National Signing Day has become some what of a sports holiday with the best high school footbal talent signing letters of intent to play college football at some of the top programs in the country.

Richmond had three players sign letters on Wednesday, and may have more to follow in the coming days. For these young men, it’s a great accomplishment for them to continue their football careers, while also being able to earn an education.

Though the players should be recognized for going to the next level, there seems to be too big of a deal made out of it. There are many media outlets, which gave the day more exposure than it needed.

ESPN gave signing day nine hours of coverage on its ESPNU channel, a 24-hour college sports network. The show had in-depth analysis, news and highlights of top recruits and exclusive live player announcements.

Do high school players really need to hold press conferences, have college caps on the table to add to the suspense to what college they’re choosing and have parties staged by college and/or boosters viewed for the public to see?

The media coverage that players receive in high school feeds into their ever-growing ego.

With so much hype devoted to these potential good players, fans shouldn’t get too excited when experts rank their program as having the top recruiting class.

Notre Dame is a clear example of a big-time program, which has had top 10 recruiting classes according to Scouts, Inc. for the past couple years. However, it hasn’t reflected on the field for the Irish, as the team has endured two straight losing seasons.

Yes, it is very important to bring in a top recruiting class, but if you have a team that is already loaded with experience at certain positions, many of these players will have to redshirt their freshman year or sit on the bench.

It’s no big deal since it happens with hundreds of college football players every year. But what if the following season, you’re one of those top recruits and your coach has recruited a top player at your position.

Either you’re going to win the position battle, get beat out and get lost on the depth chart or you will transfer to a new school. It’s just too much emphasis put on high school players before they even step onto a college campus.

Whether or not a lot of these recently signed recruits can play on the next level has yet to be seen and all the attention giving to them right now doesn’t mean much.

n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com