National signing day marks the start of a new season for college football programs across the nation, and schools in Conference USA battled for the best recruiting class in the conference. For Conference USA, this year’s class marks the first class for the new look conference.
As far as this year’s recruiting class is concerned, Scout.com ranks C-USA as the ninth best conference in the NCAA just ahead of the MAC and the Sun Belt conferences.
The leading team in the new C-USA is Marshall according to the big three recruiting services, Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247sports.com. Marshall is the only school that will be in C-USA when football season rolls around that signed multiple four star recruits, and the Herd inked two in Angelo Jean-Louis and Deontay McManus.
“I’m happy with our class. I think for the most part we met our needs and we’re excited about them and we’re looking forward to getting them up here,” said Marshall head coach Doc Holliday.
Holliday and the Marshall coaching staff already have 12 signees enrolled in classes for the spring semester. According to 247sports.com, Marshall’s recruiting class ranks 48th in the nation.
East Carolina and Southern Miss each signed 28 players for the recruiting class of 2013, which is tops in C-USA. With multiple four star recruits, Rivals.com ranks Marshall first in C-USA with 23 recruits with an average of 2.57 stars.
“Evidently that means that people think they’re pretty good players. I’d rather be number one than number 10. I think it means we’re onto the right kids, but what counts is what happens when they get here and step out onto that field,” Holliday said.
Rivals.com not only ranks Marshall’s recruiting class first among the schools that will make up the new C-USA, but the top rated non-BCS recruiting class as well.
To put C-USA’s recruiting class into perspective, the SEC more than doubled the amount of five star signees that C-USA schools signed. Atop the SEC, Alabama received National Letters of Intent from 25 total commits, with six five star players and 14 top 100 recruits.
Alabama alone has more five start recruits and top 100 recruits than C-USA schools have combined.
While the majority of signees will not join their new teams until late summer, many members of the 2013 recruiting class are already enrolled in classes at their new school.
— Jarrod Clay