National Signing Day Recap
The 2014-2015 college football season is still 6 months away but today we got a little taste of some of the future stars of the sport. Although a number of big name prospects were already committed today was still extremely important for a number of programs. As of today the top five classes in the nation are: Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Texas A&M and Tennessee, who signed a whooping 36 recruits.
Alabama once more had the best class in the entire nation, a popular theme in Tuscaloosca. The Tide managed to snatch up the number one offensive tackle Cameron Robinson prior and had a solid day landing great outside linebacker in Rashaan Evans who was considering a number of other SEC schools including arch rival Auburn. Defensive studs are a common theme for Alabama and they got a number of signings from guys who will be stars in a couple years and then go one to have successful careers in the NFL. Shutdown corner Tony Brown (No. 8 overall recruit, No. 2 CB), Marlon Humphrey (No. 15 overall, No. 5 CB) and Laurence Jones (No. 27 overall, No. 3 S) all make this class loaded with immediate contributors. Four-star quarterback David Cornwell, from Norman, Oklahoma, could compete right away from the QB vacancy left when A.J. McCarron graduated.
Although their class is sitting at No. 4 Texas A&M has three of the most impressive talents in the
entire nation. Explosive athlete Speedy Noil can do a number of great things is exactly what his name indicates; a speedy, versatile option that can play a number of roles inside an offense. Defensive end Myles Garrett has the strength and fantastic instincts to be a top-flight SEC pass rusher in a couple years. Mixed in with the top quarterback prospect in all the nation, Kyle Allen, the Aggies possess a class that could be very important to them in a few years.
Last year, Ole Miss made huge recruiting waves when they signed defensive end/linebacker Robert Nkemdiche, the No. 1 overall recruit and offensive linemen Laremy Tunsil. It was very surprising for a program that had been floundering for years inside the SEC. This year the Tennessee Volunteers could easily be labeled "The Next Ole Miss." The Vols haven't had a winning season since they went 7-6 in 2009 under Lane Kiffin. Butch Jones had a decent first year in Knoxville winning five games and then having their best recruiting class in years. Explosive wide receiver Josh Malone is an in-state prospect who should be a scary vertical threat for the Vols from the start. The class is not extremely star-studded but has some real depth in it. Another pipeline snag was halfback Jalen Hurd, the No. 70 prospect and gigantic defensive end Dewayne Hendrix has the potential to be a real star. Along with Kentucky, who snatched up a Top 25 class in a lot of rankings, the SEC has two programs that really needs this recruiting class to make an impact now and in the future.
The real obvious thing that this recruiting class and whole signing day proved? The SEC does indeed dominate the recruiting and college football landscape, as if there was any doubt. Of the Top 10 classes in the nation, seven were from the Southeastern Conference. The only teams not from the SEC that managed Top 10 classes were Florida State, Ohio State and Miami. The SEC had more five-star prospects heading into it this year then the rest of the power conferences combined. And in a couple of years we will be talking about a number of those players going in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Not all of the best prospects in the nation are going to the SEC, there are other conferences out there. Michigan landed the No. 2 prospect in the nation in cornerback Jabrill Peppers who can be a factor on the offensive end and special teams is well. Defensive tackle Andrew Brown, the No. 5 prospect in the land, and safety Quin Blanding are two five-stars that Mike London managed to land at Virginia. And, the defending champs, Florida State, got even stronger with the addition of Miami back Dalvin Cook and speedster Ermon Lane.
Alabama once more had the best class in the entire nation, a popular theme in Tuscaloosca. The Tide managed to snatch up the number one offensive tackle Cameron Robinson prior and had a solid day landing great outside linebacker in Rashaan Evans who was considering a number of other SEC schools including arch rival Auburn. Defensive studs are a common theme for Alabama and they got a number of signings from guys who will be stars in a couple years and then go one to have successful careers in the NFL. Shutdown corner Tony Brown (No. 8 overall recruit, No. 2 CB), Marlon Humphrey (No. 15 overall, No. 5 CB) and Laurence Jones (No. 27 overall, No. 3 S) all make this class loaded with immediate contributors. Four-star quarterback David Cornwell, from Norman, Oklahoma, could compete right away from the QB vacancy left when A.J. McCarron graduated.
Although their class is sitting at No. 4 Texas A&M has three of the most impressive talents in the
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| Speedy Noil |
Last year, Ole Miss made huge recruiting waves when they signed defensive end/linebacker Robert Nkemdiche, the No. 1 overall recruit and offensive linemen Laremy Tunsil. It was very surprising for a program that had been floundering for years inside the SEC. This year the Tennessee Volunteers could easily be labeled "The Next Ole Miss." The Vols haven't had a winning season since they went 7-6 in 2009 under Lane Kiffin. Butch Jones had a decent first year in Knoxville winning five games and then having their best recruiting class in years. Explosive wide receiver Josh Malone is an in-state prospect who should be a scary vertical threat for the Vols from the start. The class is not extremely star-studded but has some real depth in it. Another pipeline snag was halfback Jalen Hurd, the No. 70 prospect and gigantic defensive end Dewayne Hendrix has the potential to be a real star. Along with Kentucky, who snatched up a Top 25 class in a lot of rankings, the SEC has two programs that really needs this recruiting class to make an impact now and in the future.
The real obvious thing that this recruiting class and whole signing day proved? The SEC does indeed dominate the recruiting and college football landscape, as if there was any doubt. Of the Top 10 classes in the nation, seven were from the Southeastern Conference. The only teams not from the SEC that managed Top 10 classes were Florida State, Ohio State and Miami. The SEC had more five-star prospects heading into it this year then the rest of the power conferences combined. And in a couple of years we will be talking about a number of those players going in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Not all of the best prospects in the nation are going to the SEC, there are other conferences out there. Michigan landed the No. 2 prospect in the nation in cornerback Jabrill Peppers who can be a factor on the offensive end and special teams is well. Defensive tackle Andrew Brown, the No. 5 prospect in the land, and safety Quin Blanding are two five-stars that Mike London managed to land at Virginia. And, the defending champs, Florida State, got even stronger with the addition of Miami back Dalvin Cook and speedster Ermon Lane.
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