College Football Recruiting 2011: Most Surprising January Commitments Thus Far

College football recruits are followed closely until their college commitments are made. Analysts, fans, coaches and even fellow players discuss, analyze and predict where top-ranked recruits will land and how they'll fit in. 

Yet, sometimes, recruits surprise us all. Just when it seems a player is poised to offer a verbal commitment to a school for any number of reasons, he turns the corner and goes with a school out of the blue. 

That hasn't changed this month as many top-ranked recruits made their college choices known much to the surprise of the college football world.

Harvey Langi to Utah

Langi, the 31st-ranked running back, gave a verbal to Utah, spurning USC, UCLA and Stanford.

While it's not necessarily a surprise that the ehe 6'1'', 215-pound Utah native chose to stay in state, it did come as a bit of a surprise that the bruising back chose Utah over USC, UCLA and other Pac-10 schools.

Xavier Dickson to Alabama

Dickson, the fifth-ranked defensive end in the class of 2011 gave his verbal to Alabama. The 6'4'', 242-pound Dickson made the decision at Saturday's Under Armour All-American Game. 

The decision came at the cost of Georgia, which was believed to have the inside track on the Griffin, Georgia high school star.

Lateek Townsend to Clemson

If not for anything else, the way in which Townsend made his commitment known was surprising. The fifth-ranked linebacker told many people he had settled on South Carolina only to grab the Clemson hat during NBC's live broadcast of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. 

And this all came after Townsend went through a lengthy list of people he wanted to thank. 

The good news for Clemson is that he can talk the talk and walk the walk. The Tigers landed a great defensive player in perhaps the most shocking commitment we've seen in January.

Gerod Holliman to Louisville

Holliman, the third-ranked safety in the class of 2011 had originally given his verbal to Ole Miss. When he pulled his commitment, it seemed likely that he would land somewhere in Floriday-either Miami or South Florida. 

The 6', 188-pound Holliman surprised many when he made his verbal to Louisville Saturday at the Army game.

Kris Frost to Auburn

Frost is one of the best athletes in the class of 2011 and likely projects as an outside linebacker. Still, he chose to commit to Auburn because he would get a chance to play wide receiver. 

For a 6'3'', 210-pound tackling machine, the move surprised many.

Brent Calloway to Auburn

Calloway, the seventh-ranked outside linebacker in the country, de-committed from Alabama and chose Auburn, which is certainly a surprise to college football fans in Alabama.

Much like his soon-to-be teammate, Frost, Calloway wanted to attempt the running back position at the next level and Auburn will apparently give him that opportunity. 

Certainly surprising for one of the most impressive defenders in the nation.