National Signing Day weighs heavily on prep athletes

National Signing Day arrives Wednesday and brings anxiety for the high school athletes trying to decide which college offers the best deal for them.

Decisions, decisions.

Wednesday's National Signing Day, the coast-to-coast extravaganza that features a few thousand high school football players signing college scholarships, appeals to all tastes and sensibilities.

After all, recruiting can be simple.

"I knew from the beginning I wanted to go to Oklahoma,'' Armwood High linebacker Eric Striker said. "Once they offered me a scholarship, that was it. Done! There's no need for drama.

"Nothing is guaranteed. I still have to play football and make a career for myself. Society has made this signing thing into a bigger deal than it really is.''

Recruiting also can be rather complicated.

For the longest time, Jefferson High School defensive lineman Tyriq McCord constantly wavered.

"It was a pick between Miami, South Carolina and Georgia,'' McCord said. "I'd wake up and want to be a Hurricane. The next day, I was going to be a Gamecock. By that night, I thought I'd be a Bulldog. It was very stressful.''

On Jan. 7, at halftime of the nationally televised Army All-American Bowl, McCord looked into the NBC cameras and said, "I think I'm going to take my talents to South Beach'' as he offered a nonbinding verbal commitment to Miami.

Done! Well, sort of.

Friday, McCord boarded a plane for Los Angeles and an official visit to USC on the final weekend of recruiting season.

"I went there for a camp over the summer and it was probably the best trip I've taken,'' McCord said. "I'm still 100 percent on being a Miami Hurricane. Is there a chance I could change my mind? Very little chance. They'd have to do some remarkable stuff – I mean, legal stuff – and that's not going to happen. I'm sold on Miami.''

And so it goes.

Colleges roll out their most persuasive pitches.

Some decision-averse teenagers say yes to everything.

"We ask our kids not to commit on an official visit,'' said Plant coach Robert Weiner, whose star defensive back, Antonio Crawford, committed to Georgia Tech last summer, but just switched to Miami as signing day approached. "You don't want a kid in nirvana there, thinking everything is great, without taking at least a day to think it through. It all looks great when you're there.''

According to NCAA rules, each prospect is permitted five official visits (maximum of 48 hours at each campus). Parents and siblings must pay their own travel expenses (although mileage can be reimbursed on a driving trip). Accommodations must be "at a scale comparable to normal student life.'' Entertainment may "not be excessive in nature.''

But the size of those steaks at dinner?

"The big steak, that's a ritual,'' Striker said. "I asked for chicken tenders and the coach said, 'You sure you don't want the steak and potato?' He told me to order everything off the menu if I wanted, dessert and all. It's everlasting food. You take advantage of it.''

There are campus tours, meetings with the academic staff and a final farewell session with the head coach, who attempts to close the deal.

"You really didn't want to have a kid leave without committing, although some of them committed to every place they visited,'' said Randy Taylor, director of recruiting for the Chicago-based National Collegiate Scouting Association, who was recruiting coordinator for UNLV and UCLA. "It's like planning a big sales weekend, courting the big client. It's everything.

"The best recruiters you have are the current players, so having them socialize with their future teammates is a very key factor. Everything is planned very carefully. You're trying to sell everything you've got.''

Some high-school coaches say "unofficial'' visits might be more beneficial. It's not an all-expenses-paid boondoggle, but it provides more of an authentic view into campus life.

"It's definitely beneficial to see things as they really are instead of getting a prepackaged, planned-out look at things,'' Weiner said.

"Plus, sometimes, these kids get way too much of a false sense of importance,'' Hillsborough coach Earl Garcia said. "They haven't played a down yet and they're being told they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.''

Tampa resident Fran Curci, the former coach at Kentucky, remembers recruiting weekends where the prospects would be trotted out to midcourt during a sold-out basketball game at Rupp Arena. Their names would be introduced as the crowd chanted, "We want you! We want you!''

The NCAA prohibits such things now, emphasizing fact-finding practicality over showy, glitzy displays.

"I've never had a kid say he didn't like an official visit, never,'' Armwood coach Sean Callahan said. "These things are pretty well done. But you've got to find the best place for you, whether it's in Tampa, Florida or Anchorage, Alaska.''

"I'm personally glad I'm not in the same boat with the kids who are still trying to decide,'' said Plant safety Drew Madhu, who didn't visit anywhere else after verbally committing to Stanford. "All of the trips sound very intriguing. But you've got to base it on what you're looking for or else it could get very confusing.''

Decisions, decisions.