National Signing Day 2012: Programs That Won Recruiting Battle

It would be a stretch to say that recruiting is a race to the finish, but it's definitely a battle. And like with every other battle, this one can be won and lost.

We typically find out who the winners and losers are on National Signing Day, and that trend held true on Wednesday. A small handful of programs finished with a flurry, and some did not.

Let's keep things upbeat by focusing on the winners. Throughout the day, four teams emerged as clear winners on signing day, securing last-minute commitments that will invariably lead to success on the field.

Let's discuss.

Florida State

This Jimbo Fisher guy is pretty good.

The Seminoles came into signing day with a class of recruits that was already considered one of the best in the country, but it got progressively stronger throughout the day. It started when Florida State landed Eddie Goldman, and the commitment of speedster Ronald Darby was the icing on the cake.

So in the span of a couple hours, a very good Florida State recruiting class became excellent. This team was already a national title contender going forward, and now you have to figure it won't be long before it's a national title favorite.

Behold the power of recruiting.

Houston

Houston may seem like an odd choice here, as the Cougars really only landed one notable recruit.

But hey, this guy is a pretty big recruit.

We're talking about Deontay Greenberry, of course. He had been committed to go to Notre Dame, but he shocked the world when he suddenly changed his mind and committed to go play for Houston.

If you ask Rivals.com, Greenberry is the No. 7 wide receiver in the entire country, and the site likens him to Larry Fitzgerald. Greenberry also happens to be coming off a season in which he set California records for receiving yards with 2,165 and for touchdowns with 33.

And apparently, he would rather play for Houston than Notre Dame. That's just plain remarkable.

Missouri

Mizzou makes the grade for one reason and one reason only: it signed the nation's No. 1 recruit.

That would be Dorial Green-Beckham, who ended is much-hyped recruitment by putting on a Tigers cap. He could have gone anywhere, but he chose to stay home.

"Just to be home," Green-Beckham said, per the USA Today. "To be close to family members and have everyone come out to support me."

As a whole, Mizzou's 2012 recruiting class is not overly impressive. But now the Tigers can start Green-Beckham right away, which is music to the ears of quarterback James Franklin. With the two of them leading the way, Mizzou could make a seamless transition into the SEC.

Stanford

There's a train of thought out there that Stanford will fade back into irrelevance now that Andrew Luck is gone.

That's not going to happen. The Cardinal had a great recruiting season, and it ended with a bang on signing day.

Per Rivals, three of the guys Stanford secured—offensive linemen Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy and defensive tackle Aziz Shittu—are 5-star players. Grabbing that many 5-stars is impressive for a whole season of recruiting, never mind a single day.

With these guys in the mix, Stanford will be able to carry on its new-found reputation of being hell in the trenches. The Cardinal has been a tough nut to crack for two years, and it's apparent not much is going to change in the near future.