High school football players dream about this day. It’s the day they are able to announce where they will spend the next four years (hopefully) of their lives. It’s the day they put a halt on all the speculation of where they are going to spend their college football careers. It’s the day their lives change. This day brings with it almost every form of emotion imaginable – excitement, fear, anxiousness, happiness and nervousness. It’s a huge step for young men who are about to embark on the rest of their lives. Some will go on to play in the NFL, others will just enjoy the opportunity to play college football at a high level and be part of a select community. But no matter what the future holds for these young men, they will always remember their time as a college football player.

Yesterday was college football’s national signing day, and even though not all of the recruits signed, the day still left us with plenty to talk about. The nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit, Jadeveon Clowney is still undecided and is expected to wait until his birthday, Feb. 14, to announce his decision. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound defensive end out of Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe High School is the biggest recruiting story since LeBron James. According to his high school coach, Bobby Carroll, Clowney is the best all-around football player he has ever seen. He said Clowney is physically a “freak” and is the fiercest competitor he has ever coached. So his decision is certainly going to impact the team he decides to play for as well the teams that have to play face him during the season.

Here’s a look at the five schools that have the highest class ranking after the first day of the national signing period (rankings based on the ESPNU Top 150):

1. Florida State
ESPNU150 signings: 12
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star: 17
Three-star: 7
Top prospect: No. 5 overall – Karlos Williams/S – Ridge Community High School

2. Alabama
ESPNU150 signings: 10
Five-star commits: 0
Four-star: 15
Three-star: 6
Top prospect: No. 19 overall – Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix/S – Dr. Phillips High School

3. Auburn
ESPNU150 signings: 8
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star: 15
Three-star: 10
Top prospect: No. 6 overall – Christian Westerman/OT – Hamilton High School

4. USC
ESPNU150 signings: 2
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star: 13
Three-star: 14
Top prospect: No. 12 overall – George Farmer/WR – Junipero Serra High School

5. Texas
ESPNU150 signings: 7
Five-star commits: 1
Four-star: 13
Three-star: 8
Top prospect: No. 7 overall – Malcolm Brown/RB – Byron M. Steele High School

It’s a little surprising to see Florida State at the top of this list considering they have only been in the top-10 in class rankings one time since 2007. They definitely had the best day of any school in the nation, signing 12 players from the ESPNU top 150. The rest of the top-5 class rankings look pretty normal, though. The SEC is always going to attract the top recruits because it’s the best conference in the nation as has been for a while now. Recruits are also going to want to play for schools like USC and Texas as well, for obvious reasons.

The Terps didn’t have the best day, but that was to be expected. All of their recruits were three-stars or lower, with their best one probably being Marcus Leak, a wide receiver out of North Carolina. Newly hired head coach Randy Edsall is going to need at least a few years to have a team that’s completely his own. It may be rough for the first couple years of his tenure in Maryland, but I think we will be seeing some more big time recruits playing in College Park in the coming years.

Submitted by Steve Giles