2012 National Signing Day

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by Scott Polacek:

Most of the time our society would probably frown upon a day that is basically dedicated to full grown adults fawning over and watching each and every move of a group of 17 to 18 year old kids. Most of the time our society would probably frown upon the idea of a day that is predicated on representatives of institutes of higher learning traveling around the nation in private jets with the sole purpose of begging high school students to follow them back to campus and play sports for their school.

Of course, national signing day is not most of the time. Not even close.

Every February, national signing day rolls around and, just like clockwork, the rabid fan bases of America’s powerhouse college football programs make it through another day of work by dreaming about their schools’ future stars taking the field and bringing ol’ State U back to glory. This year is no different.

There are a number of intriguing story lines surrounding national signing day 2012 but, as always, it all boils down to the overall class rankings (disclaimer: nobody takes the recruiting rankings at ESPN seriously – except, of course, the worldwide leader itself - so neither will I). As of signing day afternoon, the top ten classes according to Scout.com are as follows:

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1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. LSU
7. Miami (Fl)
8. Oklahoma
9. UCLA
10. South Carolina

A few things jump out about these rankings. First of all, the SEC is obviously still the king of college football for the time being. Granted, it may be a little bit easier to recruit when your moral compass doesn’t quite register how anyone could see the practice of oversigning as wrong. Nevertheless, four of the top 10 classes come from the same conference that never tires of reminding us who has won the last six national championships. In fact, I can see Nick Saban now, smugly cackling as the nation’s most talented prom dates continue to line up at his doorstep year after year.

Another thing that stands out (at least to me) is the top three class that NCAA sanctioned Ohio State has managed to collect. Signing day is the first official step that Urban Meyer (swoon) will take in his monumental effort of putting back together the tattoo-stained pieces of a historically great program. You know, the same pieces that are left over after the “objective” media finished covering the absolute horror of players trading their own memorabilia for magical tattoos that clearly helped the players run faster and play better on the field. Buckeye fan or not, it’s hard to argue that Meyer has done an incredible job selling a program that is coming off of a 6-7 season - and will not be eligible for postseason play next year - to the Midwest’s best high school football stars.

Ohio State’s biggest rival – Michigan – put together the only other Big Ten class ranked in Scout’s top 25 rankings. Whether Meyer and Brady Hoke are taking the first steps toward restoring the Big Ten to its days of the Big Two and everyone else is yet to be seen, but it’s clear that these two coaches are headed in the right direction. In fact, if you are in the Ann Arbor area this week, there is a decent chance you may witness Hoke putting a local Golden Corral out of business during his celebration dinner. He is the first Michigan coach in awhile that actually worries me and doesn’t make me laugh (sorry Rich Rod), so of course I’m going to stoop to fat jokes. Sorry.

Overall, signing day is an interesting case study into the psyche of the institution of American sports. Coaches who are worth multimillion dollars (according to their contracts at least) spend their January and February days groveling at the feet of a group of high school kids who probably spend their days eating McDonald’s, sleeping in study hall, and playing Call of Duty. It’s a good day to be a Texas Longhorn fan or a fan of team SEC in general (you know, the team that Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Mississippi State football fans cheer for, since they can’t cheer for their own). In 213 days after signing day, when the first Saturday of the 2012 college football season finally kicks off, we will see if and how success on the recruiting front translates into on the field success.

Until then, have a great offseason. Spring football is right around the corner.

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