My National Signing Day

On the first Wednesday of February, high school seniors are presented with their first opportunity to officially commit to the college football program of their choice.

National Signing Day is the first day that a recruit can sign a National Letter of Intent, a contract that binds them to their program of choice for at least one full season.

For months, and in a lot of cases, years, these students have been courted by coaches and recruiting coordinators who believe that they’ll be an integral part in the development of the program.

Sites like rivals.com, scout.com and 247Sports are dedicated to the coverage of this process, ranking recruits using a 5-star system while tracking their every statement, visit and verbal commitment.

While there are rules that govern the recruitment process – rules that get stricter with each passing year – there are few lengths that recruiters won’t go to land the country’s top-ranked recruits.

Toronto Argonauts receiver DeVier Posey was one of these special talents, ranked as the No. 15 recruit (scout.com) in the entire nation in 2008.

Posey’s recruiting class included 1,116 receivers, nine of which (0.81%) were deemed five-star recruits. In the last 10 years, scout.com has ranked 11,821 receivers, with just 61 (0.52%) deemed five-star talents.

Recruits like DeVier have the attention of every school in the nation, and at the age of 17, they’re asked to make one of the toughest decisions of their lives while everyone else looks on.

When I put the pen to paper, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Even though I had committed to Ohio State long before my signing day, this was the step that made everything official.

After 24 crazy months of letters, calls and text messages – recruiters could still text players in 2008 – I knew where I was going to school and where I’d take the next steps in my football career.

You actually sign the National Letter of Intent well before the media arrive to document it, at least I did.

The media arrived at the LaSalle gym to take photos at noon, but the paper I signed for the photos was blank; the official document was signed, sealed and delivered almost five hours before that.

I’d assume most schools did it like that and still do. They want to wrap things up as much (or worse) than you do.

I wasn’t always a 5-star recruit.

Before I was a 5-star, I was an unknown. I was unranked until my junior year when my size and production finally caught up to my work ethic.

But before they knew I could play at the next level, I knew, and so did my brother.

Julian and I pushed each other growing up. We both had dreams of playing pro football and at the college level before that, and we knew it was a matter of when, not if, we got there.

Nine years later, we’ve each been blessed with FBS scholarships and NFL experiences, and have now found our way to the CFL. I think that has a lot to do with the honesty we share.

As I said before, we’ve always pushed each other to get better. I’ll call Julian and let him know if I think he needs to play a certain receiver a different way and the next week he’ll let me know I need to attack the ball better.

That honesty was important to me while I was being swooned by recruiters. When everybody’s telling you that you’re the best, it can be easy to let it get to your head. It was the support I got from my mom and brothers that helped keep me grounded.

Ohio State receiver DeVier Posey (8) is tackled by Ohio corner back Julian Posey (9) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept 18, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam) s1 s1posey bw 3.27

I had offers from some exceptional programs, including Florida, Cal, Michigan State, Virginia and Clemson.

A guy named Dabo Swinney called me during my junior year at LaSalle.

Dabo, now fresh off a College Football Playoff Championship, was Clemson’s wide receivers coach at the time and he was looking for a verbal commitment over the phone.

“I’d really like you to come be a part of this program, but I need to know that you’re committed now or I’m going to have to move on.”

I would have loved to go play for Coach Swinney at Clemson – I’d been offered a dual-sport scholarship for football and basketball with the Tigers – but I wasn’t yet ready to commit anywhere at the time.

Coach Swinney apologized but explained that he couldn’t wait for an answer any longer. With three underclassmen already committed at receiver – who I later learned were Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins and Martavis Bryant – he had to move on, and I respected that decision.

There was never a doubt that I wanted to be a Buckeye.

I’d received offers from some of the nation’s best, but I knew exactly what I wanted.

I was confident in my ability to go to any school and succeed on the field; wherever I went, I knew I’d produce when Saturday came around.

What I was searching for – and what Ohio State offered me – was more than that. They offered a strong team culture, an exceptional coaching staff and a chance to win a national championship. When you factor in the fact it was less than two hours from home, it was no contest.

It took just one trip to Ohio State to sell me on Scarlet and Grey. After one visit, I verbally committed during my junior year at LaSalle.

When I reflect on the process nine years later, my only regret is that I didn’t go on all five of my visits.

Not because I question my choice – I would never trade my days in Columbus – but because I missed out on a chance to experience four other campuses. If my son has the same opportunity in front of him, I’d encourage him to explore all his options.

When I finally signed that piece of paper, I couldn’t stop smiling.

National Signing Day is one of the most memorable of my life and I’m grateful for both that day and the entire process that took me there.

I can’t express how thankful I am to not only have played at Ohio State, but to have received an invaluable college education in the process.

To all the players signing today, good luck. And to all the future Buckeyes signing today, the best of luck.