Big Weekend Coming Up!

February 2nd is a very important day to the USF football program as it is National Signing Day. This is a big day for many high school athletes all around the country to sign and announce where they will be playing their college football. USF is just the same and the 2011 class, the first full recruiting class for Coach Holtz and his staff is beginning to take shape.

Holtz was able to salvage the recruiting class from last year after the Leavitt mess and actually got some high ranked prospects, like Terrence Mitchell and Todd Chandler to commit to USF. This season, the list (according to Rivals.com) does not have anyone ranked higher than 3-stars and the list of skill position players is very low at the very moment. Many are wondering what is wrong and if USF is falling behind.

Holtz has a way of building a program, look at UCONN and ECU. He is bringing in players that will help fill the depth chart, but are also his style of player. The current recruit list (remember these are verbal commits, they have not signed anything yet and could change their mind at the last second) is not that exciting yet. Holtz is has commitments from multiple offensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs. He has one verbal from a running back, one wide receiver, and one quarterback.

This doesn't seem like a very big class of 5 or 4 star recruits that many judge a program by, but this is how Holtz will build USF. He will load up with mid-range recruits and build a solid foundation in his own model. He will then coach these players up and they will win, attracting the big time recruits. Look at some USF recruits like Nate Allen who was a 2-star recruit as a QB coming to USF and now plays on Sundays. The whole star ranking is not a fair assessment of a player and the coaching that he will get. There have been plenty of 5-star recruits that have failed in college.

Also keep in mind that February 2nd is the official signing day, so a lot could change, these are high school kids, so they may change their mind. With coaching changes happening and visits still scheduled, this could be a great day and a milestone in the growth of USF football.