Written by James Buce
Wednesday , Feb. 4 marked a traditional day in college sports: National Signing Day. It is the day when 17 and 18-year-old kids get more media attention than deserved for overhyped college decisions.
Recruiters, coaches, journalists and loyal fans watch with baited breath as the futures of their programs are decided not on the field, but in February in high school gyms across America.
National signing day has become a spectacle giving good but unproven athletes their undeserved 15-minutes of fame. Sitting in front of media with television cameras from ESPN-U, high school seniors put on ball caps from the programs they hope will ultimately help them reach their goal of becoming professional athletes.
National Signing Day is the first day in recruiting when high school athletes can sign a letter of intent to play for a certain program. Before the first Wednesday in February, athletes can verbally commit to a program but are unable to sign a letter of intent.
Although this is the day for athletes from all sports, college football has essentially taken this day and made it the NFL draft for college football.
The entire day is riddled with recruiter commentaries about the intangibles of a kid who, days earlier, was deciding whether to get an extra pudding cup in the cafeteria line.
Coaches and recruiters have spent the last year, if not more, following these kids and pulling them toward their programs hoping not to be disappointed on National Signing Day. No offer is safe because players can verbally commit to a program but change their mind at the last minute with no repercussions.
Consider the football program for the University of Tennessee; it had a top-10 recruiting class counting on verbal commitments. However, after Lane Kiffin left, most of the players backed out shortly after the coaching change.
College football is quickly becoming a sport whose main focus is not the game but the personalities involved. Coaches are the faces of college football programs, but with the attention given to the National Signing Day, players are looking for a way to become number one.
For many of the players being watched on Wednesday, this will be their only chance for national attention. Given the struggles that come with college life, program changes or failing to meet the high expectations, many athletes known today will not see time in college football.
Society has become so engrossed in professional and college sports, it is making superstars out of teenagers and pressuring them to change and save programs while encouraging show-boating and big shot attitudes.
