5:57 p.m. -- Alabama lands No. 1 recruiting class ... again
When it was crunch time, Alabama coach
Nick Saban pulled out the Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer and pounded his way to his second consecutive Rivals.com recruiting national championship.
The Crimson Tide were crowned the nation's best again after finishing with a remarkable run in Saban's third recruiting class in Tuscaloosa. The Tide closed with running back Eddie Lacy, offensive lineman Brandon Moore, linebacker Tana Patrick and wide receivers Kenny Bell and Kendall Kelly on Wednesday.
The Tide finished just ahead of LSU, USC, Ohio State and Texas. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Florida State at No. 6, Michigan at No. 7, North Carolina at No. 8, Georgia at No. 9 and Florida at No. 10.
There are several uncommitted players who could cause some shifts in the top 10, but nobody has enough left on the board to knock the Tide from the top.
Check out the
full story.
5:21 p.m. -- Three major prospects still deciding
The hectic part of National Signing Day is starting to wind down, but three Rivals100 prospects still remain on the board.
Running back
Bryce Brown, the No. 1 recruit in the country, and all-purpose back David Oku have put their decisions off indefinitely while defensive back Janzen Jackson could sign with a school tonight or tomorrow.
Jackson is committed to LSU but visited Alabama and Tennessee in recent weeks.
Brown is committed to Miami, where his brother
Arthur is a rising sophomore. However, he is weighing his options with Oregon, Kansas State, USC, Tennessee and Auburn.
Oku decided Wednesday morning to wait to sign a National Letter of Intent. He is committed to Tennessee but took recent visits to Syracuse and Auburn.
5:13 p.m. -- Five-star Richardson picks Alabama
Alabama didn't hurt its chances of landing the top recruiting class in the country when it received a signature from five-star running back
Trent Richardson.
He made his announcement by putting on a Houndstooth hat at an assembly at Escambia (Pensacola, Fla.). He picked the Crimson Tide over LSU, Florida and Florida State.
Richardson is the No. 2 running back in the country and the top prospect in Florida.
3:52 p.m. -- WR Brown signs with Georgia
Georgia added a compliment for wide receiver
A.J. Green with a signature Wednesday from Rivals100 receiver
Marlon Brown.
From Harding Academy (Memphis, Tenn.), Brown is the nation's No. 5 receiver and the top prospect in Tennessee. He picked the Bulldogs over Ohio State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
3:49 p.m. -- Alabama gaining on recruiting title
Four-star wide receiver
Kenny Bell, a former LSU commit, helped Alabama gain on the recruiting title with his signature for Alabama.
Bell signed with the Crimson Tide on Signing Day. He is the No. 12 recruit in Louisiana and 40th ranked wide receiver.
3:46 p.m. -- The fight for No. 1 is up for grabs...
According to mathematical calculations, LSU or Alabama will be crowned this year's national recruiting champ, according to Rivals.com.
It all hinges on Escambia (Pensacola, Fla.) running back
Trent Richardson, the No. 2 running back in the country. Richardson originally committed to Alabama, but has since visited LSU, Florida State and Florida.
If Richardson sticks with the Tide, Alabama will finish No. 1. If he chooses any other school, LSU will have the top-ranked class.
3:12 p.m. -- Kirkpatrick, Kelly pick Alabama
He is expected to announce his decision today at 4 p.m. CT.
Alabama could have a chance at the national recruiting title with signatures
Dre Kirkpatrick and
Kendall Kelly this afternoon.
The five-star Kirkpatrick, from Gadsden City (Ala.), is the nation's top cornerback and the No. 11 overall recruit in the country. He picked his home-state school over Texas.
Kelly, a wide receiver from Gadsden, picked the Crimson Tide over LSU and Tennessee. He is a Rivals250 prospect who is ranked sixth in Alabama.
3:03 p.m. -- Stokes signs with Michigan
Michigan likely wraps up its class with a signature from Northeast (Philadelphia, Pa.) wide receiver
Je'Ron Stokes.
The four-star Rivals250 member is the fourth-ranked player in Pennsylvania. He was committed to Tennessee and considered Illinois before settling on the Wolverines.
2:58 p.m. -- Oregon gets JUCO wide receiver
Butler County Community College (El Dorado, Kan.) wide receiver
Tyrece Gaines signed with Oregon.
The four-star receiver is the No. 8 junior college prospect in the nation.
2:53 p.m. -- WR Brown picks Penn State
Rivals250 wide receiver
Justin Brown signed with Penn State after picking the Nittany Lions over Rutgers.
The four-star prospect out of Concord (Wilmington, Del.) is the top prospect in the state.
2:37 p.m. -- Su'a Filo picks UCLA
USC isn't going to dominate all the Signing Day headlines in Los Angeles.
Timpview (Provo, Utah) offensive tackle
Xavier Su'a Filo signed with UCLA, picking the Bruins over BYU, Utah, LSU and USC.
Su'a Filo is the No. 63 prospect in the class of 2009 and the seventh-ranked offensive tackle.
2:24 p.m. -- JUCO prospect switches to Arizona
Junior college defensive tackle
Jonathan Hollins switched his commitment from Tennessee to Arizona today.
The College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita, Calif.) prospect had been committed to the Volunteers since December but took and official visit to Arizona in late January.
2:01 p.m. -- Cotton goes to Ole Miss
Four-star quarterback
Raymond Cotton signed with Ole Miss after narrowing his choices to the Rebels, Kansas State and Southern Miss in January.
Cotton, from Fort Meade (Md.), is the 11th-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the class.
1:52 p.m. -- Randle picks LSU after all
After rumors he would put off his decision for another day,
Rueben Randle ended the wait by signing with LSU.
Randle, the No. 2 player in the class of 2009, announced his decision at Bastrop (La.) on Wednesday afternoon.
Randle considered Alabama, Oklahoma and Auburn late in the process but elected to stay in his home state.
1:46 p.m. -- Tennessee gets Richardson to switch
Tennessee continued to pick up steam late in the day with a signature from Pahokee (Fla.) wide receiver
Nu'Keese Richardson.
The four-star Rivals100 prospect had been committed to Florida since May, but the new coaching staff in Knoxville started to make up ground late in the process.
He is the No. 9 wide receiver in the nation and the 14th-ranked prospect in Florida.
Richardson is the second Florida commit to switch to rival Tennessee, joining Marsalis Teague.
1:40 p.m. -- USC gets Jones out of Georgia
After losing Manti Te'o and Alshon Jeffery earlier today, USC made up for it by signing Carver (Columbus, Ga.)defensive end
Jarvis Jones.
Jones, a Rivals100 four-star prospect, chose to go to the West Coast over offers from Florida and Texas.
1:36 p.m. -- Nelson signs with Tennessee
Tennessee picked up another signee today in Stone Mountain (Ga.) inside linebacker
Robert Nelson. The three-star prospect also had an offer from Auburn on the table.
1:26 p.m. -- Oku taking it easy
While other players across the country are signing today, the nation's top all-purpose back
David Oku is still waiting it out. "I'm not signing at all today," Oku said from his home in Midwest City, Okla. "I'm just still taking my time and won't really make a decision until probably late February." Oku said Tennessee, Auburn and Syracuse are the schools still on his list, but he didn't eliminate the idea of opening up to others.
1:06 p.m. -- Virginia lands Rivals100 OT
Rivals100 offensive tackle
Morgan Moses announced he will stay in state and sign with Virginia.
The Richmond-Meadowbrook lineman will sign with the Cavaliers over North Carolina and Tennessee.
He is the No. 49 player in the country and the second-ranked prospect in Virginia.
1:05 p.m. -- Bruins take one from Vols
Damian Thigpen, a 5-foot-8, 180-pound wide receiver and cornerback prospect, has signed with UCLA after previously committing to Tennessee.
Thigpen's signing adds much-needed speed to the UCLA class.
12:56 a.m. -- USC gets two-sport star
Lincoln (Tallahassee, Fla.) safety
Jawanza Starling signed with USC for football and basketball.
He picked the Trojans over Notre Dame.
Starling is a four-star Rivals250 member who is the 20th-ranked prospect in Florida.
12:52 a.m. -- Prep school star picks Akron
Milford Academy four-star defensive tackle
Christopher Henderson is heading to Akron. The 6-foot-3, 313-pounder signed his letter of intent with the Zips this morning. He is the No. 21 ranked prep-school player in the nation.
12:48 a.m. -- Vandy gets another running back
Vanderbilt landed its third three-star running back in the 2009 class with a signature from Pope John Paul II (Hendersonville, Tenn.) player
Wesley Tate, the brother of Notre Dame wide receiver
Golden Tate.
12:36 a.m. -- Richardson sticks with Missouri
Tate joins Warren Norman of Chamblee (Ga.) and Zac Stacy of Bibb County (Centreville, Ala.) as three-star running backs in the Commodores' class.
Missouri held onto the No. 1 prospect in the state when five-star
Sheldon Richardson signed with the Tigers.
Richardson committed to Missouri in December but continued to consider Miami. He took a visit to Coral Gables last week.
In Richardson, the Tigers landed the No. 4 prospect and the top defensive tackle in the class of 2009.
12:21 a.m. -- Alabama receives two more signatures
Alabama added two more signees to its class with Letters of Intent from running back
Eddie Lacy and offensive tackle
Brandon Moore.
A Dutchtown (Geismar, La.) standout, Lacy is a four-star Rivals250 member and the sixth-ranked prospect in Louisiana. The Crimson Tide went head to head with rival Tennessee for Lacy's signature.
Moore received home visits in recent weeks from Tennessee, Florida and Alabama. Moore is a four-star prospect ranked ninth in the state of Alabama.
12:19 a.m. -- Five-star Te'o picks Notre Dame
In one of the most high-profile announcements of the day, five-star linebacker
Manti Te'o announced he will sign at Notre Dame.
Te'o's announcement for the Irish was one of the biggest surprises of the day so far as he was predicted to stay on the West Coast.
A standout at Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii), Te'o is the No. 12 player in the country and the second-ranked inside linebacker.
Te'o visited UCLA, USC, BYU and Stanford.
12:10 a.m. -- Tennessee gets three-star linebacker
Memphis linebacker
Greg King will sign with Tennessee despite a late official visit to Auburn.
King, a three-star from Memphis-Melrose, is the No. 8 prospect in Tennessee.
12:00 a.m. -- Rivals250 corner signs with Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech dipped into the Sunshine State and beat out South Florida for Atlantic (Delray Beach, Fla.) cornerback
Jayron Hosley.
Hosley, a four-star Rivals250 member, committed to the Hokies on Wednesday morning. He is the No. 25 player in Florida and the No. 11 cornerback in the country.
11:57 a.m. -- Tiller makes call for Syracuse
Three-star JUCO offensive lineman
Andrew Tiller will sign with Syracuse after weighing offers from Miami, Rutgers and the Orange all the way up to Signing Day.
Tiller is the 59th-ranked JUCO prospect.
11:51 a.m. -- News out of Utah
Word is leaking out that offensive lineman Xavier
Su'a Filo from Timpview (Provo, Utah) may be leaning to Southern Cal. Su'a Filo also visited UCLA, LSU, BYU and Utah. Su'a Filo is expected to announce his decision at 1 p.m. CT today.
Su'a Filo is friends with fellow Rivals100 prospects linebacker
Manti Te'o (Honolulu) and offensive lineman
John Martinez (Salt Lake City). Martinez has already pledged to USC, while Teo is expected to announce between USC, UCLA and Notre Dame at noon CT.
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