By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
Hot or not? The concept pretty much explains itself and we apply it to the wacky world of college football recruiting – currently in its most high-pressure stage with Signing Day just a week away.
Our take on the winners, losers and trends with college football’s “second season” winding down;
HOT
New Coaches: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin stand out among new coaches making an impressive run leading up to next Wednesday.
Since taking over the Tiger program in the middle of the 2008 season, Swinney has been a man on a mission, helping Clemson win four of its last five regular season games and landing a pair of longshot recruits.
Wide receiver Bryce McNeal from Minnesota made it official at the U.S. Army All-American Game earlier in the month and star quarterback Tajh Boyd of Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va., gave Swinney good news Tuesday. Clemson beat out Ohio State and Tennessee among others for his services.
Under Kiffin, Tennessee will likely end up with one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. The lure of playing for defensive guru and proud pops Monte Kiffin has been a positive, as evidenced by the commitments of touted defensive backs Nyshier Oliver (St. Peter’s Prep, Jersey City, N.J.) and Mike Edwards (Glenville, Cleveland, Ohio) in the last three days.
NOT
Coaches-in-Waiting: With rumors swirling that Mike Bellotti will move into the athletic director role after Signing Day to make way for offensive mastermind Chip Kelly, Oregon’s recruiting efforts have been thrown off track.
A program that has become known for a Signing Day surprise or two in recent years, Oregon has seen the aforementioned Boyd, Indiana linebacker Jordan Barnes, California running back Cameron Marshall and Alabama corner Pat Miller opt for other schools within the last week.
Depending on who you listen to, Oregon is still in the hunt for Kansas running back Bryce Brown, but the likelihood of him opting out of a previous commitment to Miami for Eugene seems slim.
HOT
Running Quarterbacks: With the success of Florida’s Tim Tebow, West Virginia’s Pat White and Baylor’s Robert Griffin, the trend of quarterbacks being used as primary options in the running game isn’t going away.
The SEC will have three more dangerous dual-threats to deal with next year as Texans Russell Shepard of Cypress Ridge (Houston) and Tyrik Rollison of Sulphur Springs are headed to LSU and Auburn, respectively, and Plant (Tampa, Fla.) star Aaron Murray is already enrolled at Georgia.
Shepard ran for 1,947 yards and threw for 1,849 more as a senior, combining for 47 touchdowns. Rollison was even more productive in leading his school to a state title, throwing for 4,728 yards and 51 touchdowns and running for 1,094 yards and 14 more scores.
Murray (6-1, 205) may have the most Tebow-like potential if he can recover fully from a broken leg suffered midway through the season. In one of the more inspirational stories of the year, a hobbled Murray returned for Plant in the state semifinals and led the program to the Class 4A state title.
NOT
Statuesque Quarterbacks: CBS College Sports recruiting analyst Tom Lemming lists just six signal callers at 6-foot-5 or taller among his top 50 quarterbacks in the class of 2009. Don’t get the wrong idea, the vertical pass in college football isn’t going away but coaches value QBs that can avoid pressure and keep plays alive with their feet.
Among the “statuesque” quarterbacks, keep an eye on Arizona State pledge Brock Osweiler of Kalispell, Mont. A 6-8, 235-pound former Gonzaga basketball commitment, Osweiler is one of the more intriguing athletes ever to come out of Big Sky Country.
HOT
Texas: Our latest calculations have 350 Texas prepsters committed to FBS (Division I-A) schools, the most by far of any state in the nation. That’s no surprise, but this number is staggering: 73. That’s the number of schools with one or more players from the Lone Star State ready to sign on the dotted line next Wednesday.
Lake Travis quarterback Garrett Gilbert – the MaxPreps National Player of the Year – leads the Texas contingent. No. 3 overall in Tom Lemming’s class of 2009 rankings, Gilbert will be staying at home in Austin to play for the Longhorns.
NOT
Pennsylvania: Long considered a football power state, 72 Pennsylvania players have made commitments to major college programs. Expect more to come, but that lags far behind border rival Ohio (133) and states like Georgia (143) and Louisiana (79).
For complete Signing Day coverage click here.
