National Signing Day 2011: Recruiting Grades for College Football's Powerhouses

National Signing Day 2011 has come and gone, and it's time to look at how the top programs fared.

With so much riding on the commitment, announcement and signing of every single top-ranked recruit, National Signing Day remains the most important day marked on the calendars of head coaches across the country.

With this year's signing day complete, how did some of the perennial powers do?

Many of the top programs performed extremely well. Other programs needed to make a splash to remain relevant in the recruiting race and on the field, and they did just that.

Here are grades for every major program after National Signing Day.

Check out the rankings for all 120 teams.

Texas

Malcolm Brown

The Longhorns endured a rugged year on the field and and a roller-coaster recruiting season.

Ranked as the No. 1 class leading up to the final month of the season, Texas lost Christian Westerman and battled rumors of losing top running back Malcolm Brown.

The Longhorns persevered, though, and head into spring practice confident in their 22-man class, which includes seven ESPN150 commitments and 15 4-star recruits.

Overall Grade: A 

Check out the full breakdown of Texas.

Alabama

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ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 01: Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban is presented the trophy for winning the Capitol One Bowl against the Michigan State Spartans at the Florida Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/G

The Tide continued their reign of recruiting dominance by putting together a class worthy of being ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com.

Despite missing out on Isaiah Crowell and—for the moment, anyway—Cyrus Kouandjio and awaiting word on top-ranked Jadeveon Clowney, Alabama acquired 24 commits in total, including 10 ESPN150 players and two 5-star Rivals.com recruits.

Check out the full breakdown of Alabama.

LSU

La'El Collins

The Tigers checked in at No. 6 in Rivals.com's overall class rankings, and it's easy to see why.

LSU grabbed 22 commits total, including five ESPN150 recruits and three Rivals.com 5-star players. Defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, offensive tackle La'El Collins and wide receiver Jarvis Landry lead a solid class.

Overall Grade: A

Check out the full breakdown of LSU.

Florida

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GAINESVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 14: Former defensive coordinator for the University of Texas, Will Muschamp speaks to the media after being introduced as the head coach of the University of Florida on December 14, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. Muschamp is re

The Gators were up against it on the recruiting trail in the wake of Urban Meyer's departure and the shuffle of getting new head coach Will Muschamp up to speed.

So how did Florida do? All told, not bad at all.

With 18 total commits, including seven ESPN150 players and 10 Rivals.com 4-star recruits, the Gators did well under the circumstances.

Overall Grade: B

Check out the full breakdown of Florida.

Georgia

The Bulldogs had the goal of turning their 2011 recruiting efforts into something special. Head coach Mark Richt called this year's class his "Dream Team."

Believe it or not, Georgia's recruiting efforts lived up to the hype.

Led by Isaiah Crowell, Ray Drew and Jay Rome, the Bulldogs have 25 commits, including six ESPN150 players and 13 players considered 4- or 5-star recruits by Rivals.com.

Overall Grade: A

Check out the full breakdown of Georgia.

Tennessee

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COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 30: Head coach Derek Dooley of the Tennessee Volunteers watches on against the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 30, 2010 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Im

After a tumultuous but ultimately successful first year under head coach Derek Dooley, the Volunteers set their sights on the recruiting trail to get back in the game.

Tennessee put forth a valiant effort, and it paid off.

The Vols compiled a class consisting of a whopping 27 recruits, including six ESPN150 players and 12 Rivals.com 4-star recruits.

Overall Grade: A

Check out the full breakdown of Tennessee.

Oregon

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: Jordan Holmes #54 of the Oregon Ducks blocks Mike Blanc #93 of the Auburn Tigers as Darron Thomas #1 of the Oregon Ducks looks to pass during the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on Janua

The Ducks followed up their national championship game appearance by putting together the type of recruiting class that will help them continue to compete in the growing Pac-12.

All told, Oregon has 23 commitments, including five ESPN150 players and two 5-star recruits, according to Rivals.com.

Overall Grade: A

Check out the full breakdown of Oregon.

Michigan

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ANN ARBOR, MI - JANUARY 12: New University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke speaks during his introductory press confrence at the Junge Family Champions Center on January 12, 2011 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Much like Florida, the Wolverines were put behind the eight ball when Rich Rodriguez was fired.

New head coach Brady Hoke jumped right in, though, and did as much as was possible.

All told, Michigan acquired 20 commitments, including six Rivals.com 4-star recruits. Rivals.com also ranks Michigan No. 21 in its overall 2011 recruiting class rankings after National Signing Day.

Overall Grade: B

Check out the full breakdown of Michigan.

Iowa

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TEMPE, AZ - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Insight Bowl against the Missouri Tigers at Sun Devil Stadium on December 28, 2010 in Tempe, Arizona. The Hawkeyes defeated the Tigers 27-24. (Photo by Christian Petersen/

Given the way that the Hawkeyes' 2010 season ended, a momentum-swinging recruiting effort was desperately needed for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes finished with a top 30 class, according to Rivals.com, but it will remain to be seen just how impactful this bunch is.

All told, Iowa has 23 recruits, including four Rivals.com 4-star players.

Overall Grade: B

Check out the full breakdown of Iowa.

Notre Dame

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SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 13: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks with Tommy Rees #13 during a game against the Utah Utes at Notre Dame Stadium on November 13, 2010 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Utah 28-3. (Photo by

Typically one of the best recruiting programs in the country, Notre Dame didn't disappoint this year.

All told, the Irish put together one of the nation's top classes and secured a handful of players who were considering perennial SEC and Pac-10 powerhouses.

Notre Dame's 2011 recruiting class consists of 23 commitments, including seven ESPN150 players, two 5-star Rivals.com recruits and eight 4-star Rivals.com players.

Overall Grade: A

Check out the full breakdown of Notre Dame.

Auburn

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: (C) Michael Dyer #5 of the Auburn Tigers celebrates with teammates Brandon Mosley #75 and Kodi Burns #18 after he ran the ball for 16-yards and is called down at the one-yardline with 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter

The national champions surely used their title clout to effectively hit the recruiting trail.

The efforts started when Auburn pulled top-ranked offensive tackle Christian Westerman away from Texas and finished up with yesterday's National Signing Day. All told, it's been a pretty good three weeks for the Tigers.

Auburn's 2011 recruiting class consists of 26 players, including nine ESPN150 players and 14 players ranked as 4- or 5-star recruits by Rivals.com.

Overall Grade: A+

Check out the full breakdown of Auburn.