National Signing Day 2011: Power Ranking The Top 10 Recruiting Classes
National Signing Day is the day that college football coaches look forward to with a combination of excitement and anxiety.
This is the day when a school's hard work and diligence either pays off or falls short on getting that one player who can be its future.
Also, National Signing Day is full of big-time surprises, as well as the formality of inking the next piece of the puzzle for a team's future.
As the commitments continue to flood in, we will leave National Signing Day without a commitment from top-flight DE Jadeveon Clowney.
But even without him, here is a list of the 10 best recruiting classes in 2011.
To track all of the top recruits in the country on National Signing Day, click here for an up-to-date listing of where the top-100 recruits in the country have landed.
10. LSU
1 of 10
Top Players
DT Anthony Johnson, OT La'El Collins, WR Jarvis Landry, RB Kenny Hilliard
LSU keeps on rolling and capitalized on a very strong Louisiana talent base to find itself in the top 10 of this list.
The Tigers class was built upon improving the offense, especially with talented linemen like Collins and good skill players like Landry and Hilliard.
Les Miles also managed to bring in JUCO QB Zach Mettenberger, who has SEC experience in his time at Georgia and could likely compete with Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee for the starting job.
This class has plenty of potential for players to step in right away, especially in the case of Mettenberger and Landry.
9. Oklahoma
2 of 10
Top Players
RB Brandon Williams, WR Trey Metoyer, DE Nathan Hughes, DT Jordan Phillips
Oklahoma's recruiting class, like most seasons, feasted heavily on the state of Texas, with three of its top four players hailing from the Lone Star State.
The big fish in this class without a doubt are Williams and Metoyer, both of whom have explosive playmaking abilities.
Replacing Jeremy Beal at defensive end might not be easy, but Hughes at DE has a great motor and a good amount of quickness that could earn him some early playing time.
Bob Stoops continues to reload, and this class is no different with players who can definitely step in immediately.
8. Georgia
3 of 10
Top Players
TE Jay Rome, DE Ray Drew, DB Damian Swann, RB Isaiah Crowell
Georgia's recruiting class was anything but spectacular until the past few weeks when Mark Richt finally got to pull in the players of what he called his "Dream Team."
It all started with getting Damian Swann at the Army All-American Game, and picked up huge momentum with the commitment of Jay Rome at TE.
The momentum helped swoop up DB Malcolm Mitchell and consensus 5-star DE Ray Drew, and has also brought in RB Isaiah Crowell.
UGA's Dream Team should help them turn the program back in the right direction in the weakened SEC East.
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7. Alabama
4 of 10
Top Players
S Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, LB Trey DePriest, LB Brent Calloway, RB Dee Hart
Champions reload, and Alabama cashed in on winning the national championship with another strong recruiting class.
The featured prospects of this class lie on the defensive side of the ball, where the Tide rolled in DE Jeoffrey Pagan, DePriest and Clinton-Dix, all of whom are big-time playmakers.
Alabama did get some offensive help as well, landing Hart and wide receivers Bradley Sylve and Marvin Shinn to an offense that will have to replace Julio Jones.
Nick Saban continues to have great success at Alabama, and it will continue after reeling in yet another impressive class.
And if Jadeveon Clowney does commit to the Tide, this class will surge further up the top 10.
6. USC
5 of 10
Top Players
WR George Farmer, QB Max Wittek, OG Cyrus Hobbi, DT Christian Heyward
*Note: I have not listed DeAnthony Thomas because he has not signed with USC. He will announce his decision at 10 P.M. EST.
Lane Kiffin's first full season as the Trojans head coach yielded little, especially due to their postseason ban.
But that hasn't stopped USC from bringing in a large list of talented players to L.A. for 2011.
Kiffin's class is huge on offense, with a potentially lethal combination of QB Max Wittek and WR George Farmer.
Adding Heyward and DE Greg Townsend can help Monte Kiffin's defense turn into a good unit in the years to come.
Watch out for the Trojans once they can get back into bowl action in the Pac-12.
5. Ohio State
6 of 10
Top Players
QB Braxton Miller, DE Steve Miller, DB Doran Grant, LB Curtis Grant
After finally getting the SEC monkey off their back, all Jim Tressel and Ohio State has done is land their third top-five class since the Brew Crew of 2008.
Braxton and Steve Miller (no relation) top the list, the former of whom is already in Columbus along with four other commitments.
But what really makes this class is the depth in the front seven, with four linebackers and five defensive linemen already committed.
And with the commitment of highly-touted LB Curtis Grant, the Ohio State recruiting class can certainly rival the Brew Crew and the 2009 class, which ranked No. 1 on Scout.com
4. Texas
7 of 10
Top Players
RB Malcolm Brown, LB Steve Edmond, DB Sheroid Evans, DT Desmond Jackson
Mack Brown hasn't had to do much recruiting in the past few months because this recruiting class was filled up before the 2010 season even started.
As the Longhorns always manage to do, they loaded up on big-time in-state kids early in the process, including Edmond, Jackson and Evans.
Brown was the last of the 'Horns to commit, and he gives Texas something they haven't had in a very long time: a feature RB.
Expect him to see the field early and often as Brown looks to have his team rebound from a disastrous 2010 season.
3. Clemson
8 of 10
Top Players
LB Tony Steward, LB Stephone Anthony, WR Charone Peake, RB Mike Bellamy
Of all the schools that expected to make a big splash on National Signing Day, nobody thought that the biggest winner of the day would be Clemson.
The Tigers shocked everyone by stealing Steward from Florida State and landing Anthony as well to bolster Dabo Sweeney's defense.
In addition, the Tigers have big weapons offensively in Peake, Bellamy and Sammy Watkins, who is out of Florida.
By having a huge surge of momentum at the end, Clemson could be turning its fortunes around on the field as well as on the recruiting trail.
2. Florida State
9 of 10
Top Players
DT Tim Jernigan, S Karlos Williams, ATH James Wilder, OT Bobby Hart
After just one season in Tallahassee, Jimbo Fisher is actually the longest-tenured coach of the big three schools in Florida.
And his first complete recruiting class is absolutely loaded top to bottom with a large slew of talented players, especially defensively with Williams and Jernigan staying in-state.
In addition to the talent defensively, the 'Noles have plenty of offensive weapons as well, including Hart and wide receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Rashad Greene.
FSU might be the best team in Florida right now, and a class like this will only make the gap much larger very quickly.
1. Auburn
10 of 10
Top Players
OT Cyrus Kouandjio, QB Kiehl Frazier, DT Gabe Wright, OG Christian Westerman
Oh, what winning the national championship can do.
Just a month after clinching the first BCS title in school history, Auburn has enjoyed an amazing National Signing Day by landing Kouandjio and Wright, although reports say that Kouandjio might be wavering on his decision.
But as for the guys that are for sure going to Auburn, Frazier will be expected to be the QB of the future running Gus Malzahn's offense.
Gene Chizik was able to bring together a very balanced class loaded with star power, showing that he isn't satisfied with just one national championship.
This group has potential to lead the Tigers to a second title under Chizik in the near future.
For more updates on National Signing Day, follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest updates and commits.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
