National Signing Day for college football recruits occurred last Wednesday, and ESPN actually had live coverage, somehow. It was a great day for a lot of high school athletes, but for many fans of Virginia football, it was viewed as somewhat of a disappointment. ESPN rated the Cavaliers' Class of 2012 to be the worst of all 12 ACC teams, while Virginia Tech pulled in the No. 15 class in the nation. I tend not to judge recruiting classes right away, because a) you don't really know what these players are capable of, and b) it's disheartening when 18-year-olds who haven't even stepped on the field yet are getting negative press because they aren't as highly rated as other schools' recruits. Nevertheless, this is reality.
But what are these ratings all about? It's crazy that there are countless Web sites dedicated to following the every move of high school athletes and that so much stock is put into what the people running these Web sites have to say. Recently, I got to thinking about this big business that reports sports recruiting. I read message boards about Virginia sports, and a common theme among posted messages is that the Cavaliers don't sign enough of the quality players from in-state. My question for whomever, then, is this: Should Virginia be recruiting harder in-state against its rivals, trying to lure players away from Virginia Tech, for instance? Or, should the Cavaliers just go after the best players possible, regardless of where they're from?
Here is some background information to help you decide.
Virginia signed 18 athletes in the 2008 recruiting class, and only one was rated 4-star by Rivals.com
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