Strong signing day key for WVU, Stewart

For many college football fans, Wednesday is one of the greatest days of the year.

It's National Signing Day – the first day that high school players can officially decide where they will play collegiately.

It's a day of promise and excitement for fans.

For West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart and his staff, it's time to complete the most important class they have signed yet and possibly the most important class they'll ever sign at West Virginia.

It is so for one main reason – it's Stewart's last chance to pitch potential to his prospects. From now on, he and his coaching staff must preach "we have" instead of the "we will" when convincing prospects that West Virginia is the best choice for them.

After all, a new head coach can only promote the endless possibilities for so long. Sooner or later, high school players around the country have to see production on the field as in Big East Championships, BCS Bowl berths and top 10 rankings before they decide they want to become a part of that particular program.

Sooner or later, they stop dreaming about success and start looking for it.

It's an unwritten rule in college football among high school players that new head coaches have two years to prove they have what it takes on the field.

This isn't saying the Mountaineers haven't had success. As Stewart has admitted, the program is recruiting against teams they hadn't competed against before.

You know, the Floridas, Alabamas, USCs and the Georgias – teams that are consistently ranked inside the top 10 in recruiting rankings year in and year out.

And for the most part, Stewart said, they're winning.

If this holds true and Stewart signs his second-consecutive top 25 class Wednesday, it'll surely be an accomplishment to be proud of, especially after the loss of Doc Holliday, who was nationally recognized for his recruiting abilities.

The Mountaineers have lost three recruits since Holliday's departure but are still on the verge of signing a top 25 class.

Something must be going right.

But it's not just the rankings. In fact, you could even say the rankings are overrated.

Rich Rodriguez would certainly be in agreement with that. Rodriguez went 60-26 in seven seasons at WVU, despite only having three classes ranked inside the top 50 in the nation.

Rodriguez found success finding those rare, overlooked players while filling the needs of his team.

To see if Stewart has found those forgotten players, we'll have to wait a few years. But, barring a drastic change of heart from current verbal commitments of course, Stewart and company have compiled a successful class thus far just by filling in the team's needs.

One common misconception is this year's class is brought in to replace last year's seniors. For some skill positions, this may hold true.

But to be truly successful, coaches recruit for two years from now.

For example, sophomore Geno Smith wasn't brought in to replace Pat White. He was recruited to fill the void left by Jarrett Brown's departure.

Second-year players Pat Miller and Jonathan Scott weren't recruited to replace Ellis Lankster and Quinton Andrews but more so to fill in for the likes of Nate Sowers, Boogie Allen and Guesly Dervil this season.

The Mountaineers will likely sign four linebackers Wednesday, three of which Stewart is hoping will serve as quality replacements for this year's standout senior linebackers that includes J.T. Thomas, Pat Lazear and Anthony Leonard.

West Virginia will also lose three valuable defensive backs in Brandon Hogan, Sidney Glover and Robert Sands, who will most likely head to the NFL after his junior year.

WVU signed just three defensive backs in the 2009 class but will likely sign five Wednesday to make up for departures after the 2010 season.

Although they likely won't be able to, Stewart and his staff have worked hard enough that they should take the day to relax and enjoy it like the rest of us.

After all, Thursday starts the official start of next season – one that will be very important for the National Recruiting Day 2011.