5 biggest National Signing Day surprises
Predictions, predictions and more predictions.
Every year, recruiting predictions are made ahead of National Signing Day, but without fail the nation’s top high school recruits are always up for a few surprises.
While the SEC has seen its fair share of surprises on the biggest recruiting day of the year, the unexpected moments extend outside the conference and across the NCAA.
Here’s a look at the five biggest National Signing Day surprises.
Dante Fowler flips from FSU to Florida
Five-star defensive end Dante Fowler was a Florida State commit for more than a year. He grew up a Seminoles fan and his family was full of FSU supporters. He, along with several other highly-regard defensive recruits, were helping to form the nation’s top recruiting class in Tallahassee in 2012. Florida head coach Will Muschamp never gave up on Fowler, however. Despite the St. Petersburg, Fla., native staying firm with his commitment, Muschamp personally recruited him and never let up. As National Signing Day approached, the tide started to turn in Fowler’s recruitment. Questions of playing time and the depth chart arose about FSU for Fowler, but he announced he was still committed to FSU and it seemed that the Seminoles would keep Fowler in the class, but everything changed on NSD. Fowler announced his intentions to switch to the Gators on a local news broadcast and the Gators stole one from their hated in-state rivals.
Cyrus Kouandjio commits to Auburn … wait, no he doesn’t
In one of the many classic recruiting battles between Iron Bowl rivals Alabama and Auburn, five-star offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio was the center of controversy. The nation’s top offensive lineman in 2011 was being hotly pursued by the Tigers and Crimson Tide and he was to make his decision known on national television on National Signing Day. When the announcement came, he declared his intentions to go to Auburn, a big recruiting coup shortly after winning the BCS Championship. However, as the hours passed after Kouandjio’s announcement, he still hadn’t sent in his letter of intent to Auburn. News broke later on that he was having second thoughts about his decision, and then a few days later, Auburn fans’ worst fears were realized when he sent a letter of intent to Alabama, giving the Crimson Tide the nation’s No. 2 recruit.
De’Anthony Thomas picks Oregon over USC
Growing up in California, De’Anthony Thomas was a huge USC fan. With Lane Kiffin as head coach of the Trojans, it seemed to be a lock that USC would secure the commitment of the nation’s top-ranked athlete. And the Trojans did. Thomas was committed to USC for more than a year, but as NSD approached Oregon heated up its recruitment of Thomas and convinced him to visit the campus the weekend prior to National Signing Day. It turns out the visit for Thomas was enough to change his mind and on the night of NSD, Thomas picked the Ducks over the Trojans and provided Chip Kelly with another dynamic playmaker for his high-powered Oregon offense.
Mant Te’o chooses the Irish
Out of Hawaii, the USC Trojans usually have a pretty good success rate in bringing over some of the island’s top football players, but that was not the case in 2009 with the nation’s top inside linebacker Manti Te’o. Both USC and UCLA were wooing him and were the consensus favorites to land him, but Charlie Weis and Notre Dame put the full-court press on their eventual top defensive player. Weis made three separate trips to see Te’o in Hawaii and the dedication paid off with Te’o choosing the Fighting Irish over the Trojans and Bruins. It turned out to be a great decision by Te’o, who helped lead the Fighting Irish to the 2013 BCS Championship in his final year with the team.
CJ Spiller spurns the Gators
One of the nation’s elite playmakers was right in the Gators’ backyard in 2006. Running back CJ Spiller was considered a lock to go to Florida. He grew up rooting for the Gators and many expected or guaranteed the five-star standout would stay at home and play for his favorite team. But on National Signing Day, Spiller spurned the Gators and signed his letter of intent for Clemson. It was one of the most shocking recruiting upsets in the past decade. Rumor has it that FSU head coach Bobby Bowden helped nudge Spiller to Clemson and away from Florida. His decision caused his mother to cry on stage following the announcement. Spiller’s decision to go to Clemson certainly worked out for him and his career, but if he would have gone to Florida, he would have been a part of the Gators’ offense that featured Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin.