West Virginia Football: The Good and Bad of National Signing Day

National signing day hasn't always been kind to the West Virginia football program. Recently, with last-minute losses and misses on key prospects, the Mountaineers have had more bad than good on college football's version of Christmas Day.

National signing day 2013 was different, however, for the gold and blue.

WVU was able to avoid cold-footed commits while also bringing in some impressive new additions.

Of course, there were some negatives to the day as well.

So, let's dive in and take a look at the negatives and positives of West Virginia's singing-day haul.

Note: All player profiles obtained from 247Sports.com and all rankings based on 247Sports.com's composite rankings unless otherwise noted.

Good: No Negative Flips

In many years, signing day for WVU is defined by not losing too many commits, rather than how many new commits are added.

The 2013 national signing day was different. The Mountaineers didn't suffer any last-minute heartbreaks to sour the day.

Many fans were worried about Shelton Gibson in particular, the perceived crown jewel of this class. 

A Cleveland Heights, Ohio native, Gibson was long thought to be an Ohio State lean before choosing WVU. Then after he did declare himself a Mountaineer, he took an official visit to Tennessee (via 247Sports.com).

In the end he stayed with the gold and blue, and so did all of the other WVU recruits that were committed going into signing day.

There were no last-minute coin flips to choose Rutgers or dashes to high-profile programs thanks to a late scholarship offer.

That feat by itself was a major victory that many other programs couldn't claim on Wednesday.

Bad: No Boyd, Chestnut

With every signing day, there are hits and misses.

West Virginia had held out some hope to pull in a number of prospects late in the process. Some worked out, and others didn't.

Tyler Boyd was near the top of that list of potential additions, but he ended up sticking with his commitment to Pitt. 

Running back Daryl Chestnut was also on that list, though he ended up choosing Indiana on singing day.

Neither of these misses were crippling by any means, though they both would have provided a nice additional boost on Wednesday.

Good: Flipped Alford, Golson

If you just keep swinging, those misses will eventually turn into hits. That's what happened for WVU with Mario Alford and Brandon Golson.

Thanks to new safeties coach Tony Gibson, the Mountaineers were able to add these two talented JUCO prospects on signing day, pulling them away from their commitments at Arizona—Gibson's former coaching home.

Golson is a great pass-rusher, which is certainly a huge need on the West Virginia defense. Given his two years of JUCO experience, he has the potential to see the field early in Morgantown.

Alford, on the other hand, will bring speed and dynamic playmaking ability to the Mountaineers.

He may be just what WVU needs in the slot to help fill the shoes of Tavon Austin, and he could also take his position in the return game.

I'm not ready to dub him "Super Mario" Alford just yet—he'll have to earn that nickname on the field.

However, he does have the potential to do just that.

Bad: No LOIs from Lane, Marcellus, Coleman

Three West Virginia commits—Marquion Lane, Jacky Marcellus and DeShawn Coleman—still haven't been able to submit their letters of intent.

They all remain committed to the Mountaineers, but have work left to do to qualify. 

All three stand to add a lot to this class, starting with Lane as the only cornerback commit for 2013. There's little doubting the fact that WVU could use some help on the outside defensively.

Coleman and Marcellus, on the other hand, will add both depth and talent to the backfield in Morgantown, taking some pressure off the current backs and greatly reducing the need for runners in next year's class.

The situation is really in the hands of these three individuals right now, and all three can still make it to WVU. 

Good: Added Jeremy Tyler to Secondary Group

West Virginia already had a solid group of safeties committed going into singing day.

When Jeremy Tyler was added early in the day, the group improved even further.

Tyler is exactly the kind of versatile defender that will fit well into West Virginia's 3-4 defensive scheme and against the speedy spread offenses of the Big 12.

At 6'0", 195 pounds, Tyler will be able to play a variety of roles for WVU. He can play safety up top, or slide down and make tackles and rush the passer. Additionally, he can fill the nickel role when the opposition elects to go with additional receivers.

With Tyler joining Isaac McDonald, Daryl Worley and early enrollee Malik Greaves, the Mountaineers look to have an excellent new crop of versatile defenders.