Countdown to signing day...

[Tom Baker]

The season between the seasons is about to hit...National Signing Day, which has in recent years become more and more important.

Fans around the country are waiting to see who signs where and what team wins the "national championship of recruiting," the consensus top class.

Great recruits is never a guarantee of success. Michigan had the top recruiting class the year after its '97 title, but hasn't been back in title contention since.

Still, it doesn't dampen the enthusiasm. Teams need the players, and national signing day gets a lot of fans looking forward to the season. It's kind of like Groundhog Day--does it mean anything if the groundhog sees its shadow? Well, maybe not...but it's fun to play along.

So, right now it looks like Florida State may nab the top recruiting class this year...but there a lot of teams in hot pursuit with only a few days to go...we'll see what happens...

[Marc]

Florida State/Florida = good recruits, no big surprise there. I think it should be interesting if Miami's recruits stick around despite Butch Davis leaving. Like MLB in a way, you know several teams are always going to be good in college football.

[Tom Baker]

I'm sure the class rankings will be up today. I think FSU is the consensus # 1 with that QB Maurer (sp?) and their usual haul of athletes, but Texas was supposed to be up there as well. It'll be interesting to see.

[Tom Baker]

The early returns from two different "gurus" are in. One says FSU signed the top class. Another says it was LSU that scored the biggest recruiting haul.

After that it varies wildly. Schools listed in one expert's top ten aren't in the other's top 25.

Just goes to show how subjective it all is. It's exciting to see your team sign athletes that are recognized as having potential, but until they suit up and start playing, it really doesn't mean a thing. Recruiting rankings are an interesting guide, but that's all.

However, the enthusiasm continues unabated. Some fans seem to think that if their school signs the top class, they can start clearing out space in the trophy case. But remember that Oklahoma won the national title without a top-notch recruiting class.

Just think, in a few short months, the preview magazines will be hitting the newsstands, and it'll all start building again. I'll start researching my own preseason top 10 in a few weeks...