Today’s the day. Today’s the day where paper hits pen ““ today’s the day faxes become relevant again.
It’s the day when coaches will chest-bump one minute and punch a wall the next. It’s the day when lives can be changed by a simple text. That’s enough rhyming for one column.
Today is National Signing Day.
Today, all major high school football players will sign their letter of intent to register, fax it to the coaches and officially bind themselves to a university.
In recent years, National Signing Day was one of the few bright spots for UCLA, as former coach Rick Neuheisel habitually reeled in top prospects on the last day of the recruiting cycle.
With Neuheisel gone, there was a fear that recruiting might drop off because UCLA brought in a lifelong “NFL guy” in Jim Mora. All fear is now gone.
Mora and his staff have made major waves across the nation, bringing in elite players such as five-star defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy from Monrovia High School and four-star quarterback Devin Fuller all the way from New Jersey.
UCLA’s current class is ranked No. 11 overall by Scout and No. 13 by Rivals as of Tuesday night; only eight of the Bruins’ current commits were rollovers from the Neuheisel era.
There are currently 24 commitments in the class, but it’s safe to say that the current group will not be the same when all is said and done.
Why, you ask? Here’s an anecdote for those who don’t follow the recruiting scene.
Last year, three-star offensive tackle Torian White out of Lakewood High was a longtime UCLA commit dating all the way back to the summer before his senior year. During the season, he was given an offer by USC, throwing a wrench into his recruitment.
He took official visits to both schools and set up an online video announcement where he would announce his final decision to the world.
White gave a nice speech thanking his family and both coaching staffs for the opportunity to be recruited before finally reaching for the crimson with gold lettering, signifying he had chosen USC.
This was not the first signing day flip, nor will it be the last, but what made Torian White’s case interesting was the fact that USC never received a fax from the mammoth tackle.
Some say that White’s little brother gave away White’s true feelings during the announcement, but on the car ride home, White told his parents he wanted to go to UCLA. That was where his heart was and when he arrived home, he sent in his letter of intent to UCLA.
That’s National Signing Day. It is both the most wonderful, frustrating and confusing time of the year, and it is here once again.
While UCLA only has 18 available spots for this class, the Bruins are expected to sign close to 30 prospects.
Of the available recruits, the most highly touted is five-star wide receiver Bryce Treggs from St. John Bosco High School. Treggs has been committed to California for months now and was once a major advocate for other recruits joining him in Berkeley.
As it works with all football recruiting, things change. Several coaches left Cal, including Treggs’ wide receivers coach, while UCLA hired Eric Yarber as its wide receivers coach. Conveniently, Yarber is Treggs’ self-proclaimed “favorite coach.”
Treggs actually reminds me of White just a year ago, whose head told him to do one thing, but his heart another.
Other prospects include four-star defensive lineman Aziz Shittu, linebacker Seth Jacobs, cornerback Randall Goforth and wide receivers Kenny Walker and Javon Williams.
Chances are UCLA will land only one or two of these prospects, but nothing is out of the question at this point. Not today ““ today is National Signing Day.