Once a year the X's and O's are put on the back burner for the Jimmys and Joes.
That day was Wednesday, and all across this great nation attention was focused on who signed where on national signing day for college football.
Signing day is more than Alabama being ranked No. 1 or the SEC having five of the top 10 classes, or even Arkansas signing a big-time cornerback and jumping two spots in the ratings.
For many of the young men it was about an opportunity, a chance to get a college education, and some will be the first in their family to have the chance to attend college, and football is their ticket.
That's the greatest thing about signing day, but ESPN doesn't televise those kids putting on a cap with the logo of their preferred team. Few tweet or post on Facebook about them, but whether it was UCA, Harding, Arkansas Tech, OBU or any other great school in Arkansas or across the country, football provided an opportunity.
Still, the rich got richer on national signing day. Recruiting is often referred to as the lifeline of football, but because of injuries, discipline and development, it is not an exact science. It is a long way from signing day to playing on Saturdays.
Probably the closest to mastering the science is Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who hauled in another No. 1 class. What might shake up the SEC a little, however, is that Georgia, under Kirby Smart, was No. 3. LSU was No. 6, Auburn No. 9 and Texas A&M was No. 10. Four of those five are in the SEC West.
Tennessee (No. 15), Florida (18), South Carolina (21), Arkansas (24), Mississippi State (28) and Kentucky (29) had good recruiting classes, too.
Ole Miss, obviously haunted by lingering NCAA allegations, dropped to No. 35; Missouri, haunted by recent events, was No. 49; and Vanderbilt, the SEC's No. 1 academic school (and most expensive), was No. 62.
These rankings are an average and can vary between the various services: ESPN, Rivals, Scout.com and 247sports. About 90 percent of the signings were complete by noon, but there was still some unsettled kids, such as Jarez Parks, a four-star defensive end from Sebastian River, Fla., who suddenly was too emotional to sign with the Crimson Tide. Some were speculating that this was another Darius Philon situation, where Alabama ended up changing its mind at the last minute.
There were plenty of others waiting to take Parks. He wasn't the only four-star player who didn't sign Wednesday.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said after the Belk Bowl loss to Virginia Tech that the Hogs were going to put more emphasis on recruiting defensive backs. Arkansas signed 8 defensive backs, 4 offensive linemen and 3 defensive linemen. Bielema also signed four players who are listed as athletes, meaning they could be another defensive back, linebacker or even receiver.
The Hogs moved up in the rankings when cornerback Chevin Calloway chose the Razorbacks over Texas on Wednesday morning. He's a four-star recruit. The Hogs also signed three 3-star players who were within a hog's breath of getting that fourth star.
Bielema also signed a couple of 17-year-olds from Joe T. Robinson in Pulaski County. Wide receiver Koilan Jackson will turn 18 in September; defensive end David Porter won't turn 18 until January of 2018.
Now it's back to X's and O's.
Sports on 02/02/2017