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 Thursday, February 15, 2001
Florida State, Michigan, LSU are big winners
By Brent Musburger
Special to ABC Sports Online
It's never too early to talk a little college football, especially since Wednesday was the day the nation's top high school prospects made their official commitments to respective schools. It's always interesting to see which teams picked up the best of the best to stack their programs for the future.
It isn't likely that too many freshmen can come in and make an immediate impact, but there are always exceptions. Rest assured, by season's end, the teams that climb to the top of the BCS standings will be helped by a freshman signee.
|  | | Florida State recruit Joe Mauer is also expected to be a high pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. |
As you might expect, the rich got a lot richer this week, especially our friends at Florida State. Bobby Bowden uncovered another motherload of talent, signing two of the top quarterbacks in the country. The first was Joe Mauer from St. Paul, Minn. Joe attended Chris Weinke's high school, Cretin-Durham, and like Weinke, is a talented baseball player.
Just in case Mauer intends to follow the Weinke path of choosing to play professional baseball and then return to college at a later time, Bowden backed himself up by signing the Bradenton (Fla.) Southeast High School sensation Adrian McPherson.
Besides being an outstanding quarterback, McPherson is a fine basketball player. In fact, North Carolina appeared to have the inside track after introducing him to Ronald Curry. The Tar Heel quarterback and point guard made it clear that McPherson could follow a similar path at Chapel Hill, but McPherson declined for the Garnet and Gold.
The QBs were only the beginning for Bowden. He always keeps a surprise during signing week, and this year was no different, signing three blue-chippers, defensive backs Jerome Carter and Willie Jones and 6-foot-3 running back Eric Shelton.
And just in case you missed it, Bowden made an announcement that may have an even greater impact on the Seminole future, when he elevated his youngest son, Jeff, to the offensive coordinator position on Tuesday. Jeff thus becomes the Bowden-in-waiting to inherit the Florida State program.
Around the country ...
Two other schools who reaped outstanding classes were Michigan and LSU. It's fascinating that LSU head coach Nick Saban, who for years recruited in the shadow of mighty Michigan, has stepped out of it in Baton Rouge, La.
Saban may be the first LSU coach in a decade to slam the door on the borders of his own state. For years, other coaches have been raiding Louisiana of prime talent, especially Mr. Bowden, who got running backs Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor right out from under the Tigers' noses. Look for LSU to step into the forefront of the SEC within the next three years.
Michigan's recruiting class is led by running back Kelly Baraka of Portage, Mich., and defensive back Ernest Shazor of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School. Both figure to make an immediate impact in Ann Arbor.
As expected, national champion Oklahoma also did an outstanding job of recruiting. The Sooners successfully raided Texas, where Barry Switzer used to make his living plucking blue chips out from under Texas and Texas A&M. The Sooners' best may be 5-foot-10 running back Donta Hickson of McKinney, Texas.
Under Mack Brown, the Longhorns of Texas recruited another strong class, but the critics are beginning to wonder when Mack will start winning championships with his quality talent. Expect the heat to be turned up in Austin this year.
Other Signing Day tidbits
|  | | Canarsie High (N.Y.) linebacker Leon Williams has committed to Miami. |
New Miami head coach Larry Coker appears to have done a good job of saving Butch Davis' recruits. Everyone who had committed from the state of Florida followed up and signed with Miami, and linebacker Leon Williams, from Brooklyn, N.Y., rejected an 11th hour rush from Joe Paterno to stick with the Hurricanes.
The most interesting bit of recruiting may have been in Seattle, where Washington coach Rick Neuheisel landed highly regarded quarterback Casey Paus, brother of UCLA QB Cory Paus, from Illinois.
Neuheisel also reeled in wide receiver Charles Frederick from south Florida. Frederick was wavering, and almost signed with Tennessee, but then reaffirmed his Washington commitment. Frederick is reunited with former high school teammates Rich Alexis and John Anderson.
Virginia Tech, which is losing the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, Michael Vick, to the national football league, signed the No. 1 running back, Kevin Jones of Springfield, Pa.
Certainly, none of us can make any firm conclusions about these recruiting classes for another two or three years, but several of these freshmen will make a huge difference next fall.
Brent Musburger is a play-by-play commentator for ABC's coverage of college football and college basketball. He is a regular contributor to ABC Sports Online.
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