Looking back at National Signing Day

National Signing Day 2011 has come and gone. Some schools came away with successful classed and other schools did not get the players they desired. For Georgia and Georgia Tech, their signing class comparisons are night and day. Many believe the Georgia class could be the best class in the history of the program. As for Tech, when you lose five commitments in the last three weeks, that’s not a good thing. Here’s a closer look at both schools class and how they fared.

EVALUATING THE BULLDOGS

Georgia head coach Mark Richt talked about building a dream team before signing day where he targeted some of the best players in the state. Two players, Ray Drew and Isaiah Crowell were on top of the list and Richt was able to get those two players from South Georgia. Drew, a defensive end, is considered the best player in Georgia and one of the 10 best players in the nation. Crowell is right behind Drew when it comes to being the best player in the state and is also one of the top running backs in the country. But that was not all Richt and company was able to accomplish with the signing class. Valdosta TE Jay Rome and WR/DB Malcolm Mitchell joined the team as well as QB Christian LeMay from North Carolina and ATH Nick Marshall from Wilcox County.

And the best thing about this is they are not done signing players yet. Junior college player John Jenkins who is a big nose tackle, will choose his college on Saturday and if Georgia nabs him, he will have a chance to play right away because Georgia needs a guy who can eat up the middle of the line to free the linebackers to make plays. But even if they don’t grab him, this class is a good as it gets when it comes to targeting the state’s best players and keeping them in-state.

EVALUATING THE JACKETS

While Georgia class is being praised by everyone in the media, Georgia Tech was able to get a good group of players, but five players that were committed to the school in Atlanta backed out and left Tech in a hole. But they were able to get some fine athletes such as QB Vad Lee from North Carolina as well as LB Jabari Hunt-Days from Hillgrove. They also signed Chris Milton from Charlton County who can play a number of positions. And they signed corner back Jamal Golden who was named Mr. Alabama Football.

The only problem with this class is they did not sign a nose tackle that can be a space eater in the 3-4 defense that the Jackets run. It looked as if they had a chance of signing Darian Cooper from Maryland, but he decided to go with Iowa on signing day over Tech, Michigan and Michigan State. Georgia Tech was able to get an abundance of linebackers and defensive ends, but if they were able to get a nose tackle, it would have made the Yellow Jackets’ class a little stronger.

REST OF THE NATION

As far as the rest of the country, the big winners had to be Alabama, Texas, USC and Florida State. Alabama only signed 21 players and five of them are from the home state, but they singed RB Demetruis Hart who is one of the best all-purpose backs in the country and they also signed DB Haseasn Clinton-Dix who could be a full-time starter as a sophomore. Texas only signed 22 players but expect for one signee all the players are from the state of Texas. One player to watch for is RB Malcolm Brown who could be the best running back in the country.

USC signed 29 players including WR Greg Farmer and OL Aundrey Walker. Farmer could be the best receiver on the country and could contribute right away on special teams. Walker is from Ohio and could see time at wither guard of tackle as a freshman. Florida State also signed 29 players and leading the class is RB James Wilder Jr. It’s very likely Wilder will play right away, the only problem is FSU needs to find a position to put him in because he can also play the linebacker spot as well as defensive end.