National Signing Day 2011: 15 Headlines and Storylines To Watch
Recruiting is said to be the lifeblood of any successful program, and today recruits all across the country will sign letters of intent to their preferred colleges.
We already know where most of these players are going, but the coaches are going to feel a lot better when they get these prospects' signatures on paper.
Some of the big fish are still out there though, most notably Jadeveon Clowney and Tony Steward, and coaches are making final pushes to acquire their services.
Yes, National Signing Day is frantic and moves at a fast pace, but I will simplify things for you and give you 15 story lines to keep an eye on in regards to National Signing Day 2011.
1. Louisville’s Monster Recruiting Class
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Charlie Strong instantly turned around a Louisville program that had fallen to the bottom of the Big East pecking order under Steve Kragthorpe.
In Strong’s first season he guided the Cardinals to a winning season and a victory in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.
Now Coach Strong is stockpiling an impressive amount of talent and has pulled in a recruiting haul that makes me think Louisville will be a force to be reckoned with in the Big East. Louisville’s 2011 recruiting class is ranked in the top 25 by Rivals and ESPN recruiting services.
The crown jewel of the Cardinals' recruiting haul is dual-threat quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who turned down scholarship offers from Florida, LSU, Miami (FL) and Tennessee and eventually chose to take his talents to Louisville.
2. Jadeveon Clowney
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Jadeveon Clowney is a defensive end from Rock Hill, South Carolina and is rated as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country by Rivals and ESPN.
To make things more interesting, Jadeveon still hasn’t announced where he will be attending school and is expected to either choose to attend Alabama or South Carolina on signing day tomorrow.
Clowney recorded three sacks in the recent East-West Shrine Game and appears to be the rare type of prospect that can immediately contribute wherever he goes.
Jadeveon’s decision will be one of the most talked about story lines on signing day.
3. Sunshine State Domination
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Seven of the 26 Rivals 5-star prospects hail from the state of Florida. Hasean Clinton-Dix and Karlos Williams both cracked the top 10, leaving no question that Florida was the top dog this year in producing elite prep talent.
Clinton-Dix is a cornerback from Orlando who will be taking his game to Tuscaloosa, where he will play for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. Williams, meanwhile, will play for Jimbo Fisher and Florida State, where he will also play defensive back.
With all this talent, Will Muschamp and Al Golden will have no excuses at Florida and Miami (FL), respectively.
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4. Will Kiehl Frazier Become Cam Newton 2.0?
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Just in case you were living under a rock for the last eight months, I would like to let you know that Auburn head coach Gene Chizik had tremendous success with dual-threat quarterback Cam Newton.
Now that Newton is preparing to play on Sundays, Chizik and the Auburn coaching staff have been hard at work searching for the next great Tigers signal caller. Obviously the future is unclear, but they may have found their man in Kiehl Frazier.
Frazier is a 6'3", 212-lb. dual-threat quarterback from Springdale, Arkansas who was ranked as the 89th best prospect in the Rivals 100. Frazier sported 25 other scholarship offers (many from college football heavyweights) before pledging with Auburn.
Kiehl runs a 4.57 40-yard dash, so look for him to use his legs quite a bit if he does indeed go under center for the Tigers.
5. Butch Jones Brings in Best Recruiting Class in Cincinnati History
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After guiding Cincinnati to a 4-8 record in his first season as head coach, many Bearcats fans wondered if Butch was truly the right man to lead Cincy in their “post-Brian Kelly era.”
Yes, Butch was taking some early heat, but things have cooled down a bit after Jones pulled in a recruiting class that was ranked in the top 50 by both Scout and Rivals.
Running back Jameel Poteat headlines the historic Bearcat class and should see time at running back immediately at Cincinnati. Poteat was ranked as a 4-star prospect by Rivals and is one of the program’s top commitments in recent memory. Local products Patrick Coyne and Brandon Mitchell also appear promising.
6. Light Load for Miami (FL)
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Miami (FL) only has 15 commitments pledged for the class of 2011, and the Hurricanes' small class isn’t loaded with highly-touted prospects.
Defensive end Anthony Chickillo is the biggest commit and is ranked 47th in the Rivals 100. Besides that, though, there isn’t a lot of meat to the Hurricanes recruiting class.
Obviously Miami went through a coaching transition after ushering out Randy Shannon and bringing in Al Golden, and this certainly didn’t help the Canes' recruiting efforts. With that being said, expect Miami to compete for top prospects in the talent-rich state of Florida once Golden has a full amount of time to put a class together.
7. The Beat Goes On at Southern Cal
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Even in the midst of scholarship restrictions and a bowl ban, head coach Lane Kiffin has still brought in a monster recruiting class at USC.
Receiver George Farmer is the headliner of the class and leads the group of future Trojans that pledged their services to Kiffin and company. Farmer, in addition to some other high-profile commitments, will ensure that USC remains as explosive as ever even as it weathers its NCAA sanctions.
Kiffin’s class is ranked as one of the top five recruiting classes in the country by ESPN and Rivals. Expect many of the 25 commitments from the Trojans' 2011 class to see early playing time and lead USC into the future.
8. Michigan Closes Down Its Borders
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The Wolverines' top commitments from their 2011 class all hail from the state of Michigan. Defensive end Brennen Beyer, running back Justice Hayes and athlete Ramon Taylor are the prized pledges of Michigan’s 17-man recruiting class.
The 2011 Wolverines recruiting class won’t go down as the most hyped haul in program history, but there do appear to be some promising prospects for new head coach Brady Hoke to coach up.
The exodus of Rich Rodriguez and revolving door of potential replacements certainly didn’t help Michigan on the recruiting trail.
9. Where Will Tony Steward End Up?
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Tony Steward is a 5-star prospect from St. Augustine, Florida and is rated as the top outside linebacker in the country by Rivals. Steward’s list of schools is down to five, and the linebacker will choose between Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and UCLA on signing day.
Mr. Steward is one of the most coveted uncommitted prospects left on the board, and the aforementioned schools are no doubt putting on a last-minute full-court press to sign him.
Steward has taken official visits to Clemson and Florida State within the last 17 days, so we will see if those fresh memories help Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher.
10. Roberson Breaks Texas Tech’s Heart
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Tommy Tuberville appeared to pull off the ultimate recruiting victory when cornerback Marcus Roberson of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida committed to play for Texas Tech. Roberson is ranked 37th in the Rivals 100 and is rated as the second best cornerback in the country.
The commitment of Marcus Roberson appeared to be one of the biggest commitments in program history, and some fans were silently wondering if it was too good to be true.
It ultimately turned out that it was too good to be true, and Roberson backed out of his commitment to Texas Tech and instead pledged to Gene Chizik and Auburn.
This, of course, isn’t the first time that a recruit has backed out of a commitment late in the game, but it is a tough pill to swallow for Tuberville and Texas Tech.
11. Will De’Anthony Thomas Back Out of His USC Commitment?
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Lane Kiffin and the USC coaching staff were thrilled when 5-star running back De’Anthony Thomas committed to Southern Cal. Thomas, a local product from Crenshaw, California, was considered a huge get for the program and helped Kiffin prove a point that the state of California still belonged to USC.
One thing to know about recruiting, though, is that it’s never certain until the player signs the letter of intent. Speculation has been growing recently that De’Anthony is now seriously considering pledging to Oregon and backing out of his USC commitment.
This speculation intensified after Thomas took a secretive visit to Eugene to check out the Oregon campus recently.
Trojan and Duck fans will be watching with great interest to see which school the young man ultimately signs with.
12. Who Will Emerge with the Highest-Rated Recruiting Class?
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While the “recruiting champion” is almost never agreed upon by all scouting sites, one school generally emerges that most people agree sports the most highly touted class. The question is, who will be that school this year?
The usual suspects, such as Florida State, Alabama and Texas, are all jostling for position at the top, but whose class will get pushed over the top on signing day?
Many of the elite prospects have intentionally waited until the very end to commit to a school, and the aforementioned programs are all targeting the majority of the unsigned blue-chippers. As always, one of the major story lines will be who can close the deal on the final day.
13. Is Braxton Miller the Heir Apparent to Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State?
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Dual-threat quarterback Braxton Miller from (Huber Heights) Wayne High School did what most of the top-rated Ohio prospects end up doing and pledged to the Buckeyes.
Miller runs a 4.47 40 and also has great arm strength. This leads many Buckeye fans to believe that Braxton may assume the starter's role in Columbus after watching Pryor finish out his career next season.
As with most Ohio State commitments, Miller comes to the school highly regarded and appears to have the pedigree of a future Ohio State quarterback.
14. TCU Brings in a Big-Time Recruiting Class
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TCU football had a huge season last year after announcing that it would be joining the Big East and then defeating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. It should come as no surprise that that momentum carried over to the recruiting trail.
The Horned Frogs currently have the 24th-ranked recruiting class according to Rivals and tout two 4-star commitments as part of their 26-man haul.
LaDarius Brown is the biggest piece in the TCU recruiting class. Brown is a highly regarded athlete, and TCU head coach Gary Patterson and his staff held off the likes of Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to eventually land him.
15. SMU Brings in One of Top Classes Since Its “Death Penalty”
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SMU rounded out Rivals' list of the top 50 recruiting classes, and this just seemed like such a funny school to be sitting there at No. 50.
I won’t go into the whole back story, but SMU was given what became known as the “death penalty” by the NCAA after an investigation revealed blatant major recruiting violations committed by the program.
Since the bottom fell out, the program has had a tough time regaining its footing, to say the least, and it’s a good sign that head coach June Jones brought such a highly thought-of class to SMU.
Obviously there are no Eric Dickerson or Craig James talents within the Mustangs class, but at least the program is doing things the right way now.
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