Signing Day Watch List:

There will be fans of every school in America wasting many man (or woman) hours at the office Wednesday.

That is because tomorrow is college football’s National Signing Day. It is the first opportunity for head coaches to officially claim players as their own. It is also the first time head coaches can publicly comment on recruits.

Needless to say, it is an exciting time for everyone involved. Fans, coaches, players and recruiting junkies everywhere will be glued to a medium of choice waiting for those faxed letters of intent to come in.

This season, more so than in recent years, the names left yet to commit are extraordinarily talented. The top quarterback, running back and wide receiver have yet to pick a school. The 2008 recruiting national championship, very much so, still hangs in the balance.

The big three are obvious:

Terrelle Pryor - QB - Jeannette, PA
Finalists: OSU, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, LSU, PSU
Prediction: if it happens tomorrow...OHIO STATE

Julio Jones - WR - Foley, AL
Finalists: Alabama, FSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Prediction: ALABAMA

Darrell Scott - RB - Ventura, CA
Finalists: Colorado, Texas
Prediction: COLORADO

Pryor is set to announce on ESPNU at 12:05 pm ET. Pryor has hinted at taking a visit to Oregon this upcoming weekend, which would push back his announcement past Signing Day. Jones is set to announce at 12:30 pm ET on ESPNU. Scott is set to announce at 12:50 pm ET on ESPNU.

Here is a list of some of the other big names announcing Wednesday, my prediction is in bold:

E.J. Abrams-Ward - ATH - Thomasville, NC
Finalists: Tennessee, North Carolina

Aaron Boyd - WR - Lexington, KY (10:30 am)
Finalists: Kentucky, Oregon

T.J. Bryant - CB - Tallahassee, FL
Finalists: USC, FSU, Miami, Florida, Alabama, LSU

Quinton Coples - DE - Chatham, VA (10:45 am)
Finalists: North Carolina, Tenn, NC St, FSU

Enrique Davis - RB - Chatham, VA
Finalists: Maryland, Oregon, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tenn

Roderick Davis - DT - Aldine, TX
Finalists: Texas A&M, Texas, Florida

J.B. Fitzgerald - LB - Princeton Junction, NJ
Finalists: Michigan, Rutgers

Jarmon Fortson - ATH - Columbus, GA (12:45 pm)
Finalists: Florida St, Auburn

Jamie Harper - RB - Jacksonville, FL (12:20 pm)
Finalists: Clemson, FSU, Florida, Miami

Brandon Harris - CB - Miami, FL
Finalists: Florida, Miami, Ohio State

Jerrell Harris - LB - Gadsden, AL (3 pm)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Tenn, USC

Josh Jenkins - G - Vienna, WV (9 am)
Finalists: Ohio St, WVU, Florida State

Ben Jones - OL - Miami, FL
Finalists: Clemson, Miami

Datone Jones - DE - Compton, CA
Finalists: Oregon, UCLA

T.J. Lawrence - WR - Lakeland, FL
Finalists: S. Car, Va. Tech, Florida, Michigan

Antoine McClain - OL - Anniston, AL
Finalists: Tenn, LSU, Clemson

Charles Mitchell - S - Clarksdale, MS
Finalists: Southern Miss, Nebraska, Miss St

Nick Perry - DE - Detroit, MI (3 pm)
Finalists: Michigan, USC, Mich St, Miami

Robert Quinn - DE - North Charleston, SC (10:30 am)
Finalists: Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina

Hamani Stevens - C - Hemet, CA (3 pm)
Finalists: UCLA, BYU, Oregon

Tommy Streeter - WR - Miami, FL
Finalists: Miami, Oregon, S. Car, USF

Note: Time = Player's expected announcement. All times Eastern.

Tide Pushes for Top Class

Alabama is making a strong case for the No. 1 class in the nation. With some help they could easily get there. That obviously depends on names like Foley's Julio Jones - who would shock me if he did not pick Alabama - and Gadsden's Jerrell Harris.

Nick Saban and company have set themselves up for that top slot over the last week. Lucedale, Miss., cornerback Alonzo Lawrence ended his recruitment and committed to Alabama over the weekend. He was followed closely by a commitment from defensive end prospect Glenn Harbin.

Lawrence saw his stock soar near the end of the recruiting season - he ranked just outside the Athlon Consensus 100. He played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game and was a major part of the Magnolia state ending Alabama's winning streak. He was forced to guard none other than the best wideout in the nation, Jones, and played very well. So well, in fact, that Jones had little-to-no impact on the outcome of the game.

His meteoric rise up the rankings is well warranted. Lawrence has great size and athleticism for a player with his ability to play on the outside. He has great quickness and his closing speed is remarkable. He should have the ability to turn and run with faster wideouts on vertical routes.

He is not just a lock down cover corner either. He shows a nice physical edge when playing near the line of scrimmage. He possesses solid instincts and will come up and fill hard against the run. This makes him an ideal fit in a cover-2 scheme.

To me, cornerback is the least coached position on the field. Generally, coaches point at the other team's best player and say "Stick 'em." So rarely does one see finely tuned technique and fundamentals from a high school corner. Lawrence is no exception. There are some areas that solid defensive back coaching - a la Nick Saban - will be able to correct. His pedal and zone coverages could use some polish.

Make no mistake, his physical tools and the job he did against Julio Jones are simply amazing. Saban will turn him into a star in the SEC.

Harbin, a big defensive end from Mobile, is no slouch of a consolation prize. The 6-5, 250 pounder has a massive frame and room to grow. He is not overly explosive and agile off the ball so a move to tackle is possible. If he adds 25-30 pounds he could be a dynamic 'zero' technique tackle. He will also need work on his pass rush repertoire. But you cannot coach Harbin's size and strength. It will be interesting to see if he makes it at defensive end.

The thing I love about this class and Harbin, is that Saban has done an excellent job addressing the Crimson Tide's needs along the defensive line. Wallace Gilberry aside, the level of talent in the front seven - post-DeMeco Ryans - has been lacking. Add Jerrell Harris and Bama has dramatically upgraded its defensive front.

Photos by Athlon Sports

Athlon Sports National Recruiting Blitz

Here is a Signing Day preview edition of AS National Recruiting Blitz.

Mitch and I sit down and get you ready for Signing Day...

Here are some of the highlights:

The AC100: Honorable Mention
Athlon's coverage of Signing Day 2008
Terrelle Pryor, Julio Jones and Darrell Scott updates
Alabama's late push for No. 1
SEC West recruiting
and more...

As always you can check out the Athlon Consensus 100.

Also check out the Athlon Sports Recruiting Message Board. Its free for all. Sign Up TODAY!

Michigan Dips Into Lone Star State Again

Texarkana quarterback Ryan Mallett - even though he transfered - Cypress all-purpose dynamo Sam McGuffie, Sugar Land wide receiver Daryl Stonum and now Klein running back Terrance Robinson have all left the state of Texas and headed north to Ann Arbor. Robinson committed to the Wolverines shortly after the Super Bowl Sunday evening.

Sugar Land has been very kind to the Wolverines as I did not even mention the two Sugar Land commits from last season - LB Brandon Herron and DB Troy Woolfolk. That is six very talented young prospects over the past two classes that chose Michigan.

Mallett was the top QB in the nation last year, McGuffie is just outside this year's Athlon Consensus 100 and Stonum is No. 39. These are top-flight talents that Michigan has gone into Texas to land.

Robinson is a perfect fit for Rich Rod's spread-zone-read-option attack. In fact, he is a striking resemblance to WVU starting running back for 2009: Noel Devine. Robinson is small but he is not quite Devine small. He is fast but not quite Devine fast. But more importantly he is very comfortable and familiar with the spread-option. Klein ran an almost exact replica of WVU's rushing attack.

The 5-9, 175 pounder shows great speed and burst with some surprising power. He does not mind putting his head down to finish a run. He has great agility using solid quickness to weave in and out of defenders. He shows the mental capacity to run between the tackles, I just wonder about his durability and size in the Big Ten. He certainly makes up for his lack of size with great speed and toughness, though.

I would like to see him add some thickness and will need to work on his blitz pick-up and receiving skills (he could be a nice slot receiver too) but should be a dynamic little playmaker for the Wolverines. Hey, Mike Hart was too short and too small to be any good too, right?

If Michigan and Rich Rod can land Terrelle Pryor and Nick Perry this class will be a top-5 class nationally. Sneaky good class for the boys in Maize and Blue.

Photo by Athlon Sports

Southern Miss Pull Off Huge Upset

Larry Fedora has not been the head coach in Hattiesburg for very long and the small Mississippi community has already felt his impact. Fedora was a part of some very explosive offenses at Oklahoma State, especially at the wide receiver spot. Adarius Bowman is likely to be a high draft pick, Rashuan or D'Juan or Donovan or one of those Woods was a first round pick (it was Rashaun). He was also the Woods that caught seven touchdown passes in one game against SMU in 2003. Tight end Brandon Pettigrew is also a pretty solid player.

Fedora has certainly set himself up to continue his success at that position. Ocean Springs, MS native DeAndre Brown announced Friday evening that he has shunned offers from nearly every southern power to go to Conference USA and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Brown is ranked No. 15 in the Athlon Consensus 100. This makes him the No. 3 ranked wideout in the nation, sitting behind only Summerville's A.J. Green and Foley's Julio Jones.

The first thing you notice about Mr. Brown is his size. He is probably the tallest wide receiver in the 2008 class — unless you count Jonathan Baldwin as a wideout. His tall frame comes with a massively long wingspan that he uses very effectively to go up and snag passes. He will be a dynamic red zone threat as he will create mismatches all over the secondary.

Although his speed is adequate, it takes him a while to reach his full capacity. He also will need a lot of work on his route running. He has yet to learn how to manipulate defensive coverage schemes in order to get open and has a tendency to misread certain alignments. Adjustments at the line of scrimmage, recognition and route-running technique are all things that can be learned and developed with sound coaching. His physical gifts cannot be taught.

There may be no bigger single impact recruit in the nation. Brown brings SEC talent to a middle tier conference. Jeff Bower had done a really nice job of keeping Southern Miss competitive for over a decade. If Fedora is able to recruit like this every year, USM fans can expect to compete for C-USA titles if not push for that elusive, but recently attainable "non-BCS" BCS bid.

You add Brown to the two stars already at the skill positions on that offense (Damien Fletcher and Shawn Nelson), and Fedora has the makings of a very potent offense.

Now, if they can just find a quarterback to throw the ball to them.

Photos by Athlon Sports

Terps Finally Keep One Home

Ralph Friedgen's offenses at Maryland have been anything but simple. The playbook is reportedly huge and very complex. After some 10-win seasons and big bowl wins over teams like Tennessee, it seems that the offense has been just that, off.

This may be attributed to the fact that teams like Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State have pillaged and plundered the state's top talent. I think Larry Johnson Sr. is actually paying property tax in the state of Maryland after what he accomplished in 2006 class - seven of the state's top 10 headed to state college.

Again this year, Ron Zook and Jim Tressell have gone into the DC/Maryland area and taken top talent. Thursday night, The Friedge struck back and kept a really good player home.

Hyattsville, MD wide receiver Kenny Tate has decided to stay home and committed to Maryland. Tate plays at the legendary DeMatha High School.

At 6-4, 210 pounds Tate is certainly an imposing figure on the outside. He is big and physical and not afraid of contact. He will make the tough catch in traffic. He also does a really nice job of catching the ball with his hands away from the body. He is a dynamic player. He simply finds ways to get into the end zone. In the 2006 campaign, Tate scored 11 touchdowns. Six receiving, one rushing and four more in the return game. He is not overly explosive but may factor into the return game for Maryland.

Experts say that he is best player from the state of Maryland to stay home since Vernon Davis. If Maryland fans expect to compete for ACC titles, they must do a better job of keeping Maryland talent home. Maybe Kenny Tate is the start of in-state dominance for the Terps.

The pass catching portion of this Terps class is easily the strength. Solid wide receivers like Tate and Kerry Boykins as well as big tight end Devonta Campbell will really provide some offensive weapons for that Friedgen offense. Now, if they can just keep a quarterback upright long enough to deliver the ball.

Photos by Athlon Sports