Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Signing Day - The NCAA Equivalent of the NFL Draft

Every year, on February 1st, ESPN has nothing but 12 hours of Signing Day Coverage for NCAA football recruits.  It's turned into a media event, with class rankings and "top 10 recuiting classes" named and cited in every major publication.

Frankly, I've never gotten into the whole recruiting thing (that much) but I will admit that it's almost impossible to ignore anymore.  I mean, there's simply so much information out there that you have to glean something in the process of reading about sports every day. 

And here's the thing I've taken away from it:  IF you had a lousy season, say 3-9 up to about 8-5, well, you're highly rated recruiting class is the new savior to your program and in three years you'll be reaping the fruits of that labor.  If you had a great season and you have a highly rated class, well, you're just re-loading.

Everyone has recruited "exactly the guy they needed" to fill a gap or gaps in their future line-up.  And everyone has a National Champion on paper on February 1st, just like everyone in the NFL has a Super Bowl ready team after Draft Day...Problem with all of this is, how are they going to develop and perform as their careers progress?  No one can simulate that.

Thankfully, after today, its over and we can get on with more meaningful discussion....

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