What: National Football Letter of Intent Day
Signing period: Feb. 4 through April 1
Live blog: Click here for how the day unfolded love with news and analysis from MaxPreps National Football Editor Steve Spiewak and Senior Writer and Columnist Mitch Stephens.
National Signing Day Page: Click here.
Tom Lemming's top 5 recruing classes: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Ohio State; No. 3 USC; No. 4 Texas; No. 5 Alabama.
By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
At the end of the day – one of college football’s most over-used phrases – the 2009 National Signing Day will be remembered for resiliency.
The top colleges all took some major gut punches early but stayed the course to bring home loads of promise, speed, strength and most important, recruits.
The most resilient was probably USC, which was shun by four major recruits – three whom had already committed – but rebounded to score a national-best 10 of CBS Sports recruiting expert Tom Lemming’s Top 100 players.
Among those were No. 1 Matt Barkley, No. 4 Devon Kennard and the most unexpected score, linebacker Jarvis Jones, the No. 13 recruit all the way from Columbus, Ga.
Jones was a much-needed boost after the Trojans lost two of the country’s top linebackers and national recruits Manti Te’o and Vontaze Burfict to Notre Dame and Arizona State, respectively.
The Trojans also went deep into the south to get another impact linebacker in No. 61 overall Frankie Telfort (Gulliver Prep, Coral Gables, Fla.) late in the day
“They didn’t crumble after the early disappointments,” said Lemming, whom ranked the Trojans No. 3 overall. “They rebounded and did what they had to do.”
Ohio State lost blue chip defensive back Justin Green to Illinois, but came back in volumes and quality more so than elite talent with 27 signees, including three Top 100s recruits in LB Dorian Bell (No. 27), DL John Simon (No. 34) and RB Jaamal Berry (No. 89).
Florida saw slight but swift WR Nu’Keese Richardson (Pahokee, Fla.) go to Tennessee and Jones slip to USC, but the defending national champs still grabbed five players between No. 22-66, including highly sought-after LB Jelani Jenkins from Maryland and athletic Andre Debose, who Urban Meyer said has a legitimate shot to contribute as a true freshman.
“We watched (Debose’s) highlight tape and it may have been the most impressive one I’ve ever seen,” Meyer said.
The two most impressive recruiting jobs were done by Southeastern Conference rivals Alabama and LSU, each of which lost some key talent early.
LSU lost out on receivers Debose and DeAngelo Benton who shocked everyone by going to Auburn.
But the Tigers didn't flinch getting five of the top 33 recruits and eight in the top 100 led by QB Russell Shepard (No. 5 overall), WR Rueben Randle (No. 9) and safety Craig Loston (No. 14). The Tigers secured 25 signatures overall.
That was third only to 27 each for Ohio State and Alabama, which seemed to have the best shot at highly-regarded OL Bobby Massie, who ultimately picked Mississippi.
‘Bama didn’t miss out on many others, getting four of the top 23, including the nation’s best cornerback D’Andre Kirkpatrick (No. 12 overall) and his high school teammate, No. 96 overall WR Kendall Kelly (Gadsden City, Ala ).
Running back Trent Richardson, (No. 19), OL D.J. Fluker (No. 20) and WR Nico Johnson (No. 23) were others secured by Nick Saban and his staff.
“I think there are skill players on offense (we got) who could make explosive plays,” Saban said.
BIGGEST SURPRISES
As usual, there were fireworks and surprises throughout the day. All centered around USC. The biggest:
1. Hawaii prep legend Te’o (Punahou, Honolulu), who came on live TV, spent five minutes explaining his final thought process, then lifted a Notre Dame cap, picking the Irish over USC. “Either school would have been a good fit,” Te’o said. “I made the decision this morning at 5. I just prayed so hard. Notre Dame was a better fit.”
2. USC gained some face by securing Byron Moore Jr. (Narbonne, Harbor City, Calif.), the nation’s No. 17 safety, who committed to USC two weeks ago, decommitted last week, then on Wednesday sent his letter of intent to the Trojans. Now that's a roller coaster ride.
3. USC lost a player to of all schools. ... USC. Setting the tone for Southern Cal's odd day was the first big developments when yet another Trojan commit Alshon Jeffery (Calhoun County, S.C.) switched to another USC – the University of South Carolina. Jeffery is the nation’s No. 5 receiver and No. 31 recruit overall.
4. Ten minutes later, yet one more USC recruit Burfict (Centennial, Corona, Calif.), a local kid who had been committed since well before the summer, switched gears and picked Pacific-10 rival Arizona State. Grades apparently were at the root of why Burfict, who led Centennial to a state Division I Bowl championship, changed his mind after such a long courtship.
LARGEST SIGNING CEREMONY
The biggest single gathering of Division I talent took place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., not coincidently, the home of the national defending high school champion, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders.
The Raiders signed a staggering 11 players to Division I programs, including quarterback Ryan Becker (Penn) and wide receiver Duron Carter (Ohio State), son of former NFL standout Cris Carter.
The elder Carter starred at Ohio State, but his son grew up a Michigan fan. What changed his mind?
“It wasn’t my dad,” he said. “When I visited the campus I was just blown away. It was absolutely the right place.”
Aquinas has obviously been the right place for coach George Smith.
“To see kids move on and play at the next level is very, very gratifying as a coach,” Smith said. “To see this many move on at once is overwhelming. I could go on and on and on about these guys. They’re fantastic.”
MORE NEWS AND NOTES
- The nation’s top running back and No. 2 recruit Bryce Brown (East, Wichita, Kan.) verbally committed to Miami but has yet to sign. The MVP of the Army-Navy All-Star game in San Antonio last month is reportedly clearing his head while vacationing in Nebraska. Supposedly he has had a change of heart and is leaning toward USC. The Miami home page had all of their 20 signees in early evening and Brown wasn't among them.
- Ka'Lial Glaud, a big time East Coast offensive line recruit from Winslow Township (Atco, N.J.), flipped a coin to decide his college choice. Glaud borrowed a quarter from his school principle and announced in front of a gather "heads for West Virginia, tails for Rutgers." It came up tails and Rutgers had their man. Just keep him out of Atlantic City. See story.
- In yet two more cases where USC was beaten out by a rival, in this case cross-town nemisis UCLA. Xavier Su'a Filo, a massive offensive lineman who led Timpview to a Utah 4A state title, and in the last announcement of the day, wide receiver Randall Carroll, the country's No. 52 recruit overall, de-committed from the Trojans and sign with UCLA.
FINAL UNCOMMITTED LIST
Eleven of the 13 top 100 recruits who had not committed before the day picked schools. Here is entire list.
No. 7: LB Manti Te’o (Punahou, Honolulu), Signed with Notre Dame
No. 9: WR Rueben Randle (Bastrop, La.), LSU
No. 11: WR-DB Marlon Brown (Harding Academy, Memphis, Tenn.), Georgia
No. 12: CB D’Andre Kirkpatrick (Gadsden, Ala.), Alabama
No. 13: LB Jarvis Jones (Carver, Ga.), USC
No. 24: WR Patrick Patterson (Noxubee County, Mason, Miss.), Mississippi
No. 26: LB Jelani Jenkins (Our Lady of Good Counsel, Olney, Md.), Florida
No. 33: LB Sam Montgomery (Greenwood, S.C.), LSU
No. 53: TE-DE Orson Charles (Plant, Tampa, Fla.), unsigned
No. 61: LB Frankie Telfort (Gulliver Prep, Coral Gable, Fla.), USC
No. 70: LB Anthony Patrick (North Jackson, Stevenson, Ala.), Alabama
No. 84: WR Rolando Jefferson (Edison, Fresno, Calif.), unsigned
No. 96: WR Kendall Kelly (Gadsden, Ala ), Alabama
MaxPreps National Football Editor Steve Spiewak contributed to this report. E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
