FanHouse Signingday

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 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 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 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.

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."

Tennessee receiver Marlon Brown has done the unthinkable in spurning the home state Volunteers to play for Mark Richt and the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The six-foot-five receiver was widely regarded among the nation's best, with an excellent combination of speed, hands and leaping ability.

His offer sheet included nearly every top national program before he narrowed things down to Florida, Ohio State, Tennessee and eventual pick Georgia. Asked by ESPNU to explain his decision, Brown cited Georgia's ability to get young receivers up to speed. The 'Dawgs clearly have a solid record of that lately, as A.J. Green was among the SEC's best receivers as a true freshman last year.

Provo, Utah offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo has chosen to play football at UCLA. Su'a Filo selected the Bruins over suitors Utah, BYU, USC and LSU. His decision was yet another in a day of surprises, as many had expected him to end up with the home state Utes, who were last seen thrashing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

As one of the last remaining uncommitted offensive linemen, Su'a-Filo's stock has continued to rise, and no school came close to needing him as much as UCLA.

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.

Whenever you are dealing with young kids, you're going to experience some difficulties in decision-making. Plenty of adults have issues with commitment, so kids are bound to have the occasional change of heart. I've never thought it was a terribly big deal when it happened, but it seems to be grounds for assault when a teenage athlete changes his/her mind on a college choice. One of those who has made that change on Signing Day is Kraig Appleton, a wide receiver from East St. Louis, Illinois. YouTube of his skillz is after the jump.