Very Little Suspense as Jadeveon Clowney Chooses South Carolina

Jadeveon Clowney walked out wearing garnet and black and, after a few long pauses, ended up choosing South Carolina. Somehow we were supposed to be shocked. No such luck.

Unfortunately, a day meant for love became moments of awkward pauses as ESPN made the young recruit wait to make his decision. You could clearly see how uncomfortable he was and it almost looked as if he was ready to get it over with and leave the stage.

Not that there was any suspense to the decision as Clowney came out wearing South Carolina colors. I'm not sure why ESPN was making him wait as the suspense was already over with from the moment he walked out.

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.

National Signing Day: Michigan's Brady Hoke Surprises Everyone

A first year coach isn't supposed to be this good. He's not supposed to come in to a new job, hit the ground running, and surprise everyone on one of the biggest days in a coach's life.

For Brady Hoke, that's exactly what he did. For those that doubted the man that was hired by the University of Michigan from San Diego State may not be doubting him much longer.

When a first year coach, especially one that most would say isn't proven in big time college football, signs 20 high school recruits to letters of intent people tend to stand up and take notice. If you haven't, shame on you.

During his first press conference after being named the new head coach, he said all the right things and responded in all the right ways to get fans believing in this program again. After that, it was up to him to show that he was up to the challenge. So far, he's responded just fine.

He turned around an Aztec football program that had been a joke since Marshall Faulk left the red and black. In 2010, Hoke led them to their best record in quite some time. Not only that, but he had one of the best running backs not only in the conference but some might argue he's one of the best in the nation, Ronnie Hillman.

The Aztecs became a team to be respected. They were a team that everyone in the Mountain West took seriously and a team that should have knocked out Missouri who was ranked in the top 15 at the time. Though, thanks to poor defense, the game slipped away in the final minutes.

Though Hoke had a short tenure at San Diego State, he left a legacy that new head coach Rocky Long will have to live up to. Where Hoke goes from here at Michigan will be up to the players that were left behind with the firing of Rich Rodriguez and those brought in on National Signing Day in February of 2011.

There's still lots to do with the Wolverine football program, that much is for sure. But if today is any indication on just how good this new head coach can be, the fans and alumni will have a lot to celebrate next season.

Don't ever count out a first year coach unless he proves otherwise. Hoke hit the ground running and he's proving that he's ready for whatever challenges might be thrown his way.

Look out Big Ten, there's a new sheriff in town.

National Signing Day: Which Hat Will They Choose?

College football readies for one of their biggest day of the off season. National Signing Day.

It's the day where the top recruits in the country sit at a long folding table, presumably with their parents, in front of three or four hats representing their college choices and several microphones from local television and radio stations.

When the moment comes, they pick their school by putting on the hat of their choice to a loud applause from approve friends and family.

There are already several players from around the country that have already made their choices and have given their verbal commitments.

For the rest, it comes down to having the spotlight for those five or 10 minutes depending on how long the networks want to cover each event. There's no doubt that ESPN will have a lot of those decisions live and if you don't have access to watch television while you're at work, there are several big time internet services that you can check as each decision comes down.

If you're used to hanging out on my blog, go head over to National Football Authority as I'll do my best to keep you updated as each decision comes down and bring you my thoughts on each player, who they signed with, any shockers that might happen, the winners, the losers, and everything in between.

Here are a list of the top 15 players that are expected to make their decision during National Signing Day, the finalists they're choosing from, and where they're expected to commit.

One player that isn't on this list, Jadeveon Clowney, a player that is listed as the number one prospect in the country by Rivals.com, isn't expected to make his decision until February 14th.

Curtis Grant - Linebacker (Richmond, VA)
Finalists: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio State, Virginia
Predicted: Ohio State

Cyrus Kouandjio - Offensive Tackle (Hyattsville, MD)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Iowa, Miami, New Mexico, USC
Predicted: Alabama

Tony Stewart - Outside Linebacker (St. Augustine, FL)
Finalists: Florida State, Clemson
Predicted: Florida State

Isaiah Crowell - Running back (Columbus, GA)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Georgia
Predicted: Georgia

Stephone Anthony - Outside Linebacker (Wadesboro, NC)
Finalists: Clemson, Florida, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech
Predicted: Clemson

Timmy Jernigan - Defensive Tackle (Lake City, FL)
Finalists: Florida State, LSU, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee
Predicted: Florida

Marqise Lee - Athlete (Gardena, CA)
Finalists: USC, Cal, Oregon, Miami
Predicted: USC

Marcus Roberson - Cornerback (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
Finalists: Florida, Auburn, Georgia, USC, Texas Tech
Predicted: Has already verbally committed to Texas Tech but still considering four other schools

Lamar Dawson - Inside Linebacker (Danville, KY)
Finalists: Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, UCF, USC
Predicted: Tennessee

Nickolas Brassell - Wide Receiver (Batesville, MD)
Finalists: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama
Predicted: Ole Miss

Aundrey Walker - Offensive Guard (Cleveland, OH)
Finalists: Michigan State, USC, Ohio State, Florida State, Wisconsin
Predicted: Ohio State

Erique Florence - Safety (Valley, AL)
Finalists: USC, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Cincinnati
Predicted: Auburn

Antonio Richardson - Offensive Tackle (Nashville, TN)
Finalists: Tennessee, Miami, Auburn, Georgia, USC, LSU
Predicted: Tennessee

Jacoby Brissett - Quarterback (West Palm Beach, FL)
Finalists: Florida, Miami, North Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin
Predicted: Miami

There will be many more decisons made by some of the top high school recruits in the country but these 15 are going to be the ones that are talked about the most leading up to their decisions and even after they've made their choice.

If you're a big college football fan, you should love this time of year.