Jan. 31, 2006

From CSTV.com Staff Reports

> CSTV.com's National Signing Day Coverage

If the Class of 2006 were to form a Rock 'n Roll band it would be called the De-Commitments.

With National Signing Day upon us Wednesday, the talk is about who's not going where instead of what schools the top prep prospects will be attending.

A increasing trend in the recent past has seen the floodgates open as prized prospects such as QB Mitch Mustain, DB Jai Eugene, WR Damian Williams, DL Marcus Tillman and lineman Antonio Logan-El led a group that all reneged on verbal commitments. Mustain eventually decided to stick with Arkanas but the remaining switches have led to one of the most anticipated signing days in years.

Two Top 10 players on CSTV recruiting expert Tom Lemming's Top 100 will announce their destinations today. They are No. 4 Gerald McCoy, a 6-5, 300-pound defensive lineman from Oklahoma City and No. 8 Andre Smith, a 6-5, 320-pound defensive lineman from Birmingham, Al.

Two players on the fringe of the Top 10, Nos. 11 and 12, RBs LeSean McCoy (6-0, 208, Harrisburg, Pa) and C.J. Spiller (5-11, 180, Lake Butler Union County, Fl) are also expected to declare. McCoy began the year as the No. 1 player on the list but lost the spot when he broke his right ankle early in the season and will spend next year at prep school.

Heading into Signing Day, Lemming has Urban Meyer and Florida leading the way with the strongest class. The Gators have not been immune to the de-commitment bug as Williams opted to attend Arkansas rather than go to school in Gainesville and there is speculation that another WR Damon McDaniel might opt to go to school elsewhere. Still, with a class that is led by QB Tim Tebow and WR Percy Harvin, the Gators are loaded and lead the way.

Charlie Weis has Notre Dame in the second slot. The Irish have come away with 16 of the Top 200 players on Lemming's overall list, a tremendous haul. Next up is Pete Carroll and USC. The Trojans won't have strength in numbers this season, as they have signed the smallest class of all the top schools going into Wednesday. What they have, as always, is talent: the Trojans' Top 10 players are better than anyone else's.

Rounding out the Top Five are national champion Texas and Penn State. Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions return to the upper echelon of classes for the first time in many years. A strong group became even stronger when QB Pat Devlin switched off his verbal to Miami to go to school in Happy Valley. Another top player to keep an eye on is WR Vidal Hazelton, who has a verbal to USC but speculation has him opting out, possibly for Penn State.

Louisiana State is currently at six, but Les Miles' Tigers could be on the move, having benefited from the change of mind by Jai Eugene. The topflight DB had a verbal into Michigan but audibled to Baton Rouge on Monday.

Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma round out the Top 10.

For all the drama and glory Wednesday, tune into the CSTV Signing Day Special from 4-7 EST on Wednesday and keep checking CSTV.com for all the recent commitments and news.