College Football Recruiting 2012: The Top Recruiting Battles Being Waged

Recruiting is a fiercely competitive aspect of a program. You have to prove you can go toe-to-toe with any program for any player and get the player's commitment and signed letter of intent.

I've heard some of the most horrific, odd, crazy, insane, annoying, hilarious, unfair and best stories that all involve recruiting. Recruiting battles happen every year with every recruit.

Here are the top recruiting battles for 2012 recruiting right now.

Florda vs. Everyone Else for Stefon Diggs

Diggs has some ties to Florida and the Gator program, and some people speculate they may be the leader right now. Auburn, Miami, Maryland and Virginia Tech are just a few teams in the hunt.

Diggs is one of the best players in the country, and Florida is going to have stave off some other elite programs to win his services. 

Gators vs. everybody else for perhaps the most dynamic offensive player in the nation.

North Carolina State vs. the Rest of Noah Spence's Top Seven

Spence's father played in Raleigh, and most of his family are Wolfpack graduates. NC State is working the elite pass rusher hard, but so are six other schools.

Penn State may be their top opponent, as Spence just came back from an unofficial trip very impressed. USC, Maryland, Notre Dame, Florida and North Carolina make up the rest of his top list.

Big time battle royal for the nation's best pass rusher.

Mississippi State vs. Alabama and More for Quay Evans

The Bulldogs have a battle on their hands. Yes, they do lead for the 6'2", 320-pound DT prospect, but people are coming after Evans.

People, as in the coaches at Alabama, USC, LSU, Ole Miss, Miami and Oregon, among many others. Evans says MSU leads, but he's also interested in other schools.

Dan Mullen needs to strap his helmet on tight and battle to keep Evans home.

Florida vs. Miami for Tracy Howard

Tracy Howard is the top uncommitted CB prospect in America. Well, Yuri Wright would object, but that's for another day.

Anyway, Howard seems to be keen on both Florida and Miami. He's a Sunshine State native, so this is going to be an old fashioned Gators vs. Hurricanes recruiting battle for an elite cover man.

Eddie Goldman's Top Seven

This is a seven man battle right now that involves Clemson, Alabama, Florida State, Cal, Miami, Auburn and Maryland.

All seven are slugging it out, and two will be eliminated because Goldman can only take five official visits. He could opt to take unofficials to local schools, but he knows he needs to trim his list down again in the coming days.

Who will be left standing on February 1, 2012?

Nebraska vs. the Country for Andrus Peat

Peat is a 5-star OL prospect that likely can play LT. He's put on 20 pounds this off season and now stands 6'7", 300 pounds.

Nebraska signed his brother a year ago, and Peat has said he will give Big Red the longest look of any school in the country. However, Notre Dame has made a great impression on him, as has Michigan.

Peat also enjoyed his treks to USC and Florida State and is still wide open.

Nebraska will have to battle almost every major power in the country to get their man.

Notre Dame vs. Georgia vs. Florida vs. More for Keith Marshall

Marshall is a 5-star RB that has already scheduled trips to Notre Dame, Georgia and Florida. He's also considering trips to Alabama, Auburn, USC and more.

The Irish, Bulldogs and Gators are the first three schools that we know for sure are in contention for Marshall. This battle will be a fierce but quick, as Marshall is expected to announce in December and enroll in January. 

USC vs. the Field for Ellis McCarthy

The Trojans were once considered the school McCarthy was leaning to, but that was some time ago. He seems interested in USC, Oregon, Cal, Washington and Florida, among a few others.

USC is going to have to battle the other four (plus several others) that are lurking for the 6'4", 300-pound DT prospect from the Inland Empire.

Missouri vs. the Country for Dorial Green-Beckham

You have to imagine that Missouri is selling at least two factors to DGB. For starters, they are selling the fact of him staying in-state and where he's from to represent the Show Me State as a player for four more years.

Next, they are selling the notion that the Tigers use a wide open spread offense in which DGB could put up huge numbers.

That's fine and dandy, but Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and the rest of the country are yawning at that, as they are all on the 6'6", 220-pound WR.

Alabama vs. LSU for Landon Collins

Miami, Auburn, Florida, Texas and Tennessee all want Collins very badly. But he says while he likes those schools, he knows it will come down to two others.

LSU or Alabama. Collins is from the Bayou region, but also loved his trip to Tuscaloosa this summer. In fact, Collins has even said that he already knows the winner of this Tigers vs. Crimson Tide battle.

But both will keep fighting until they know who's won.