at the 10 schools that really cleaned up the most on the defensive side of the ball this year.

10. UCLA Bruins

UCLA was one of the most surprisingly successful schools on the recruiting trail this year, as new coach Jim Mora Jr. did a terrific job closing down the stretch after only being on the job for a few weeks.

Mora Jr. pulled off one of the biggest recruiting coups by snatching up highly touted DT Ellis McCarthy from Cal. McCarthy has the chance to be a future All-American defensive lineman for the Bruins, and he should be a factor at UCLA very early on in his career.

McCarthy is the biggest defensive name, but Mora Jr. also added 4-star prospects like DE Jeremy Castro, LB Aaron Porter, and CB's Ishmael Adams and Marcus Rios to a defensive unit that could definitely surprise a few folks in the Pac-12 next season.

9. LSU Tigers

LSU may have lost highly coveted LB Torshiro Davis to Texas late in the process, but the Tigers made up for it by landing one of the top linebackers in the country, Kwon Alexander, who committed to LSU earlier today.

It's not as if the Tigers need a whole bunch of defensive help, as the LSU defense is already shaping up to be one of the most dominant defenses in the country next season, but adding some depth at key positions was a priority, and the Tigers did just that.

Adding top-notch linebacker prospects like Alexander, Corey Thompson, Lorenzo Phillips and Deion Jones will really help strengthen the linebacker corps.

The real name to watch, though, could be DE Danielle Hunter, who has the chance to follow in the footsteps of Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo and become the next star defensive end in Baton Rouge.

8. Michigan Wolverines

Brady Hoke added some great talent to the offensive line with highly rated prospects such as Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson and Blake Bars, but he also brought in some key players to add to the defensive trenches as well, with 4-star prospects like Ondre Pipkins and Tom Strobel.

The real strength of this class, as far as defense is concerned, though, is at linebacker, where the Wolverines where able to reel in three 4-star prospects—Royce Jenkins-Stone, Joe Bolden and James Ross—that all look like they have very bright futures ahead of them.

Highly touted defensive back prospects such as CB Terry Richardson and S Jarron Wilson also look like they should be key contributors to Michiagn's defense for years to come.

7. Miami Hurricanes

Al Golden's first real recruiting class at Miami is a deep one with 33 total prospects, and the big name of the bunch is Tracy Howard, the top overall cornerback in the country.

Many thought that Howard was a near lock to sign with Florida, but Golden must have really sold him on the Hurricanes during his visit to Coral Gables this past weekend.

Howard may have been the biggest name that Miami signed, but Golden also reeled in a ton of potential impact players on the defensive side of the ball like DE's Tyriq McCord and Jelani Hamilton, LB Raphael Kirby and S Deon Bush.

6. Georgia Bulldogs

The saga of LB Josh Harvey-Clemons turned out to be one of the biggest storylines of national signing day, and at the time I'm writing this, he still hasn't signed as of yet.

That has to be concerning for coach Mark Richt, but my guess is that Harvey-Clemons will eventually send in his paperwork.

Harvey-Clemons isn't the only top rush-linebacker prospect in Georgia's 2012 class, though, as the Bulldogs already have letters of intent from three of the top pass-rushers in the country-Jordan Jenkins, Leonard Floyd and Josh Dawson.

They also landed one of the top defensive tackles in the country in Jonathan Taylor, so it looks like Georgia's defensive front should be loaded for the foreseeable future.

5. Florida Gators

The surprising switch of 5-star defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. from Florida State to Florida was one of the biggest surprises today, and it definitely gave coach Will Muschamp something to look forward to, as Fowler looks like he should be a perfect fit for the "Buck" role for Florida's defense.

Fowler wasn't the only big defensive prospect that signed with the Gators, though.

Like Fowler, DE Jonathan Bullard is another outstanding pass-rusher, who will be capable of making an immediate impact for Florida's defensive front. Florida also added a host of 4-star defensive prospects such as DT Damien Jacobs, LB's Antonio Morrison and Jeremi Powell, CB Brian Poole and S Marcus Maye.

4. Texas Longhorns

Texas may have struggled on the field last season, but the Longhorns certainly didn't struggle on the recruiting trail, as they once again put together one of the top-rated classes in the country.

Mack Brown reeled in some standout defensive prospects this year that will add valuable depth to all three levels of the defense.

The biggest prospect, as far as both recognition and physical stature go, is DT Malcolm Brown, a 5-star recruit out of Brenham, Texas.

Brown is the type of player that is capable of stepping right into the defensive tackle rotation with guys like Calvin Howell and Ashton Dorsey, as is one of Texas' other top defensive tackle prospects, Paul Boyette Jr. out of Humble, Texas.

LB Torshiro Davis was the biggest steal of the day, as Davis was expected to sign with LSU before backing out of his commitment and flipping to the Longhorns.

The 4-star backer will join Peter Jinkens and Timothy Cole to give Texas some valuable and versatile new pieces at the linebacker position.

As far as the secondary is concerned, the name to watch is 4-star CB Bryson Echols, one of the top prospects from the state of Texas.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

Don't be surprised if Ohio State has one of the top defensive lines in college football within a few years, as this year, the Buckeyes brought in three of the top defensive line recruits in the country—DE's Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington and DT Tommy Schutt.

Spence, Washington and Schutt are all blue-chip five-star talents, and they, along with defensive end Se'Von Pittman, should form the nucleus of what is shaping up to be a dominant defensive line for the future.

Urban Meyer not only strengthened the defensive front, he also added some much-needed speed and explosiveness to the linebacker corps and the secondary with big-time prospects like linebackers David Perkins and Josh Perry and cornerbacks Armani Reeves and Najee Murray.

All in all, Meyer's first recruiting class at Ohio State was a huge success.

2. Florida State Seminoles

When you can land two 5-star defensive line recruits like DE Mario Edwards and DT Eddie Goldman, you're certainly going to have a lot to celebrate, and judging from the expressions inside of Florida State's meeting room earlier this morning, Jimbo Fisher and his staff were doing just that.

Sure, Fisher may have lost out on CB Tracy Howard to Miami, DE Dante Fowler to Florida and LB Josh Harvey-Clemons to Georgia, but he landed one of the best cornerbacks in the country, Ronald Darby, one of the best defensive ends in the country, Chris Casher, and one of the best linebackers in the country, Ukeme Eligwe, to help balance it all out.

Adding Edwards, Goldman and Casher to a defensive line that returns all four starters only helps to further solidify Florida State's defensive front as one of the deepest and most talented in the country.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

With the type of defensive talent that Nick Saban has brought to Alabama with the Tide's last few recruiting classes, it's not as if Saban needed to bring in a ton of elite defensive recruits in 2012, but that's just what he did.

The rich ended up getting richer, as Alabama added the type of future star power to its defense that will ensure that the Tide will have a dominant defense for years to come.

S Landon Collins, one of the most athletic prospects in the country, is the star of the show, but Alabama picked up plenty of other reinforcements for all thee levels of the defense.

DT Korren Kirven, LB's Reggie Ragland and Dillon Lee, CB's Geno Smith and Travell Dixon and S Eddie Williams all have the chance to make an early impact in Tuscaloosa, and Saban has proved once again that when it comes to stocking a defense with talent, there's nobody in college football that can do it any better.