FanHouse NationalSigningDay

So you want to know how over-the-top college football recruiting has become, how utterly insane it is these days? Allow me to present the case of Bryce Brown.

Arguably the top prep prospect in the entire country, Brown verbally committed to Miami a year ago, but told The U. that he would still visit his other college options. He did so, putting together a list that included Oregon, Kansas State, Tennessee, USC and Auburn.

Then on signing day, with all those teams holding their breath, Brown signed with ... no one. And here's the kicker: He may not wind up at any of those places, according to his "manager" Brian Butler -- instead opting for a professional contract in the Canadian Football League.

College 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.

Some decisions are easier than others. What to eat for breakfast. Which roads you'll take to work that day. Which college you're going to sign with for the next four years of your life.

Wait, what? Ka'lial Glaud, a linebacker from Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township, was struggling with his decision to pick a school in the waning minutes of signing day, so he did what any logical three-star recruit would do -- let a coin decide.

His principal jokingly gave him a quarter to help him along. But it was no joke to Glaud, who decided it would be West Virginia if it was heads and Rutgers if it was tails.

"Tails came up, so that's when I decided Rutgers," Glaud told the Courier-Post of Camden, N.J. "I didn't know where I was going to go."

When prospect DeAngelo Benton announced on Tuesday night that he would sign with LSU, it apparently did not sit well with stud wide receiver recruit Rueben Randle. Mere hours before signing day started, Randle -- long considered an LSU lock -- told a reporter that he may not commit to any school on Wednesday.

"When I get home, I'm going to sit down with my family and talk about it. Then I'll decide whether I'm going to sign (Wednesday) or not," Randle told the Bastrop Daily Enterprise before baseball practice today.

I guess Randle cooled off after baseball practice, because he wound up signing with LSU anyway.

The biggest football recruit in the history of the state of Hawaii -- Manti Te'o -- has chosen to play football for Charlie Weis and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish beat out USC and UCLA for Te'o's services after he dropped the favored BYU Cougars from his list after a visit several weeks ago. Te'o is a 6'2", 225-pound middle linebacker long considered one of the nation's top prospects.

If Vontaze Burfict wasn't the nation's top linebacker, Te'o was, and both spurned longtime favorites USC on signing day.

Dre Kirkpatrick, a consensus five-star guy and arguably the best cornerback prospect in the nation, moved Alabama one step closer to the mythical recruiting title by signing with the Tide. That sentence implies a bit that the whole process was cut-and-dry -- that Kirkpatrick sat down at a table, quietly signed his letter of intent and went on his way. False.

Kirkpatrick, the nation's top cornerback, delighted the crowd in Gadsden City by setting up a Texas and Alabama hat. Then looked at the UT hat and said, "This hat right here. It don't have enough swagger." ... So he pulled out a gym bag, asked his mom to open it up, pulled out a wrapped present, opened it, pulled out a bag, opened that, then looked out at the crowd and said, 'Y'all ready?" ... "Alabama."

Rich Rodriguez may have lost out on a couple of defensive prospects, but the snake-oily wizard pulled an offensive star out of his hat, securing wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes from Philadelphia.

Stokes' recruitment underwent a whirlwind of activity that had as many as four schools -- Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois and Michigan -- thinking they had a great shot at him. In fact, Stokes was originally a Volunteer commit until Philip Fulmer's untimely exit. When that happened, Stokes reopened his recruitment.

When prospect DeAngelo Benton announced on Tuesday night that he would sign with LSU, it apparently did not sit well with stud wide receiver recruit Rueben Randle. Mere hours before signing day started, Randle -- long considered an LSU lock -- told a reporter that he may not commit to any school on Wednesday.

"When I get home, I'm going to sit down with my family and talk about it. Then I'll decide whether I'm going to sign (Wednesday) or not," Randle told the Bastrop Daily Enterprise before baseball practice today.

I guess Randle cooled off after baseball practice, because he wound up signing with LSU anyway.

Considering Michigan went 3-9 last season, Rich Rodriguez has a pretty impressive class rolling into Ann Arbor. It's not as strong as it could be, though. Defensive tackle DeQuinta Jones -- once a Michigan commit -- reportedly signed his letter of intent with Arkansas.

Jones is the second potential Wolverine to say "No thanks" and head elsewhere on signing day. Earlier, Pearlie Graves, another defensive lineman, eschewed Michigan for Texas Tech.