National Signing Day is never short on fireworks or theatrics, and the 2011 class delivered just the same. From pulling out a puppy to fax machine webcams, the start of the signing period turns into a bigger circus every season. It’s time to rank the top 10 headlines, bizarre moments and downright head scratching scenes of National Signing Day 2011:
1.) The Cyrus Kouandjio Circus Continues…
Around Noon Eastern Time at Dematha Catholic High in Hyattsville, Md., consensus No. 1 offensive line recruit Cyrus Kouandjio was set to make his college decision. His choices were narrowed down to Alabama, Auburn and New Mexico. Yes, the Lobos. So what was his choice? Auburn. Or so the nation thought. Kouandjio, who had made the declaration live on ESPNU never signed or faxed through his letter of intent to the Auburn coaches. Hours went by, still no letter. Turns out, the sound of Auburn coming out of his mouth just didn’t feel right. Second thoughts have apparently taken Kouandjio over and now Iowa has re-entered the lottery. The decision, and Fax, still waits to be finalized.
2.) Fax Machine Webcams…
Did continuously hitting the refresh button on your favorite team's fan page just not feel like enough yesterday? Feel like you were still missing out on something? The five minute delays just kill you? If your favorite school is Alabama or Washington, you probably didn’t face any of those problems. That’s because live webcams were set up on fax machines in the athletic department offices of both schools. Live feed of players faxing their letters of intent could be witnessed. Rolltide.com and Washington Head Coach Steve Sarkisian’s Facebook page became hot hits by football fans. Alabama even took it a step further; having a Tide cheerleader, apparently wearing a seven year olds uniform, take the faxes from the machine. Classy.
3.) Forgery From a Mom…
Imagine the delight Houston Nutt and the Ole Miss coaching staff felt when one of their top recruits, Reserve, La., defensive back Floyd Raven, faxed through his letter of intent Wednesday morning. Only there was a problem. The coaches couldn’t read part of the fax, so they called Raven to have him fax it again. Then there was another problem. Raven didn’t fax Ole Miss the first time and he had no intentions of going to Ole Miss or sending his papers through, let alone a second time. Turns out, it was Raven’s mom who faxed through his papers, almost dropping a fatal mistake on her son’s college football career. Raven told the coaches the situation and later signed with his choice, Texas A&M. In the end, Raven insists he never told his mom he changed his mind on Ole Miss and that his mom was just trying to help him out. That was a close one.
4.) Props at Carver High…
Lining up a row of college hats or unzipping a jacket to reveal a spirited tie wasn’t enough for a pair of highly regarded products of Columbus, Ga., Carver High. No, they needed to take it a step further. A bit of planning went into the decisions of running back Isaiah Crowell and defensive tackle Gabe Wright. Crowell went first, deciding to be a Bulldog and head to Georgia . Dropping the hat on his noggin wasn’t the end, though. Crowell was then handed a Bulldog puppy, identical to Georgia’s “Uga” mascot. Then it was Wright’s turn, as he pulled out an Auburn hat, flipping it backwards on his head so cameras and fans watching could read the inscription “Nick Who.”At first ESPN personnel thought the hat was a blow at Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban. Turns out, it was a gimmick pointed toward past Auburn defensive tackle and Lombardi Winner Nick Fairley. Fairley later said he liked it, but enough with the gimmicks, guys.
5.) Black Mamba Bites USC…
The Black Mamba slithered away from USC. Oh think of the word plays one could come up with here. DeAnthony Thomas, AKA the “Black Mamba,” is one of the nation’s top athletes and considered a five star corner and running back from Crenshaw High in Los Angeles. He was also a longtime USC commit. Long as in year long. That didn’t matter come signing day, though, as Thomas turned down his hometown school for greener pastors, literally. He took the podium to make his announcement Wednesday night wearing a 12-0 green Oregon Ducks shirt. After a weekend visit to Oregon just before Signing Day, the Crenshaw product was flipped. Can you blame him, though? A visit to Oregon is like going to the Disney Land of Nike products.
6.) Snow Storm Effects Signing Day…
Mother nature apparently wanted to be involved in Signing Day 2011. The massive snow storm that dumped up to 20 inches of snow in some towns across the Southwest, Midwest and Northeast had a major effect on fax machines all across the US, like in Chicago, left. Typically recruits sign their letters of intent at their schools, then using the school’s fax machine to send through the papers. What happens if half the schools in the country are shut down, on the one day a year these kids actually want to head to school, though? Problem solving, that’s what. Austin Beck, a massive 6-foot-8, 300-pound offensive tackle from Nowata, Okla., hopped on a tractor in his hometown to find a fax machine, plowing through the snow to get his letter of intent to Arkansas. Others made their way to churches and local Kinko’s, because who really has a fax machine anymore? The NCAA even allowed photo copies of signed letters to be emailed to coaches.
7.) Herbstreit Hates The Tricks…
ESPN college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit is widely respected for his views and opinions in the college football world. Most are quite positive. So to see Herbie get worked up on National Signing Day, was quite a shock. Like most, though, Herbstreit is fed up with the self centeredness surrounding Signing Day. Minutes after Crowell and Wright pulled tricks out of their hat, ESPNU brought Herbstreit on for a quick word. He wasn’t shy to give his opinion either, stating he was fed up with the Signing Day fireworks, calling it an “epidemic in college football,” and stating “I’ve never seen more guys that are self centered.” His message to all of the football recruits thinking of walking into their new schools with oversized heads: “Check your ego at the door.” Personally, I can’t agree more with Herbstreit.
8.) CBS College Sports Has Rich Rod Interview Brady Hoke…
Awkward moments don’t get really any worse than having to interview the man who stole your job. That was the case Wednesday, when guest analyst on CBS College Sports Signing Day show and former Michigan Head Football Coach, Rich Rodriguez, was forced into asking Michigan’s new man about technically both of theirs recruiting class. Current Michigan Head Coach, Brady Hoke, joined the program over the phone, but Rich Rod was forced to hold a solid pose in the studio. Talk about awkward.
9.) Urban Meyer Has a Root Beer!…
It’s hard to tell if ESPN was running low on story topics or they were just trying to fill some time, but Urban Meyer having his first root beer in 15 years became a pretty big story around the ESPN studios. ESPNU host Lowell Galindo insisted on bringing up the story multiple times, even. When it was learned that the new Michigan coaching staff was celebrating the signing class with pizza, salad and root beer, the studio erupted in laughter. This may be the biggest head scratching moment of the day. They treated it like Meyer just downed a pint of scotch on the set, more than he just had a root beer. I can’t remember my last root beer, but I know I’m going to make a scene when I have one next.
10.) Coaches Still Can’t Count…
Go ahead, give USC a bunch of praise for their recruiting class. For pulling in eight guys on Signing Day. Also know that they oversigned by 14 recruits, though, pending the appeal of the number of scholarships USC is allowed. I’ve touched on oversiging in the past, in a Growing Problem in College Football article. You can get this gist there. Long story short, school’s giving out more scholarships than they actually have. The biggest culprits in the big schools of the 2011 class? USC takes the prize at +14. Granted not all will make it in, or others on the roster may transfer, but it still doesn’t make it right. The others are LSU and Arkansas at +11. Alabama at +9, Ole Miss at +12 and South Carolina at +6, to name a few. Anything seem similar about these schools? Clemson brought in a great class, had a huge signing day. Yeah, and they oversigned by seven. Hats off to two big schools: Florida and Auburn, for both undersigning by one. They could both be waiting on a select couple of players to make the call, but they’d still hit even. No surprise Florida undersigned, after the stink UF President J. Bernard Machen made over the matter.
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