USC (4)
In a topsy-turvy beginning to national letter of intent day, USC came up with a big pickup but also lost two earlier commits today. And, most significantly, the Trojans lost out on Manti Te'o, the top linebacker in the nation.
Te'o, from Honolulu's Punahou, that state's player of the year, chose Notre Dame over his other finalists, USC and UCLA.
Harbor City Narbonne All-City defensive back Byron Moore Jr., who committed to the Trojans months ago, then wavered, announced that he would sign with the Trojans, starting off what figures to be a frenzied and unpredictable day of announcements on the first day that high school seniors can sign a letter of intent for football.
Moore made his announcement during a live national cable broadcast from Narbonne, choosing the Trojans over Notre Dame and Colorado. He's a fast, athletic safety who also made an impression at receiver and on special teams for a Narbonne team that finished as co-City Section champions.
Complete USC recruiting coverage in the LA Times.
UCLA (7)
Rick Neuheisel showed he was a strong closer holding off USC, Washington, and California for some key recruits on signing day.
UCLA has received 16 signed letters of intent from football recruits this morning, including a key offensive lineman who had committed to California.
The players are lineman Ryan Taylor of Tyler (Tex.) College, lineman Eddie Williams of Compton College, running back Damien Thigpen from Manassas, Va. Stonewall Jackson, lineman Stanley Hasiak of Kapolei (Hawaii) Klineman, fullback and linebacker Jayson Allmond of Fontana Bloomington, Nik Abele of Irvine, linebackers Isaiah Bowens of La Puente Bishop Amat and Taniela Maka of Long Beach Jordan, defensive ends Keenan Graham of Las Vegas Silverado and Iuta Tepa of Long Beach Poly and Jared Koster of Norco, linebacker Todd Golper of Arcadia and defensive backs Alex Mascarenas of Mission Viejo, Marlon Pollard of San Bernardino Cajon, Sheldon Price of Bishop Amat and Brandon Sermons of Pomona Diamond Ranch.
Complete Bruin recruiting coverage in the LA Times.
Stanford (14)
It's a star-studded recruiting class for Stanford, and how often have the Cardinal been able to say that? The 22 athletes expected to sign letters of intent today with Stanford make up one of the most talented groups of incoming freshmen in the recent history of the program.
The Cardinal's class - which has 14 offensive players and eight on defense - ranks No. 9 by Scout.com and second in the Pac-10 behind USC. Rivals.com ranks Stanford No. 16, and ESPN puts the Cardinal at No. 23.
"This is a deep class of deep talent," said Brandon Huffman, Scout.com recruiting analyst. "In previous years, Stanford had landed a couple of big names, but the depth of the class was relatively unremarkable. But this class has very good players at numerous positions and some star power."
Complete Stanford recruiting coverage in SF Gate.
Oregon (25)
Although Oregon's prep class is fairly small, it does have some good talent. Defensive end Taylor Hart (Tualatin, Ore.) is a promising prospect from in-state and offensive tackle Everett Benyard (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) is a good addition at an area of need. The Ducks have also gone north to add a raw but good linebacker prospect in Boseko Lokombo (Abbotsford, British Columbia/W.J. Mouat Secondary School).
Complete Oregon recruiting coverage in the Portland Oregonian.
California (34)
One of the biggest signing day stories for the Bay Area schools — if not the biggest involves Cal and guard Stan Hasiak, from Kapolei, HI. And things broke badly for the Bears. Hasiak, arguably the best offensive line prospect in the west, originally committed to UCLA, then decommitted in October and gave a “soft verbal” to the Bears last month. This morning, Hasiak announced he would sign with the Bruins and Coach Rick Neuheisel.
The development is a blow to the quality of Cal’s class, which is ranked in the 30-range nationally, but not a huge blow. Even without him, the Bears have several first-rate linemen and a slew of four-star prospects.
Complete California recruiting news from the San Jose Mercury.
Arizona State (37)
Dennis Erickson capped his first Arizona State recruiting class with cornerback Omar Bolden, now a two-year starter. He followed up last year with defensive end Jamaar Jarrett, who contributed as a true freshman.
But the biggest signing day decision of the Erickson era came today as linebacker Vontaze Burfict went through with an expected switch from his commitment to Southern California.
Burfict, 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, is ranked as the nation's ninth best prospect and top linebacker by Rivals.com. He is No. 26 in the SuperPrep elite 50.
Complete Sun Devil Recruiting Coverage in AZ Central.
Washington State (45)
Washington State coach Paul Wulff received letters of intent from 20 high school football players today. The Cougars' class also includes one JC transfer, receiver Johnny Forzani, who enrolled in January.
Local WR Gino Simone from Skyline HS was the states top recruit and he chose the Cougars over Washington.
Complete Cougar Recruiting coverage in the Seattle Times.
Oregon State (46)
The usual balanced Beaver class.The Beavers landed a big win on the recruiting trail with the recent addition of guard Michael Philipp (San Bernardino, Calif./Arroyo). Oregon State beat fellow Pac-10 programs Cal, Oregon, UCLA and Stanford for Philipp, who fills a need. The Beavers have six linemen committed, including guard Josh Andrews (Ontario, Calif./Colony). The class also has a pair of quarterback commits, including Jack Lomax (Lake Oswego, Ore.), the son of former NFL quarterback Neil Lomax.
Complete recruiting coverage from the Portland Oregonian.
Arizona (52)
You would think that after going to a bowl game the Wildcats would have a stronger recruiting year. Arizona did ink three 4-star players: linebacker Trevor Erno of Lakewood, Calif.; tailback Daniel Jenkins of Moreno Valley, Calif.; and Hall.
Complete Arizona recruiting coverage in AZ Central.
Washington (66)
Willinghams first class was ranked 55th in the nation and was ranked last in the Pac 10. This particular class is ranked 66th which isn't good but I think you will see quite a few more contributors emerge in this one compared to Willinghams forst class at Washington.
Washington is bringing in six JC players that can compete for starting jobs immediately.