I don’t get all that worked up about Signing Day, same as I don’t put too much thought into the NFL or NBA drafts.
Seriously, meh.
I mean, I get it. You want your team to shine on Signing Day. But Signing Day is just, kids sending in faxes, putting on hats.
And, yes, the Alabamas, the Clemsons, they get their fair share of really good faxes and videos with five-star kids putting their hats on, and that’s why they make the playoff every year.
If you’re not Alabama or Clemson, you do the best you can with what you get.
Or, if you’re Virginia, for the longest time, you didn’t. Mike London was really good on Signing Days. His classes were ranked, by Rivals, at 25th (2011), 27th (2012) and 28th (2013), before slipping to 41st (2014) and 43rd (2015), when it became obvious that he didn’t know what to do with the kids once he got them.
That 2015 class, notably, included a pair of four-stars, linebackers Jahvoni Simmons and C.J. Stalker, the former who transferred out to Hampton after playing in six games at Virginia, the latter starting two games in four injury-plagued seasons.
Also in that class: Juan Thornhill was a two-star, who was first-team All-ACC on defense in 2018.
And then there’s Bryce Hall, a two-star in 2016, a first-team All-ACC selection at cornerback in 2018, and a guy whose name I’m seeing on NFL Draft boards as a first-rounder if he decides to forego his senior season.
Chris Peace was a two-star way back in 2014. Peace was a third-team All-ACC linebacker this season.
In all, eight ‘Hoos were represented on the All-ACC first, second or third teams: not one was higher than a three-star coming out of high school.
The best coaches recruit kids who fit their systems, fit their schools, then coach them into being contributors.
The early returns on Bronco Mendenhall and his staff are suggesting that they know what they’re doing in that respect.
Now, that said, Rivals has Mendenhall’s 2019 class currently ranked 32nd nationally and fifth in the ACC, which would be the best showing for the program since London’s 2013 class.
But, before you get too excited, they still have to enroll, go through strength and conditioning, and learn how to play.
Which is to say, lotta hard work to do to make Signing Day mean something, the faxes and hats notwithstanding.
Column by Chris Graham
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