Good morning, all-

Wednesday, as you likely know, is national signing day for Football, and we'll be posting plenty of stories online and then in Thursday's paper about who's signing where, and who is ranked what.

I find a couple things about recruiting kind of funny. How does anyone decide that one defensive lineman from Florida is the No. 18 player at his position and another defensive lineman from Washington state is No. 19?

Second, how is it that fans get so excited and wrapped up over players whom they've never seen play a single down? Or, if they have, maybe they've seen a short clip of grainy highlights in which they probably know very little about who it is the recruit is playing against?

Is it just because of the numbers of stars they receive, or the position they play or their "measurables"?

It sort of reminds me, not surprisingly, of the time I spent covering the Falcons and the NFL. Each April, fans (and writers) would get worked up over 40 times, bench press reps and vertical leaps. In hindsight, I think it was because that was basically all you had that was concrete. You can't really say, "Player A's swim move is clearly at least 5 percent better than Player B's." You can only say, Player A's 40 time is 4.5 and Player B's is 4.6."

And then the season starts and you're like, How on earth was this guy drafted in the first round? And you remembered anew that things like 40 times aren't really that important, a lesson you forgot come March.

Anyway, I looked up the recruiting profiles from scout.com for the all-ACC first team from this past season. It might serve as a warning to not get too hyped up over some signee who gets four stars and perhaps also not despondent over two-star recruits.

There were a few hits - Virginia OT Eugene Monroe was the No. 1 offensive line recruit in the country in his class, while Tech DE Michael Johnson was ranked No. 7 at his position (tight end) in his class. But again, even they could identify stars in the making - Jonathan Dwyer was a four-star running back - it speaks to the silliness of the rankings. He was No. 13. It'd be hard to make a case that there are 12 running backs - or 24, if you want to include the Nos. 1-12 from the year ahead of him - that are better than him.

There were also nine two-star players. My favorite is Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry, who might be the best linebacker in the upcoming draft. In 2004, scout.com found at least 128 linebackers that they deemed better prospects than Curry.

I think it tells me that a) projecting 18-year-olds is not at all a science; b) success at the college level depends a lot on things that are not measurable - coaching, getting an opportunity to play, character, work ethic and so on.

QB- Russell Wilson, N.C. State 2 star, #67 (rank at position, where applicable) RB- Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech 4 star, #13 RB- Da'Rel Scott, Maryland 3 star, NR WR- Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina 4 star, #32 WR- D.J. Boldin, Wake Forest 2 star, #78 TE- John Phillips, Virginia 3 star, No. 30 OT- Eugene Monroe, Virginia 5 star, No. 1 OT- Andrew Gardner, Georgia Tech 2 star, NR OG- Rodney Hudson, Florida State 3 star OG- Cliff Ramsey, Boston College 2 star, NR C- Edwin Williams, Maryland 2 star, NR

DE- Everette Brown, Florida State 4 star, #23 DE- Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech 4 star, #7 (TE) DT- B.J. Raji, Boston College 2 star, NR DT- Vance Walker, Georgia Tech 2 star, NR LB- Mark Herzlich, Boston College 3 star, NR LB- Michael Tauiliili, Duke 2 star, NR LB- Aaron Curry, Wake Forest 2 star, NR CB- Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest 3 star, #60 CB- Victor Harris, Virginia Tech 4 star, #8 S- Trimane Goddard, North Carolina 4 star, # 9 S- Michael Hamlin, Clemson 3 star, #43

I get it, to some degree. Obviously, it's exciting that Tech might get a recruit that Georgia wants, and the fact that both schools want the same kid means that obviously he has some potential. And everyone likes to know or guess who the next star is going to be or who's going to replace Darryl Richard and so on. Everyone likes things that are new. I'm not immune to the intrigue of recruiting. Trust me, I'm sure I'll be writing plenty Wednesday,

That said, what do you think? How much attention will you be paying to signing day?

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/tech/entries/2009/02/03/some_food_for_r.html