As of late it seems that the art of the announcement is almost as important as the actual announcement of the school you are attending – at least in the world of college football. We've had live animals, fake announcements, peeling off layers of clothing, and of course the old standby – the hat dance.
Seriously, I'm just waiting for the day some kid jumps out of a plane and picks his school by skydiving into a target on the ground that has the school of his choice's logo. Can you imagine his ability to fake people out by seemingly landing on one square and then running over to his actual choice or whatever? Come on…. Someone's going to do it, you and I both know it.
With that in mind we here at Crystal Ball Run wanted to look back at the Top 5 All-Time National Signing Day Announcements and amazingly this wasn't an easy list to come up with because there were so many memorable moments to pick from.
1) Isaiah Crowell – Live animal announcement w/ mini-UGA
Who can forget this one? I mean seriously… A dog to make your announcement? Really… really? If you don't remember here is the video:
The puppy was cute and all, but ya… I guess you've gotta make yourself a household name somehow in this era of complete self-promotion and thanks to this moment Crowell's name won't soon be forgotten.
2. Kevin Jones – The PSU switcheroo
This one is a spin off of the old hat dance people used to do, but it also had some big time ramifications because of where Kevin Jones was from – Pennsylvania – and more specifically, Penn State country inside of Pennsylvania. So, what did he do?
Well, Jones showed up with a Penn State jersey, didn't say a word (letting the crowd assume he was announcing PSU) and then ripped it off saying he would not be attending Penn State, but would be attending Virginia Tech. Jones made the right choice for him as he went on to have one heck of a career as a Hokie. He ran for 3,475 yards in his three seasons at Va Tech and became a consensus All-American as well as a 1st round NFL draft pick.
To this day this announcement sticks in the craw of Nittany Lions fans.
3. Eric Dickerson – SMU over Texas A&M
Is there a single signing that's had a bigger impact on the two schools recruiting the kid? Dickerson chose SMU and it was a big time surprise for the early 1980's to say the least. However, hindsight shows us that perhaps Texas A&M was better off without Dickerson as along with Craig James and a few other players their recruitment and "benefits" became the focal point of the NCAA investigation and as they say…. The rest is history.
SMU got a VERY GOOD player in Dickerson and I'm sure aTm would've loved to have him in the fold, however, would they have also loved the death penalty that would've come with it? 'Cause that's what type of recruitment it would've taken for the Aggies to beat out the Mustangs. How different would these two programs be today if the shoe were on the other foot?
Just think about it and let it sink in.
4. Dre Kirkpatrick – Calling out Julio Jones
Think all the way back to the 2008 recruiting class… now was there a more memorable moment than Dre Kirkpatrick's signing? I highly doubt it. After all he said Texas had no "swagger" and then in the interview following his choice of Alabama he called out Julio freaking Jones – who was already a star collegiate player.
5. Alabama – Fax Lady
I know, what the hell is a school doing on this list? Well, over the past 5 or 6 seasons it's become popular for schools to post a "fax cam" on their websites to show signed national letters of intent being received at the school. Of course the SEC and 'Bama had to one up just the simple webcam setup as they decided in 2010 to post up some, well… shapely coed's in mini-skirts as their "fax ladies."
Needless to say, it didn't go over well with the folks that didn't think of it first and the SEC office even received a few complaints that it was an "unfair advantage" to entice kids with scantily clad coed's on their fax webcam. So, ya, now 'Bama isn't using this practice, but there hasn't been a shortage of faked versions of this popping up around the state, that's for sure.
*BONUS: Landon Collins – Ticks off Mom by choosing 'Bama
While this one didn't happen on national signing day (hence why it didn't make the list), it's way, WAY to good to not put on a list like this. The reaction to Collins' selection of his school by his mother is simply priceless:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ac9DQc7RrN8
We're sure to see our share of memorable announcements as ESPNU is planning 10 full hours of national signing day coverage and will be at 13 schools with countless announcements being made live on television. If they are like anything on this particular list then we should all be entertained.
