Your National Signing Day Rolling Updates Story

Posted by Iroquois Plisken

National Signing Day is here. A few quick predictions for the top unsigned folks (all rankings using ESPN values):

Seantrel Henderson, OT - This mammoth OT is predicted to sign with either Florida, Ohio State, USC, or Miami. Henderson's recruitment's been kind of odd, not so much as that dad's been handling it (quite a few players have it done this way), but because his teams have undergone so much turmoil and still remain. Oddly enough, I predict he bucks (pun not intended) the trend of staying in the Midwest and heads to USC.

Demar Dorsey, S - A longtime UF commit, issues in his past have reared their head in an ugly way. Most folks seem convinced he's going to FSU; again, I predict USC. This update chain makes it sound like I'm the new Mark May, but I expect USC to close fairly strong today.

Owamagbe Odghizuwa, DE - Once thought a mortal lock for the West Coast (Cal, UCLA, Oregon), some folks sharper than I seem to think the success of Ndamukong Suh (who I believe was listed as a SDE coming out of HS) has swayed Owa to Nebraska.

Markeith Ambles, WR - A former Vol, I haven't the faintest of where he may go now. Not that discernible of a pattern between remaining schools. Between USC and UNC, I'll take the East Coast team, North Carolina.

Christian Jones, LB - Too much family pressure to overcome to get Jones anywhere except Florida State. Same thing goes for Christian Green (nephew of FSU great E.G. Green).

Keenan Allen, ATH (athlete) - To be honest, I don't know much about this kid. He is considering PSU, Clemson, Cal, and Bama. Since he just recently switched from Alabama and distance is the most important factor (usually) in recruiting, I'm going with Clemson in a semi-upset over PSU.

Sean Parker, S - This CA kid is probably going to USC, but I'm bucking the trend and predicting Washington.

- Expect Florida State and Southern Cal to have big days. Expect Georgia, Oregon, and Auburn to have pretty awful days.

As always, the prime rule of recruiting is, "Never attempt to apply logic and sound reasoning to a 17 year old's decision."

Stay tuned throughout the day for updates.

Update - 11:00 AM - Had some computer problems earlier in the day. Nailed two of my predictions, even one of the ones I went out on a limb. Sean Parker to Washington, which seems to indicate Dietrich Riley (another S) to USC. Christian Jones, to no one's surprise, picks Florida State.

I was, however, wrong on Markeith Ambles, who is headed to Southern Cal over UT and UNC.

Kadron Boone decommits from TTech and goes to LSU. Curious because he didn't indicate any interest in LSU until Billy Gonzales left Florida.

Finally, big coup for Virginia as Morgan Moses stays with them. Think a guard version of D'Brickashaw Ferguson (in college).

Update - 12:45 PM - Cal is making huge moves replenishing their defense. First, they land Keenan Allen and hold onto Cecil Whiteside and Chris Martin. That represents a crowning piece from each portion of the defense. Big moves, especially considering the transition at USC and the lack of premier DL recruits for Oregon.

FSU lands Bjoern Werner, a solid pickup for them. Are they conceding Corey Lemonier to the Barners? Already landing Christian Jones was a fairly big deal. Their overall class is going to be boosted by the # of Nole legacies, but I cannot emphasize strongly enough THEY HAVE ZERO OFFENSIVE LINE COMMITMENTS RIGHT NOW, A POSITION THAT WAS NOT EXACTLY A STRONGHOLD FOR THEM.

James Stone signs with Tennessee. I'm betting he goes JUCO, in the end.

Update - 2:00 PM

Just noticed Corey Lemoiner and Calvin Smith opted against Florida State. Lemonier was quasi-expected; Smith was not. Shouldn't put too much of a damper on their class, though.

No sooner do I decry Oregon's lack of DL then do they turn around and snag Latuli "Ricky" Heimuli from Utah. Nice grab.

Update - 2:45 PM

Demar Dorsey to Michigan. Huge--Huh-YUGE--stunner.

Update and Final Thoughts - 6:30 PM

Dietrich Riley sticks with UCLA over USC. Very interesting development with USC losing out on two top safeties today, but I think Seantrel Henderson will make up for that.

Winners for the 2009-10 recruiting cycle:

Florida - Florida didn't really have much to gain today; their class has been pretty much set for about a month now. Landing Chaz Green today provided some O-Line depth, though I myself have doubts about if he can play OT at the next level. A complete overhaul of the D-Line was acquired (Easley, Floyd, Orr, and Powell--probably in that order, too, along the line) and Urban Meyer finally landed the premier back he was missing in Mack Brown, Jr.

Some have asked how this class will compare to the 2006 class, which had Tebow, Harvin, Spikes, et al. There's not another Tim Tebow QB or another Percy Harvin WR. But, the 2006 class did not have Ronald Powell, who I believe will be the best defensive player from either class, nor did they have anywhere near the potential in DTs that Easley, Floyd, and Orr provide. It is impossible to analyze a class completed with a class yet to play, so here's my best answer: 2010 offers more defensive potential whereas 2006 had greater offensive impact than this class might because those were the areas that needed the most overhauling.

Sorry to bother you non-Gator types, but we have made no reservations about liking Florida and that was my strong opinion.

Texas - Much like Florida, the defense is getting restocked in this year's class, only unlike previous years, they left the state to do it. That isn't to belittle any of the players from Texas, it's just rare that Texas pulls out of state kids not from the Breadbasket. Good on them to get Jordan Hicks.

Oklahoma - Tony Jefferson and Corey Nelson were coups for them, especially Nelson.

UCLA - What a day they had. Odighizuwa, Riley are added; Jordon James and Malcom Jones remain. They are definitely positioning themselves for a run at Lane Kiffin and USC, who didn't have too shabby of a day themselves.


A Good Class, But Fatally Flawed

Florida State - Jeff Luc, the overrated LaMarcus Joyner, and the Christians (Green/Jones) highlight a pretty good class on the whole for the Noles. They still didn't recruit any offensive lineman worth mentioning (and in fact, only 1 period). If they want to keep Ponder upright next year and E.J. Manuel doing well beyond that, they need to get some OL. Not that I'm wanting them to do well at all, but if I were them, I'd take note.

USC - Yes, I know I just mentioned they did well. However, Pete Carroll gift-wrapped this class on the way to Seattle. With the threat of sanctions pending, I'm not convinced Lane does any better than this present class during his stay in Pasadena. He wasn't exactly tearing it up over here and he doesn't have one of his key bag men, Eddie Gran, anymore.

Just Take 'em Out Back and Shoot 'em

Georgia - the death knell for the Pups has sounded. This is one of Richt's worst classes in his tenure in Athens. They had to package deal Xander Ogletree for his immensely more talented brother Alec (yes, their names are Alec and Xander). T.J. Stripling may have been the more overrated of him and UF signee Neiron Ball (whose brother plays/ed? at Georgia). Tragic though it may be, their chief OL signee Brent Benedict may never play again. Mark Richt has maybe another season before Athens collect calls alumni Muschamp and Smart.


I apologize for not getting as in-depth as I wanted to today, but I tried to make up for it in a little bit of analysis and predictions. Today, as far as NSDs go, was fairly tame, with Demar Dorsey to Michigan being the only real surprise. Seems as if the placating effect of Early Entries is now in full force. But, that's something we can talk about next year.