Texas Football

By Travis Stewart // TexasFootball.com

Ah, National Signing Day is nearly upon us. It truly is one of the wildest days of the year in the high school athletics world, as talented football players (and other athletes) all over Texas prepare to sign their life away to the college program of their choice. By fax machine. Seems a little archaic, no?

In any case, regardless of your opinion on the recruiting world in general, tomorrow's NSD should be fun if you keep it in perspective. Is it silly to hype up players who have never played a down of college football? Of course. But it's also fun to watch them accept — or spurn — the college colors and traditions that run so deep inside all of us. It's essentially laying down the foundation for the storylines and stars of the future. How can that not generate a little bit of excitement?

In preparation for a day that moves a mile a minute, I've pieced together a quick preview of what to expect tomorrow, complete with some kids and schools to keep a close eye on. I've also (somewhat) outlined how the process itself works, so the uninitiated can get a primer before we crank up the carousel. Make sure to follow us on Twitter (@dctf) as we highlight some of the notable story lines that develop — or fail to develop — on Recruiting Christmas. Enjoy!

How it works
Basically, every high school kid you see "aligned" with a school now is at a purely verbal commitment stage. They actually have to fill out a Letter of Intent to be considered a signee. That's what happens tomorrow. Some kids — the industrious ones that graduate early — are already enrolled at their college of choice (like Klein Forest's Matt Davis at Texas A&M). Those kids, considering they are already living on campus, are as good as signed. Junior college players can sign early, too. Some don't, but the ones that have are obviously locked in, too. The rest of the recruiting world has a big, big day tomorrow. 

Every high school player has to sign and fax in a Letter of Intent to the school that they wish to accept a scholarship to. This LOI is binding, folks — once it's received, it's almost impossible to get out of. You'll hear your favorite schools talk about receiving a fax from so-and-so: once you see that message come from your program, you know the kid will be wearing your college colors. Most of these letters are faxed early in the morning, and by mid-afternoon, most schools' classes are all finished up. We're going to have some stragglers; that's the way of things. But by and large, we'll be about done with this by 5:00 PM tomorrow. From that point on, it's all forensics — trying to digest exactly what just happened.  

Kids to keep an eye on
FB Hightower ATH Bralon Addison: Regardless of whether you believe what all the message boards say this time of year, there's a reason to watch for the kids they predict will make a dramatic, last-second change in school choice — either the forums turn out to be right and the recruiting world is stunned at the sudden move, or they're wrong and we can all shake our heads at how silly the online atmosphere can be from time to time. Anyways, people have been emailing me left and right about Addison, who is currently pledged to Texas A&M. However, none of them have actually spoken to the kid. Personally, I think he'll stay put. Personally, I think that would be a good choice. But either way, it'll be a fun bout of last-second drama. 

Dallas Skyline WR Thomas Johnson: After dropping Texas a few weeks ago, the star pass-catcher is still very much alive in the minds of a number of schools. I've heard a bunch rumored in connection with the Super Team talent. The TCU fan base seems to think they've got a legit chance at roping him in. I'm not going to try and handicap it for you, because last-second rankings from the mind of an 18-year old are fluid, to say the least. He's easily a top-ten receiver in the state however, and while that's no promise of collegiate success, it is a good starting point to build a future all-conference type.

SA Brandeis CB Colin Blake: The former A&M pledge has publicly declared that he has three choices left in the hopper — TCU, Florida State and Oklahoma. He said his mind is already made up, but he won't announce until tomorrow. Regardless of which direction he chooses, he offers an intriguing mix of skills; he's a great cover corner with excellent speed, but at 6-foot-3, he offers the kind of height you almost never see at the position. TCU and Oklahoma both have outstanding recent traditions when it comes to developing talent in the secondary. Blake can't go wrong with any of those three schools, but it would be nice to see him stay in state. 

Hillcrest (MO) WR Dorial Green-Beckham: I know he's not a Texas kid, but the Longhorns have been after the nation's top-ranked receiver for a long time. But honestly, that's not why I included him here (personally, I don't think UT is in his cards). It's because many outlets have him as the nation's top overall recruit, and it's obvious why — he's a physical freak, a monster that you rarely see at any age, much less younger than 20. He's a lot like San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis — massive and ridiculously fast. Regardless of where he ends up, it'll be fun to watch him finally take the field and see those incredible tangibles at work. 

Schools to keep an eye on
UTEP: Oh my gosh, UTEP — no one makes Signing Day more exciting than the Miners, who seemingly always end up with a totally different signing class than the one they were expected to finish with the day before. UTEP tends to offer a lot of kids, knowing that some won't work out the morning that faxes start rolling in. I can only imagine how crazy that war room has to be tomorrow morning. Right now, UTEP has a rather smallish class, so expect some wheels-off moments tomorrow as they add (and subtract) a few last minute names.

Texas A&M: The coaching move from Mike Sherman to Kevin Sumlin opened up the doors to the Aggie recruits for every other school in the country, whether the kids wanted it or not. No school is going to sit by and let an opportunity to poach a player from a rival program slip away. While it would appear that A&M's class if fairly stabilized — unless you buy the hype about a possible Addison move — just know that the nation's heavy hitters threw their best pitches at any kid that they felt was potentially on the fence. I don't think we're going to see anything wild out in College Station, but if there's one school (not named UTEP) that could be put in that position, it would seem to be A&M. 

Oklahoma: Something weird always seems to happen with OU, and a lot of the time it involves Texas Tech (or else it feels like it). Remember Cooper Washington's famous switcheroo a ways back? The Muleshoe tight end had been locked and loaded for Norman, only to shock the Panhandle with a Red Raider signing day surprise. The Sooners have a suspiciously small class from Texas this year, which almost never happens. I wonder if we might see a late switch from a Lone Star State product to north of the Red River.