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Signing Day: Big East Recruiting Notes

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

So, who had the best recruiting class in the Big East? It seems to depend on who you ask. West Virginia was tops according to Rivals.com and Scout.com. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc., however, had them at number three. Rutgers was ranked first, third and fourth in the various team rankings. Only South Florida seemed to have consistency at the two spot.

There is no question that the Mountaineers got offensive talent that would thrive in their old spread schemes. Whether it will still happen under the Bill Stewart and Jeff Mullen version of the offense is the big unknown. The headliners were running back Tavon Austin and quarterback Eugene Smith. Both are players that fit perfectly in the spread option offense.

Lane Kiffin Apologizes to Urban Meyer

Lane Kiffin waltzed out onto some pretty thin ice when he called Urban Meyer out for cheating in his recruitment of Tennessee commit Nu'Keese Richardson. That ice got a heck of a lot thinner when Florida got wind of the accusations and responded,charging that Kiffin slandered both Meyer and the university.

The best route for Kiffin was likely a quick and humble apology. That's exactly what he did apparently after a little pressure from the SEC.

Signing Day: ACC Recruiting Notes

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

Business as usual on Signing Day for the ACC- if you happen to be Florida State and Miami, you might keep your eyes glued to your laptop following the last-second decisions, otherwise, you pretty much know what your squad's getting into, with maybe a handful of exceptions. Unless you've got yourself a fashionable new coach, in which case, you can look forward to a couple of awesome recruiting seasons followed by years and years of unmet expectations. Unless Al Groh, Chuck Amato, Ralph Friedgen, John Bunting and Tommy Bowden were exceptions to the rule. Butch Davis, prove us wrong!

Signing Day: The Top Recruiting Classes

The headline says it all, this is about the top college football recruiting classes in 2009. Like Rivals, we're calling Alabama the top recruiter after a stellar final day saw the 'Tide seal the deal with in-state five star cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and four star linebacker Tana Patrick. They also picked up the south's best back in Floridian Trent Richardson.

Nipping at their heel was another SEC power with Nick Saban connections: LSU. The Tigers inked the country's top receiver, Louisiana's Rueben Randle. They also got an early enrollment from Texas quarterback Russell Shepard. On defense they picked up five-star cornerback Janzen Jackson and five-star defensive tackle Chris Davenport. Just a monster, monster class.

After the jump, the rest of the real power elite recruiting classes at the end of signing day.

Signing Day: Big 12 Recruiting Notes

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

Last year's big story in college football until its series of bowl flops, the Big 12 finds itself once again among the nation's top conferences when it comes to recruiting. Several schools finished well, with three falling inside of Rivals.com's top 25 classes list. Predictably, Texas and Oklahoma have separated themselves from the pack this year, but the conference remains competitive to where we find many big names at Big 12 places we wouldn't expect.

Signing Day: Big Ten Recruiting Notes

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

While recruiting services Scout and Rivals differ widely in their overall assessments of this year's Big Ten recruiting classes, they're both impressed by many of the same things. Of course, they're also unimpressed by many of the same things.

But hey, you're a smart person. You can figure things out for yourself. You want to know who helped themselves. You want to know who shot themselves in the foot. You want to know if the talent-rich got richer, like Michigan did with defensive end Craig Roh (pictured). Make the jump, grasshopper; all will be revealed.

Signing Day: SEC Recruiting Notes

LSUSigning day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

You've got to feel for Kentucky and Vanderbilt today, at least a little bit. In Scout's team-by-team rankings, there are 10 SEC representatives in the top 25, led by LSU at No. 2. Over at Rivals, those same 10 SEC teams cracked the top-25 overall, with Alabama claiming the top class.

In both cases, Kentucky and Vandy are the lone SEC teams unable to find a spot up top. Tough for those two, sure, but that hardly takes the luster off another ridonkulous recruiting year in the conference.

College Football Signing Day Wrap Chat

FanHouse takes you into the belly of the college football beast that is recruiting. We'll be around before, during and after Signing Day '09 to break down who is committing where, and we won't even need several hats in front of us to do it.

Be sure to visit FanHouse all day Wednesday for thorough recruiting and signing day coverage, but also join us for an hour-long wrap-up chat at 8 PM ET. We'll discuss what went down, what surprised, what elevated, what infuriated, what disappointed and whatever else comes to mind on the biggest recruiting day of the year. Chat application after the jump.

Signing Day: Pac-10 Recruiting Notes

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

First up, the wild and unconstrained Pac-10. So long as Pete Carroll's around, the story every year will begin with USC and end with a lot of broken hearts. This year was no different with the Trojans easily claiming the best signing class in the conference, and one of the three to four best, nationally. The Trojans' headliner is future golden boy quarterback Matt Barkley, but didyouknow USC hemorrhaged several major recruits this year? Details after the jump.

Signing Day: Trent Richardson (and Everyone Else) to Alabama

Trent RichardsonCollege football recruits often cite the amount of available playing time as a reason for choosing a particular school. That factor, apparently, is not a consideration for anyone Alabama goes after. Once again, Nick Saban and the Tide landed a ridiculous class -- topped off on late Wednesday afternoon by superstar running back Trent Richardson.
He chose Alabama over Florida and LSU. In the ESPN's top 150, he was ranked the nation's top running back. Scout and Rivals rated him No. 2 in the country behind Wichita's Bryce Brown Most recruiting services regarded him as the South's top runner.
Brown looks like he'll wait until after signing day to choose a school but, at this point -- despite the Tide not being in the running for him -- I think we can just assume he'll sign with Alabama. It's just easier to assume every recruit will sign with Alabama.
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