National Signing Day arrives for prep athletes

He has traveled thousands of miles, crossing the country in search of the right college and the right football program. He has researched the schools, talked to dozens of coaches, players and, of course, his family.

But here it was, the eve of national signing day and after more than two years of weighing the dozens of Division I college football scholarships offered to him, Berkeley Prep senior Nelson Agholor, one of the nation's top-ranked high school players, had yet to make up his mind where to attend school next fall.

Agholor will be only one of dozens of student-athletes from the area who today will put pen to paper and sign a national letter of intent to play college sports. From the big names to those lesser known, it's a monumental day for them, their family, coaches, friends and classmates.

Berkeley coach Dominick Ciao said Agholor waiting to make his selection has a lot to do with the sometimes overwhelming number of choices owned by the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder, who in high school has played mostly at running back but is being recruited by colleges as a receiver.

All the biggies of college football want him, including Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, Southern Cal and Notre Dame. So do all of Florida's major schools, including South Florida.

To complicate matters, Ciao says Agholor is the type of person to perform his "due diligence'' when researching what a college has to offer, particularly in the classroom. So little wonder it has come down to the 11th hour for Agholor.

"In Nelson's situation, you're dealing with a lot of people who have been recruiting him for a long time, people that he really respects and admires,'' Ciao said. "So as a result, decisions become hard and every day it becomes harder.''

It's also a big day for the state's college athletic programs and their fans. Supporters of Florida, Florida State, Miami and USF will be keeping close watch to see who their schools ink to letters of intent. Heading into national signing day, the Gators had the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation, according to Rivals.com. FSU and Miami ranked seventh and eighth, respectively

Most of the state's schools host signing day parties. Florida State, for example, is staging the Jimbo Fisher National Signing Day Party in Tallahassee. For $35, you can have dinner, access to a cash bar, a bio on each new Seminoles signee and have coach Fisher and his staff discuss them.

Following a 5-7 season, USF hopes to restock some key positions. The Bulls will wrap up the day with a free party at Stumps in Channelside from 5:30 to 7 p.m., featuring a radio show with coach Skip Holtz on WQYK.