History has proven that the coach that ends up hoisting the crystal football designating his team the BCS National Champion typically reaps the recruiting rewards from that football's shine 13 months afterward in the following year's recruiting class.Not so for Auburn on Wednesday's annual National Signing Day, as coach Gene Chizik and the Tigers took full advantage of their BCS title wealth by raking in 24 top-flight recruits and potentially stealing a five-star lineman from their arch-rival.
"It's a great day for Auburn football," Chizik said. "But this is just another brick in our foundation. We are not there yet. We have not arrived."
Auburn's Wednesday began with a pleasant surprise when four-star DB Erique Florence (6-2, 181, Valley, Ala., HS) chose the Tigers over Southern Cal on national television. The Tigers also received a NSD letter faxed from five-star LB Kris Frost (6-3, 210, Matthews, N.C., Butler HS) upholding his commitment offered just eight days after Auburn downed Oregon, 22-19, in the BCS National Championship Game.
Signed letters-of-intent followed from OT Christian Westerman (6-5, 288, Chandler, Ariz., Hamilton HS) who had switched from Texas to the Tigers on Jan. 21, and C Reese Dismukes (6-4, 287, Spanish Fort, Ala., HS) who was an early Auburn commitment.
"We're looking for the right fit, the right guy. We don't care about the stars or what they're rated," Chizik said. "We feel like we scratched all the right itches. We started with our offensive and defensive lines, which was huge for us. I feel like we did a great job with that.
"As we know in this league, offensive and defensive lines are where it starts."
-- Auburn coach Gene Chizik "As we know in this league, offensive and defensive lines are where it starts."
Chizik and the Tigers looked like it really hit the big-man lottery during the lunch hour when five-star OT Cyrus Kouandjio (6-7, 322, Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha HS), committed to Auburn over Alabama. Kouandjio, who was considered the best offensive lineman in the country, appeared ready to sign his letter, but then opted to postpone actually signing -- throwing his eventual destination into question.
Chizik would not comment on Kouandjio at his news conference, saying "I'm only going to talk about the ones we've got paperwork in and signed."
Although Alabama was still hanging onto the hopes of landing the younger Kouandjio (and pairing him with older brother Arie on the Tide's offensive line), Nick Saban and his staff did manage to wrest away a player thought to be in Auburn's corner.
Four-star RB/LB Brent Calloway (6-1, 210, Russellville, Ala., HS) changed his mind for the third time in less than a month, as the one-time Alabama and Auburn commitment eventually signed with the Crimson Tide. While Calloway was Alabama's 21st signee of 2011, that number could grow by one should the nation's consensus No. 1 athlete -- DE Jadeveon Clowney (6-6, 247, Rock Hill, S.C., South Pointe HS) -- decide on the Tide over South Carolina when he signs on Feb. 14 (his 18th birthday).
"I had a lot of time to sit back and meditate and put myself in a position to ask 'Where would I be more successful?' Calloway said. "I looked at the background, tradition and everything that would help me as an athlete and a student. Auburn is a great school. But Alabama is a better fit."
The "other" school in South Carolina also had a banner recruiting day, as coach Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers motored up everyone's recruiting rankings with one signing after another.
Clemson landed two five-star linebackers Wednesday as part of a stellar closing stretch, signing Stephone Anthony (6-3, 220, Wadesboro, N.C., Anson HS) and Tony Steward (6-2, 225, St. Augustine, Fla., Pedro Menendez HS) -- giving the Tigers four of the nation's Top 25 recruits according to Rivals.com.
Anthony and Steward join fellow five-stars RB Mike Bellamy (5-10, 185, Punta Gorda, Fla., Charlotte HS) and WR Sammy Watkins, Jr. (6-1, 180, Fort Myers, Fla., South Fort Myers HS) in a class that was expected to trail Florida State by a considerable margin in the conference.
Clemson traditionally is able to attract high-caliber recruits, but its NSD 2011 efforts are particularly impressive given a 6-7 on-field performance in 2010 that included losses in three of the final four games.
Clemson also landed a surprise OL on Wednesday, as Spencer Region (6-6, 330, Cullman, Ala., HS) spurned offers from Alabama and Auburn to sign with Swinney. That gave Clemson 29 signees in all.Although Clemson moved up the most Wednesday, ACC rival Florida State continued its stranglehold on the Sunshine State and beyond. Coach Jimbo Fisher signed 28 new Seminoles, led by four-star DT Timmy Jernigan (6-2, 275, Lake City, Fla., Columbia HS).
"Florida State was recruiting me when I was in eighth grade," Jernigan said. "My relationship with (FSU defensive line coach) Odell Haggans over there has been strong, and even though I grew up a Gator fan, God works in mysterious ways. I followed my heart, and my heart is in Tallahassee."
Jernigan joins five-star RB James Wilder Jr. (6-2, 219, Tampa, Fla., Plant HS) and five-star DB Karlos Williams (6-2, 210, Davenport, Fla., Ridge HS) as the Seminoles' most prized recruits.
"Everyone says we're No. 1, No. 2, No. 3. That wasn't what was important to me," Fisher said. "We got the guys we went after, that we evaluated and the guys we thought we needed for this team and organization to move forward."
In one of the more interesting developments Wednesday, Southern Cal continued to thumb its nose at potentially crippling NCAA scholarship restrictions by signing a whopping 30 future Trojans.
Coach Lane Kiffin and ace recruiter Ed Orgeron landed five-star WR George Farmer (6-2, 192, Gardena, Calif., Junipero Serra HS) and also beat out several Pac-10 schools for the services of DT Christian Heyward (6-2, 269, San Diego, Calif., Point Loma HS). But the Trojans lost out on five-star ATH De'Anthony Thomas (5-9, 160, Los Angeles, Calif., Crenshaw HS), who switched his commitment late Wednesday night to Oregon.
That Southern Cal is able to sign a jumbo class chock full of potential future NFL talent is a testament to the recruiting prowess of Kiffin and Orgeron, as well as a loophole in NCAA rules.
Southern Cal was docked a total of 30 football scholarships spread over three seasons as part of a punishment that also included a two-year bowl ban and four years of probation -- the latter two elements the Trojans began abiding to in 2010. But because USC appealed the sanctions brought forth from improprieties stemming from Reggie Bush's tenure at the school, and the NCAA has yet to rule on that appeal, the scholarship reductions have yet to take effect.
Although Texas lost out on Westerman, the Longhorns excelled again on the recruiting trail, finishing with a 22-signee class that is headlined by five-star RB Malcolm Brown (6-0, 220, Cibolo, Texas, Steele HS).
Georgia also closed strong under coach Mark Richt, virtually closing the state's borders for 25 signees that included five-star RB Isaiah Crowell (5-11, 210, Columbus, Ga., Carver HS) and five-star DE Ray Drew (6-5, 243, Thomasville, Ga., Thomas County Central HS). Only six of the future Bulldogs hail from outside Georgia.
Notre Dame turned in its usual Top-10 recruiting class, signing 23 players that included bookend defensive ends in five-star Stephon Tuitt (6-5, 260, Monroe, Ga., Monroe Area HS) and five-star Ishaq Williams (6-6, 230, Brooklyn, N.Y., Abraham Lincoln HS).
Coach Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes also fared well on National Signing Day, landing 23 future Buckeyes highlighted by five-star LB Curtis Grant (6-3, 222, Richmond, Va., Hermitage HS)
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