Irish, Tide, ’Canes among biggest winners
Surprising losers in recruiting wars: Gators, Vols, Nittany Lions, Longhorns
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The spin is the same from every coach on every ivy-covered campus: "We met all of our needs with this recruiting class."
Yeah, right.
Someone has to tell the truth. And that someone is me. Here's a look at my five biggest winners and five biggest losers on Signing Day 2008.
Winners
Notre Dame. Never before had it been so uncool to be a Fighting Irishman, what with the school coming off a 3-9 season that included a loss against Navy. But Charlie Weis signed what some believe to be his best class yet in South Bend. The Irish collected an especially strong group of offensive linemen and tight ends.
Top players: QB Dayne Crist; WR Michael Floyd; TE Kyle Rudolph
Alabama. Nick Saban earned every bit of his $4 million salary by inking a group of heralded players. The Tide really cleaned up at receiver and defensive line. This was a good-looking class entering signing day. It became great when Julio Jones, the nation's top receiver, and stud LB Jerrell Harris committed on Wednesday.
Top players: WR Julio Jones; OL Tyler Love; ATH Burton Scott
Miami. This nice class is a salve of sorts following the program's first bowl-less season since 1997. Randy Shannon's much-needed haul is highlighted by a strong collection of linebackers. And few schools had a more exciting finish than the Hurricanes, who landed CB Brandon Harris, OL Benjamin Jones and WR Tommy Streeter on Signing Day.
Top players: LB Arthur Brown; DT Marcus Forston; LB Jordan Futch
Clemson. The Tigers haven't won the ACC since 1991. And they never have gone to the ACC title game. But that hasn't prevented Tommy Bowden from continuing to accumulate top talent. In fact, this may be his best class since becoming Clemson coach in 1999. A fantastic signing day that included a commitment from OL Antoine McClain really helped the Tigers.
Top players: DE DaQuan Bowers; RB Jamie Harper; DT Brandon Thompson
Minnesota. The Golden Gophers look a lot like Illinois did in its first few years under Ron Zook — on-field struggles coupled with better than expected recruiting classes. It took Zook a few years at Illinois to reap the benefits of his recruiting magic. If Brewster keeps it up, he should have Minnesota poised for big things, too. Minnesota's class was helped by several late commitments, including LB Keanon Cooper.
Top players: QB MarQueis Gray; DB Keanon Cooper; ATH David Pittman
Losers
Florida. Take this in context, people: The Gators opened the day with the nation's top class in many circles, but defections by OL Ricky Barnum (Michigan) and DB Ramon Buchanan (Miami) hurt Urban Meyer. But never fear, Florida fans: There still is an impressive collection of defensive players (linemen and linebackers) coming on board. The group of receivers is impressive, too, boosted by the signing day commitment of T.J. Lawrence.
Top players: ATH Will Hill; WR Carl Moore; DT Omar Hunter
Tennessee. The Vols were hurt by the fact that this is a small class. Still, it's difficult not to note the lack of top-end talent for one of the nation's top-end programs. Tennessee did get ATH E.J. Abrams-Ward on signing day but missed out on some top targets (LB Jerrell Harris; RB Enrique Davis) down the stretch.
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Penn State. Another middling class is further proof that this no longer is an elite national program. Heck, it can be argued Penn State no longer is an elite Big Ten program, with the Nittany Lions clearly behind Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois and no better than Wisconsin and Iowa. Yes, this is a small class of Nits, but keep this in mind: Penn State landed just two of Pennsylvania's Top 15 players, according to Rivals.com. Losing RB Michael Shaw to Michigan on signing day hurt.
Top players: LB Brandon Beachum; LB Mike Yancich; LB Mike Zordich
Texas. Make no mistake about it: This still is a typically terrific Texas class that was pretty well sewn up before signing day. That left the Longhorns' staff with one mission: get Darrell Scott, the nation's top running back. It didn't happen, as Scott signed with Colorado. For a school that's used to getting what it wants, this stings.
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Iowa. It wasn't too long ago when the Hawkeyes were landing heralded classes. Now, that isn't the case. But the Hawkeyes may be better off with "under-the-radar" prospects that for so many years were the foundation of this proud program. Still, it hurts losing RB Jason Ford (Illinois) and DE Marcus Malbrough (Missouri).
Top players: QB John Wienke; DE Riley Reiff; RB Nate Guillory
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