National Signing Day: Which Major Programs Will Be Disappointed On Signing Day?
Ah National Signing Day. A day where dreams come true, players make college choices, some just officially sign their letters of intent and solidify their commitments while others ignite a college program's fan base with their announcements.
Then there are the teams that come to the office early on National Signing Day to await the fax machines to start running off, make last minute calls and end up leaving the office disappointed that night. No matter what kind of recruiting class your favorite hauls in, there will be a disappointment or two as not every school can land every recruit it desires.
Let's check out some schools who could be disappointed on National Signing Day.
North Carolina
1 of 9
Butch Davis and co. are putting together a top notch recruiting class this year, no doubt about it.
A few years back, Davis lured away defensive tackle Marvin Austin, who many had thought was headed to USC. Greg Little, Robert Quinn and Bruce Carter are other player Davis got to come to Chapel Hill.
This year could be a bit of a let down as there is a chance the Tar Heels come to the office already knowing the missed out on Savon Huggins, who's announcing on Friday, and then learn next Wednesday they missed out on Curtis Grant to Florida and Stephone Anthony to Clemson.
Kentucky
2 of 9
Kentucky is a program on the rise under the watchful eye of Joker Phillips, who is doing everything he can to attract top recruits to Lexington.
National Signing Day will mark the dawn of new Wildcats coming to UK, yet two big targets still remain on the board.
There is a chance that Joker Phillips and Kentucky can whiff on their No.1 prospect, linebacker Lamar Dawson and stud receiver Devin Lucien, a 6'2", 190 pound dynamic pass catcher from Southern California.
Virginia
3 of 9
Virginia is a program that is similar to the before mentioned Kentucky football program. Like the Wildcats, it is also led by an energetic coach in Mike London, who knows the fertile recruiting area and is on the right track to restoring Virginia football.
Curtis Grant, out of Hermitage (VA), is rated as the second best player overall in the entire country and top linebacker prospect in this year's class.
Virginia is going after Grant hard, as they are trying to keep him home to be a Cavalier. Yet it looks like Florida is the front runner for Grant, who'll likely wait until NSD to announce his choice.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Miami
4 of 9
The Hurricanes could go either way on NSD. If things fall right, they could vault into the top 25 recruiting class rankings or if things go wrong, they could go really wrong.
New coach Al Golden has shown Miami will be a force on the recruiting trail in years to come, and has The U in on top prospects like Marqise Lee, Ray Drew and is working on keeping Anthony Chickillo's commitment. Bug defensve tackle Antwuan Woods, a USC pledge, is also now considering the Canes.
Lee and Woods could opt for USC, Drew could land at Clemson and Chickillo could bolt elsewhere, perhaps even to Florida. Golden and recruiting coordinator Brennan Carrol are going to be sweating it out until after next Wednesday.
Clemson
5 of 9
Clemson has been strong in recruiting this year. Dabo Swinney has landed a class that is posed to finish in the top 10, which includes prospects like Sammy Watkins, Charone Peake and Mike Bellamy.
The Tigers find themselves thick in the hunt for three defensive stalwarts that include Ray Drew, Tony Steward, Stephone Anthony and even Jadeveon Clowney.
Drew's list has been more fluid than a river, Steward could opt for his childhood dream of playing for Florida State, Anthony could head to North Carolina and Clowney could decide around Valentine's Day to go to rival South Carolina.
Swinney and Tigers can't celebrate just yet.
USC
6 of 9
USC used to be a team that seemed immune to NSD disappointments as they were usually the team that was causing the grief for other programs.As strong a class as USC has again this year under recruiting masterminds Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron, the Trojans may strike out on a few players this year.
Marqise Lee still hasn't committed to USC and is reportedly 50/50 between the Trojans and Miami. DeAnthony Thomas, a 5-star Trojan commit has even taken visits and rumors are swirling he wants to play running back, while USC likes him as a corner. USC look out of it for Cyrus Kouandjio, and Erique Florence looks like a long shot.
Lamar Dawson could go to rival Oregon or stay home in Kentucky and the Trojans could also lose out on Christian Heyward.
Georgia
7 of 9
Georgia has responded to the whispers of a leaky fence with a vengeance this year. Jay Rome, Damian Swann, Malcolm Mitchell and Christian LeMay are just a few high profile Peach State targets that Georgia landed.
Yet there are a few recruits who remain on the board uncommitted that the Dawgs wants and need to nail their "Dream Team" board down.
There's a chance that running back Isaiah Crowell and defensive tackle Gabe Wright spurn UGA and head to Alabama, while big time defensive end Ray Drew heads to Clemson, Auburn, Miami, or LSU.
Florida State
8 of 9
The Noles are coming back folks, and will be a force on the field very, very shortly. Jimbo Fisher proved last year that they are already back to being a force in recruiting with a very strong and talented class.
This year, FSU has another top flight class, littered with talent, speed and athleticism. They are in the running for some of the top prospects in the country like Tony Steward, Jacoby Brisset, Tim Jernigan and Jadeveon Clowney.
While we really love Karlos Williams, and would be happy to have just him in our recruiting class, the Noles want more and rightfully so. Yet they could find themselves in a raw deal as Steward could bolt north for Clemson, Brisset doesn't seem to interested in Tallahassee, Jernigan could end up at Florida, LSU, Alabama or even Tennessee and Clowney could go to South Carolina, Clemson or Alabama.
Alabama
9 of 9
Alabama likely will finish with the top class in the country this year and notch another super talented recruiting class under Nick Saban.The Tide basically has an all-star team headed to Tuscaloosa with a who's who of prep talents.
Yet they still await on some high profile player's decisions, such as Isaiah Crowell, Cyrus Kouandjio, Tim Jernigan, Erique Florence, Gabe Wright and Jadeveon Clowney.
On NSD, Saban and Co. could see Crowell and Wright go to Georgia, Jernigan to FSU, UF, or LSU, Florence to rival Auburn, and have salt poured on their wounds weeks later with Clowney going to South Carolina. While they have talented class to cushion the blow, losing players like these could sting a bit.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
