2014 National Signing Day has finally arrived, and fairly shortly we will know where some of the best football prospects in America will be headed for their collegiate careers.
Before the madness begins on what can basically be considered a holiday for all college football die-hards, I had the chance to catch up briefly with CBS Sports Recruiting Analyst Tom Lemming and grab his thoughts on some of the top subjects heading into Wednesday.
On whom he believes are the top 3 classes heading into Wednesday: Lemming was quick to point out three schools without a hitch: The Florida State Seminoles, the Ohio State Buckeyes and–of course–the Alabama Crimson Tide. As Lemming pointed out to me, the one constant with these three schools are the fact that they not only have top-notch head coaches who can recruit, but are also surrounded with qualified assistants that help out mightily in the process.
On the subject of where five-star CB Adoree’ Jackson lands: He actually was under the impression, as we all were for a while, that the Tennessee Volunteers could make a solid run at the California star. Ultimately, however, he believes that Jackson will indeed be staying in Cali to play for Sarkisian and the USC Trojans. He was out at the camps throughout the year and noted how the coaches were pushing Jackson toward Los Angeles.
Speaking of the Tennessee Volunteers: Lemming went out of his way, as most experts do, to praise second-year head coach Butch Jones. He referenced how Jones is using the tactic that Philip Fulmer used during his time in Knoxville by cleaning house within the home state. In this prospective 2014 class, nine of Jones’ commits are from within the state of Tennessee.
On five-star wideout Malachi Dupre possibly not winding up at LSU: This was intriguing. While Dupre’s visit to Florida State and the time he spent with Heisman-winner Jameis Winston was brought up, Lemming called Les Miles one of the more underrated recruiters in the country, and believes that Dupre will be heading to Baton Rouge.
Finally, which conference will come out looking the best? Which the worst: Obviously, the choice for best here was the SEC, which once again is racking up top-notch talent between the various schools. However, he did point out that the fellows out west, the Pac-12, might not be too far behind.
As far as the worst, unfortunately, outside of Urban Meyer and what he’s doing at Ohio State, there isn’t much to get excited about in Big Ten country this year.