What impact does it have on the athletes?
By: Brian Stalter
Updated: February 4, 2013
National Signing Day has become a phenomenon for the athletes being recruited as well. For the players, it is their chance at their very own 15 minutes of fame. They have millions of people paying attention to them and their decision, and many of them take advantage of that limelight for their own enjoyment.
"The hype over football recruiting has gotten so popular that some top high school stars are holding nationally televised press conferences to announce their decision between National Football Powerhouse U and National Football Powerhouse State."
One such situation involved offensive lineman Antonio Logan-El. Highly recruited out of high school, Logan-El initially verbally committed to the University of Maryland. On National Signing Day in 2006, he held a nationally televised press conference at the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. He invited Terps' head coach Ralph Friedgen's wife to the event and was wearing a red (UMD's primary color) tie.
"He then pulled out a photo of himself with Penn State coach Joe Paterno and announced he was going to play for the legend in Happy Valley, sending a dagger into the hearts of Maryland fans."
While this situation is a departure from the norm, it shows the kind of impact the glitz and glamour of National Signing Day can have on not only the athletes, but the loyal fan bases that follow the hundreds of NCAA football programs as well.
"The hype over football recruiting has gotten so popular that some top high school stars are holding nationally televised press conferences to announce their decision between National Football Powerhouse U and National Football Powerhouse State."
One such situation involved offensive lineman Antonio Logan-El. Highly recruited out of high school, Logan-El initially verbally committed to the University of Maryland. On National Signing Day in 2006, he held a nationally televised press conference at the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. He invited Terps' head coach Ralph Friedgen's wife to the event and was wearing a red (UMD's primary color) tie.
"He then pulled out a photo of himself with Penn State coach Joe Paterno and announced he was going to play for the legend in Happy Valley, sending a dagger into the hearts of Maryland fans."
While this situation is a departure from the norm, it shows the kind of impact the glitz and glamour of National Signing Day can have on not only the athletes, but the loyal fan bases that follow the hundreds of NCAA football programs as well.
