New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer showed that a year away from coaching didn't hurt his ability to recruit. Meanwhile, Meyer's old school, Florida, followed a mediocre season with a promising signing day - despite having Southern California pluck a couple of blue-chippers from Gator country.
Missouri didn't need to leave the state to make the biggest grab of all on signing day, getting a letter of intent from the nation's most celebrated prospect, receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, from Springfield, Mo.
In Tuscaloosa, Ala., there were no surprises for the national champion Crimson Tide. And that was a good thing because Saban and his staff had already lined up a class that most of the analysts had ranked as either the best in the nation or very close to it.
"There was little intrigue or drama to this class," said Allen Wallace of SuperPrep Magazine.
No, just talent.
The Tide swept through the South to reload with 26 signees. Alabama went to Baltimore to get wide receiver Cyrus Jones, down to Lynchburg, Va., for defensive tackle Korren Kirven - one of the few late additions - scooped up eight players from Georgia, three from Florida, picked up a quarterback, Alec Morris, from Texas, and even dipped into LSU territory to grab highly touted safety Landon Collins from Geismar, La.
Collins' selection of Alabama over LSU last month on national TV was memorable for his mother's vocal disapproval ("Tigers No. 1," she said, eyes rolling at her son's choice). Yesterday, with Mom by his side, Collins signed his letter of intent.
Considering Meyer's track record, simply having him on Ohio State's side was probably all the advantage the Buckeyes needed. Meyer's class was a consensus top-five, loaded with defensive linemen, including Noah Spence from Harrisburg, Pa., and Adolphus Washington from Cincinnati. The Buckeyes got a late boost when offensive tackle Kyle Dodson, from Cleveland, switched from Wisconsin to Ohio State yesterday.
"We had to have him," Meyer said of Dodson.
Dodson was one of at least a half dozen players who switched commitments to play for Meyer.
