National Signing Day needs to go.
Recruiting lasts year round. It never stops.
Players change their cell phone numbers and waste hours talking to reporters. That time would be better spent trying to get a prom date.
For a day, though, recruiting takes over the airwaves.
ESPN emanated from Florida’s campus and ran nearly 12 hours of programming about recruiting on Wednesday.
Coach Will Muschamp held a news conference to comment on UF’s 27 new players. Seven have been on campus since January.
Rankings are finalized and hats are chosen.
The pageantry has reached a new level.
Former Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell brought a bulldog puppy on stage during his signing in 2011.
After a felony weapons charge, he plays for Alabama State.
There’s the problem with recruiting.
Half of Florida’s 2011 class has either transferred or stopped playing.
A third of the 2010 class suffered the same fate.
Nobody remembers when a kid signed a letter. They do remember the touchdowns he scored or the tackles he made.
Unfortunately, NSD excess is here to stay for one reason: Recruiting equals big business.
Two-thirds of the University Athletic Association’s revenue in 2012 projects to come from football.
Websites cover recruiting year round. Scores of 7-on-7 prep tournaments bring together talent from all over the world.
Recruiting consultants garner thousands of dollars from universities.
The bigger the business, the bigger NSD becomes.
For the Southeastern Conference, NSD is another chance to exert its dominance.
SEC teams hauled in six of the top 10 classes. Ole Miss created Twitter chaos by nabbing the top defensive end, offensive tackle and wide receiver in the Class of 2013. Can’t blame players wanting to snap up the chance for a starring role in “The Blind Side 2” over receiving a face full of angry Muschamp.
Alabama signed a second elite running back to go with incoming back Derrick Henry, the top rusher in high school history.
Florida brings in the No. 4 class in the nation, according to Rivals, with 15 players on defense and 12 on offense.
There’s a defensive tackle named Darious ‘Bear’ Cummings and a safety named Keanu ‘Kiki’ Neal.
Ahmad Fulwood and Demarcus Robinson headline the group of five receivers.
Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, the nation’s No. 2 overall player, arrives as UF’s top recruit.
Running backs Adam Lane and Kelvin Taylor give the Gators a power-speed combo for the future.
Florida filled its needs with its latest class, even if Wednesday wasn’t the circus seen in Oxford, Miss.
Only two players commit to Florida on NSD. That’s a testament to Muschamp and his staff’s ability to build lasting relationships.
This de facto national holiday celebrates the players who haven’t made up their minds. The players who, in some cases, manipulated the recruiting process.
It’s time to ditch National Signing Day.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
