I guess that's an Alabama hat; not sure. Anyway, Nick Saban, that sly boots, has earned the nation's No. 1 recruiting class once again, as tabulated on aggregate by ESPN, Rivals and Scout.com, the nation's top three recruiting services. Rivals rated Alabama No. 1.

And to illustrate how silly the whole process has become, there is this bit of theater from Kirkpatrick yesterday, as he made his choice between Texas and Alabama.

Kirkpatrick, the nation's top cornerback, delighted the crowd in Gadsden City by setting up a Texas and Alabama hat. Then looked at the UT hat and said, "This hat right here. It don't have enough swag." So he pulled out a gym bag, asked his mom to open it up, pulled out a wrapped present, opened it, pulled out a bag, opened that, then looked out at the crowd and said, 'Y'all ready?"

"Alabama," Dre said, as cheers erupted and he put on a black, flat-brimmed Alabama hat. "I couldn't go (to Texas) when my home state got the same things to offer. They couldn't offer me nothing better than to stay home."

That should go over really well the first time he's blocked downfield by a Texas tight end.

Ohio State (Scout) and LSU (ESPN) were also touted as getting the No. 1 classes. respectively, from the other two services, while USC and Texas also ranked in the top five. Alabama impressed by getting running back Eddie Lacy, offensive lineman Brandon Moore, linebacker Tana Patrick and wide receivers Kenny Bell and Kendall Kelly on Wednesday.

Rounding out the top 10 are Florida State at No. 6, Michigan at No. 7, North Carolina at No. 8, Georgia at No. 9 and Florida at No. 10. Meanwhile, no one can figure out how linebacker Barkevious Mingo and running back Ronnie Wingo Jr. didn't end up at the same school.

Dre Kirkpatrick: This Hat Don't Have Swagger [Sporting Blog]
National Signing Day, 2009 [Sparty And Friends]
Dre Kirkpatrick: 'Y'all Ready? Alabama' [Birmingham News]
Signing Day Recruiting Wire [SI]

Look, I understand that recruiting is a vital component of every college program and that you simply can't win titles without quality athletes, but in all honesty, this isn't much better than organized gambling. No one really knows how any of these kids are going to do in college, or whether one recruiting class is better than another. (That's why they give you so many scholarships, because they know that half your choices will be bad ones.) How big is the difference, really, between the No. 3 RB and No. 8 RB and who says the top middle linebacker from the state of Pennsylvania is really the top? And it doesn't matter anyway, because as soon as they enroll everyone forgets about them and where they were "ranked" by some scouting service no one understands. I guess it gives fans something to argue about during the offseason, but when your hopes and dreams are tied to the whims of a 17-year-old kid, that never ends well.

And another thing! I guess the families get excited, because their baby is a star for one day, but do we really need to hype these kids up any more? Take Jelani Jackson, a top something recruit, who got to interrupt SportsCenter for four minutes today. He was asked a question by an anchor, completely ignored it, and then gave a rambling speech to the nation, before putting on a hat. Then he gets to be mocked by Josh Elliott. I really hope that's not the highlight of his life.

And yes, I'm being a grumpy old man today, but if you think all this hype and pomp and Todd McShay's wardrobe budget is completely harmless, I've got one thing to say: Kevin Hart. That poor bastard still gets to me.

Jelani Jenkins [Rivals]

Or: Open Up Your Heart And Let National Signing Day Come In

Today is National Signing Day, the first day that prep players can sign letters of intent to play at the college of their — or their agent's — choice. The biggest undecided name, up until a minutes ago, was probably Te'o, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound inside linebacker from Punahou High School. He had recently narrowed his choices to BYU, Stanford, USC, UCLA and Notre Dame.

Word on the street was that he'd pick USC, which is exactly where I'd go if I were a Mormon. But now at Notre Dame he'll be able to absorb the confusing signals of both the Catholic and the Mormon Churches. Stanford was right out, seeing that it can't help opening up patients at Stanford Hospital and showing their beating hearts to potential recruits. That's what they did with Frankie Telfort, a linebacker from Gulliver Prep in Miami, Fla., who was considering Stanford before deciding on USC earlier today.

''The first day I got to Stanford, they let me witness an open-heart surgery,'' said Telfort, who is interested in medicine and wants to become either a pharmacist or a physician. ``I was a about a foot away. It was crazy. It was the biggest highlight of any of my recruiting visits. 'I thought, `There's not a lot they wouldn't do for their students.' ''

Signing Day live blogging fun over at In the Bleachers, plus provocative commentary by Every Day Should Be Saturday, as you'd expect. Check back here for further developments.

Meanwhile, some counter programming over in the Ivy League, with National Girls and Women in Sports Day. I'm so conflicted!

• Trojans Lose a Couple More. Vontaze Burict, a linebacker from Centennial High in Corona, Calif., has apparently changed his mind after committing to USC. The Rivals' ninth-ranked prospect verbally committed to Pac-10 rival Arizona State. The Trojans also lost WR Alshon Jeffery of Calhoun County in St. Matthews, S.C., decided to stay home and play for South Carolina. [USA Today]

2009 Football National Signing Day [MaxPreps]
Live Blogging: 2009 National LOI Day [In The Bleachers]
The Other Side Of Manti Teo [KHNL-TV8]
Top 100 Prep Prospects [USA Today]