ESPN College Football

1. You hear it said that Texas coach Mack Brown picks his 20 signees and then everyone else may begin to recruit the state. That’s only a slight exaggeration. The Longhorns signed 12 of the 24 Texas high school stars in the ESPNU 150. Texas A&M signed three and Oklahoma two. A year ago, Texas signed nine of the state’s 19 players on the ESPNU list. I can’t think of a better match of coach and school than Brown and UT.

2. That said, it’s amazing how the top schools plucked the best players from across the country. USC, which fueled its rise to the top under Pete Carroll with national recruiting, signed the best player in Illinois and picked up a commit from the best player in Minnesota. Florida signed the best player in Pennsylvania. Texas signed the best player in Ohio. None of that speaks well for the Big Ten, does it?

3. Oregon made the most of its Pac-10 championship. Head coach Chip Kelly signed 23 players from nine states in what was a relatively thin year for impact players within Oregon. Only two of the new Ducks are in-state players. That’s one fewer than Oregon signed from Texas. Kelly also lured Tampa receiver/defensive back Eric Dungy, son of former Bucs/Colts head coach Tony Dungy, across the country.

Washington State announced a solid class of 22, but it took some hits on signing day.

Some news and notes here -- there may be a few more additions.

The Cougars lost two committed players: tight end Asante Cleveland (Miami) and defensive lineman Maxx Forde (Idaho).

Washington signed a big class. And a quality class.

The Huskies signed 30 -- so they obviously will be juggling things a bit -- and the class is presently ranked 22nd by ESPNU.

Some notes and bios here.

The big signing day grab was Sean Parker, the fifth-rated safety in the nation.

Another year, another top-10 class for USC, even without Pete Carroll.

USC and new coach Lane Kiffin signed 18 players and 11 of them were ranked in the ESPNU 150.

Yes, that is an extraordinary percentage.

And it's possible the Trojans are not done. Such as... click here.

Some Kiffin quotes here.

UCLA and Rick Neuheisel will get their coffee tonight -- as you know, coffee is for closers.

UCLA signed 22 Wednesday, and a number of marquee late additions pushed the class to No. 11 in the latest ESPNU rankings.

While the Bruins lost a couple early -- linebacker Hayes Pullard and defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli -- it landed defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa, safety Dietrich Riley, linebacker Dietrich Riley and linebacker Jordan Zumwalt.

The class includes five members of the ESPNU 150.

Stanford signed 22 on Wednesday in a nationally ranked class that features athletes from 12 states: California (4), Texas (4), Alabama (2), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Georgia (2) along with Indiana, Utah, New Jersey, Minnesota, Nevada and Virginia -- lending to Stanford's national appeal.

Stanford did take a hit when linebacker Jordan Zumwalt signed with UCLA, but the Cardinal did previously steal the Bruins only committed quarterback, Brett Nottingham, so call things even.

ESPNU ranks the class at 15th in the nation.

Oregon State signed 16 players Wednesday and the class again isn't highly rated.

It's highly likely that the class will look much better in four and five years. We say that not to be nice but because history is on coach Mike Riley's side.

Some good notes on the class here and also here.

Oregon signed 20 Wednesday, who will join three JC players who are already enrolled.

The class presently is ranked 23rd by ESPNU and includes four players in the ESPNU 150.

Rob Moseley posted comments from Chip Kelly on each here.

California signed 20 players Wednesday, with 12 of them coming from outside of the state.

The class is presently ranked 20th by ESPNU.

See the Bears class here.

Tom Luginbill breaks down who helped their program the most on Signing Day 2010.

Urban Meyer talks about the amazing recruiting class Florida pulled in on Signing Day.

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will have a unique coaching opportunity after the announcement his grandson, linebacker Tate Snyder, has accepted a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.

Tate Snyder, a 205-pounder who led Manhattan High School in tackles and was an All-State selection at linebacker, plans to play the position on his grandfather's team.

He will follow in the footsteps of his father, Sean Snyder, who was an All-American punter for his father in the early 1990s. Sean Snyder is now Kansas State's associate athletic director and associate head coach for football operations and development.

"Not many people have had the opportunity to coach their son and their grandson, so I think I will enjoy that immensely," Bill Snyder said. "It will be fun, but probably not for him (Tate), but I will never get tired of it."

The veteran coach said he learned some lessons coaching his son that will help him coaching his grandson.

"I've talked to a lot of coaches who have coached their sons and so many of them said to not coach your son and I didn’t want that to be true," Bill Snyder said. "The inclination is that most people would view you to be easier on you son or grandson. But my nature would be to go the other way and that is exactly what I did with Sean.”

Tate Snyder told the Manhattan Mercury that he hopes to add more weight to boost his chances of playing for the Wildcats.

"Size is a big deal. They want me to put on 5 or 10 more pounds so I can be at 215," Tate Snyder said to the Mercury. "They've talked about me a little at will (weakside linebacker) and (Kansas State co-defensive coordinator) Coach (Chris) Cosh has talked about it a bit, but I know nothing is guaranteed."

The chance to work with the Kansas State strength and conditioning program should help him get bigger and prepare him for his opportunity with the Wildcats, he said.

"I'm exited to work out and go through the program," he said. "I've seen guys go in and a few weeks later they've just exploded with 15 pounds, but I just want to take the program in and get stronger."

Florida State has announced its 24-player class, which includes four January enrollees. FSU entered signing day with the No. 9 class in the country and has since moved up to No. 6 as the day winds down. Letters of intent from Christian Green, Bjoern Werner and Christian Jones helped give FSU a boost, not that Seminoles were in desperate need of one. Jimbo Fisher and his staff managed to lure in eight players from the ESPNU 150 list. Nobody else in the ACC came close to matching that. They've got two five-star players and eight four-star players. This class is loaded, and the staff secured what it needed most -- defenders. The next step is to see how quickly this staff can get it to translate into wins.

Here's FSU's class breakdown:

Signees: 24*
Defense: 14
Offense: 10
* includes 4 January enrollees

By State
Florida: 13
Georgia: 5
Connecticut: 2
Alabama: 1
Louisiana: 1
New Jersey: 1
Texas: 1

By Position
Defensive Line: 5
Linebacker: 5
Defensive Back: 4
Wide Receiver: 5
Tight End: 2
Offensive Line: 1
Quarterback: 1
Running Back: 1

Penn State has announced the signings of 20 players who make up the Big Ten's top recruiting class for 2010. Although Penn State's class fell one spot to No. 8 in ESPN's rankings today, the Nittany Lions had one of the nation's most complete classes, particularly on the defensive side. Players like Dakota Royer, Khairi Fortt, Evan Hailes and several others should help Penn State very early in their careers. Quarterback Robert Bolden should compete for the starting job right away as the Nittany Lions try to replace Daryll Clark.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz finalized a 21-man recruiting class that features several of the Midwest's top players. The Hawkeyes didn't land any ESPNU 150 prospects, but players like offensive lineman Andrew Donnal, running back Marcus Coker, tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz and athlete A.J. Derby all should be key contributors. Iowa's class really bolsters the defensive front with five linemen and three linebackers.

Michigan State hasn't sent out an official release just yet, but the Spartans' 21-man class is signed and sealed. Defensive-minded coach Mark Dantonio bolstered the defense with players like ESPNU 150 prospect William Gholston, linebacker Max Bullough and defensive backs Mylan Hicks. The Spartans also added depth at quarterback with Joe Boisture. This class might not have made quite as big a splash as last year's haul, but Michigan State once again did very well within the state and the Big Ten region.

National signing day was largely forgettable for the Big Ten, and things ended on a down note as coveted offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson picked USC over Ohio State, Minnesota and several others.

Henderson and linebacker Jordan Hicks were considered the top two players from the Big Ten region this year, and neither of them will be suiting up for a Big Ten team in 2010. Ohio State went 0-for-2 on coveted offensive line prospects on Wednesday, as Matt James picked Notre Dame over the Buckeyes.

Henderson said Ohio State finished second to USC for his services. Minnesota also was in the mix near the end, as head coach Tim Brewster tried to keep the St. Paul product at home.

The Big Ten certainly needs to protect its home turf, especially when most of the nation's elite players are located elsewhere. Ohio State should still be fine on the offensive line if certain players develop, though today has been a disappointment for the Scarlet and Gray.