Wednesday, February 2, 2011

National Signing Day: Wrapping up the Western Athletic Conference



The Western Athletic Conference will have their final National Signing Day the way the conference used to look.

Boise State has already departed for the Mountain West and this will be the final season for Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii who will also move to the MWC after the conclusion of the 2011 college football season.

That being said, we can still talk about how the day went for the conference as a whole and who had the best day. While there may not have been big surprises, the team atop the conference rankings might surprise you.

How about Louisana Tech. That's right, according to the Scout.com rankings the Bulldogs came in first after the day was said and done. They may have been the only bright spot in a conference that finished second to last in the rankings just in front of the Sun Belt.

Ouch.

Here's a breakdown on how Scout.com saw the conference shaking out on National Signing Day and we'll look at a few of the top players from each team in the conference.

Louisiana Tech: 25 total commits (13 HS, 12 JC) Offense: 13 Defense: 12

Beau Fitte - Outside Linebacker (Port Sulphur, LA) ***
Also offered by: LSU

Malcolm Pichon - Defensive Tackle (Slidell, LA) ***
Also offered by: Louisiana-Monroe, SMU and Memphis

Quitton Patton - Wide Receiver (Coffeyville, KS) ***
Also offered by: Troy, South Florida


Fresno State: 18 total commits (18 HS 0 JC) Offense: 6 Defense: 12

Charles Washington - Safety (Encino, CA) ***
Also offered by: Iowa State, New Mexico State, Wyoming

Donavon Lewis - Outside Linebacker (Fresno, CA) ***
Also offered by: Nevada, San Jose State, Washington State

Ejiro Ederaine - Outside Linebacker (Corona, CA) ***
Also offered by: San Jose State


Hawaii: 18 total commits (14 HS 4 JC) Offense: 6 Defense: 12

Ellis Henderson - Cornerback (Vancouver, WA) ***
Also offered by: Hawaii, Air Force, Idaho, New Mexico State, Washington State

Tigi Hill - Safety (Kahuku, HI) ***
Also offered by: Utah State

Brian Clay - Cornerback (Vacaville, CA) ***
Also offered by: Army, Colorado State, UC San Diego, San Jose State, Utah State


Utah State: 22 total commits (8 HS 14 JC) Offense: 9 Defense: 12

Chuck Keeton - Quarterback (Houston, TX) ***
Also offered by: Air Force, Bryant, Memphis, Rice

Peni Vea - Safety (Kailua Kona, HI) ***
Also offered by: Idaho

Bojay Filimoeatu - Defensive End (Walnut, CA) ***
Also offered by: Florida International, Iowa State, Nevada


Nevada: 17 total commits (13 HS 4 JC) Offense: 7 Defense: 10

Burton DeKoning - Outside Linebacker (Folsom, CA) ***
Also offered by: Cal Poly, Fresno State, Utah State

Reggie Coates - Defensive End (Encino, CA) ***
Also offered by: Colorado State, Iowa State, San Diego State, Washington

Jeffrey Lark - Safety (North Brigton, ME) ***
Also offered by: Arkansas, LSU, Purdue


Idaho: 23 total commits (16 HS 7 JC) Offense: 11 Defense: 12

Marquan Major - Wide Receiver (Las Vegas, NV) ***
Also offered by: UNLV

Solomon Dixon - Cornerback (Honolulu, HI) **
Also offered by: none

Cameron McKernan - Wide Receiver (Kent, WA) **
Also offered by: Air Force, Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, Portland State, Wyoming


San Jose State: 21 total commits (16 HS 5 JC) Offense: 10 Defense: 11

Joseph Gray - Quarterback (Los Angeles, CA) ***
Also offered by: Washington

Mercy Maston - Cornerback (Bakersfield, CA) ***
Also offered by: Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, UCLA, Washington State

Tyler Ervin - Running Back (Colton, CA) **
Also offered by: Idaho


New Mexico State: 23 total commits (14 HS 9 JC) Offense: 13 Defense: 10

Kemonte Bateman - Wide Receiver (Pasadena, CA) ***
Also offered by: none

Valerian Ume-Ezeoke - Center (Garland, TX) **
Also offered by: none

Austin Franklin - Safety (Dallas, TX) **
Also offered by: Utah State


Only three WAC teams would finish in the top 100 in recruiting when this day came to a close. Louisiana Tech finished 85th, Fresno State was tied for 88th and Hawaii finished in the 90th spot. The rest of the conference finished anywhere from 105th to 119th.

Imagine this if you will. The conference that finished second to last among Division-I football conferences. After the departure of Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii, they may be in the very bottom of the totum poll this time next year.

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