Wednesday, February 4 is a huge day, in fact, for prep football players and the school’s recruiting them, it’s the day. February 4 is National Signing Day, the day football programs around the nation finally get an opportunity to officially seal the deal.
This past weekend was in most cases the last opportunity for prep players to take visits to prospective school’s, and for many programs it’s the last chance to woo a particular player that could be the foundation of a future BCS national champion.
As I’ve reported here over the past year, recruiting talented players is the life blood of any college athletic program. In the highly competitive world of college football recruiting, this past weekend will help decide which schools’ recruiting classes are among the best in 2009.
Many of the nation’s best prep players have yet to announce their college choices, highlighted by wide receiver Reuben Randle from Bastrop, LA. Analysts at Scout and Rivals expect Randle to sign with LSU on Wednesday.
Visit Scout for a look at the remaining uncommitted prospects among their list of the nation’s top 300 players and Rivals for their list of the top 250.
The highly anticipated decisions tend to make for a lot of conversation among the recruiting analysts around the country. Scout and Rivals each have a list of prep players with the analysts’ college choices. You can view those lists here and here.
According to Scout.com, Ohio State is the current leader among all FBS programs followed by LSU, North Carolina, Texas and USC. Rivals.com sees things a tad differently, listing Ohio State as it’s leader followed by LSU, USC, Texas and Alabama.
Marlon Brown
The nation’s most dominant conference on the field is also the most dominant in the recruiting wars, with the SEC easily leading all other conferences. For the eighth consecutive year, the SEC will sign more top-rated prep players than any other conference.
Scout lists 10 of the SECs 12 teams among its top 25 classes while Rivals lists nine.
Many of the nation’s most highly touted prep players will announce their decisions via live press conferences. One such player is Marlon Brown, a 6-5 wide receiver from Memphis. Those of you who’ve followed this site know I’ve been keeping track of Marlon’s recruitment throughout the year.
Brown will announce his decision on ESPNU at 2:45 eastern, choosing among Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio State and Ole Miss. Brown had narrowed his list to five school’s in 2008, but dropped Florida and LSU while recently adding the Rebels to the mix.
For a list of other prep prospects announcing their decisions on National Signing Day, click here.
