The terms and tactics that define the recruiting game

	Top 25 Breakdown By Mike Farrell, Rivals.com Taking a closer look at the each of the 25 best recruiting classes following a very exciting National Signing Day. Recruiting wire By Rivals.com Rivals.com's recruiting experts provide live updates on the latest commitments throughout the day. Master salesmen By Stewart Mandel, SI.com Urban Meyer is part of the new breed of "players coaches" who have changed the recruiting landscape. Rivals.com rankings • Team rankings | 100 top prospects • Team-by-team list of commitments • A look at Rivals' top 10 prospects • Complete coverage from Rivals.com Future cast By JC Shurburtt, Rivals.com Who's next? Rivals.com takes a look at the top recruits for the Class of '08. • FARRELL: QB the next Vince Young? Spurrier charm By Cory McCartney, SI.com With Steve Spurrier getting involved like never before, South Carolina is putting together an unparalleled class. More from SI.com MANDEL: Suddenly, UF has become USC East RISE: Profiling some of the nation's finest recruits Recruiting glossary | What is a Letter of Intent? SI.com's Complete Recruiting Coverage

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Clearinghouse: The NCAA Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse is an organization that works with the NCAA to determine students' eligibility for athletics participation in their first year of college enrollment. Students who want to participate in college sports during their first year of enrollment in college must register with the Clearinghouse. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, the Clearinghouse staff follows NCAA bylaws and regulations in analyzing and processing a student's high school academic records, ACT or SAT scores, and key information about amateurism participation. It is up to the Clearinghouse to determine the student's initial eligibility.

Commitment: Also known as an oral commitment or verbal commitment. A recruit's pledge to the coaching staff that he intends to accept their scholarship offer and attend a specific institution. The pledge is non-binding until a National Letter-of-Intent is signed. If a prospect breaks off a commitment with one school to commit to another, it is called a de-commitment.
• Silent commitment: A commitment made to the coaching staff of a specific school but not made public.
• Soft commitment: A commitment in which the recruit will continue to take official visits to other schools.

Eligibility: Student-athletes receiving an athletic scholarship must graduate from high school, complete 14 core courses (ex. English, math, science), earn a minimum required grade-point average in core courses, and earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches his core-course grade-point average and test score sliding scale (for example, a 2.4 core-course grade-point average needs a 860 SAT); click here for more on the sliding scale.
• Qualifier: A student-athlete who meets the academic requirements listed above. A qualifier can practice or compete for a college or university during his first year of college, can receive an athletics scholarship during his first year of college, and can play four seasons in his sport if he maintains eligibility from year to year.
• Non-qualifier: Non-qualifiers do not meet the academic requirements listed above. Non-qualifiers cannot practice or compete for their college or university during their first year of college. They cannot receive an athletics scholarship during their first year of college, but they may receive need-based financial aid. They can play only three seasons in their sport if they maintain eligibility from year to year (to earn a fourth season they must complete at least 80 percent of their degree before beginning their fifth year of college).

Grayshirt: A term used in the recruiting process to describe situations in which a student-athlete delays initial enrollment in a collegiate institution to the winter or spring term after the traditional academic year begins. Students who grayshirt often use the fall to take classes part time or choose not to enroll in college at all.

National Signing Day: The first day prospective student-athletes can sign a national letter of intent (see below). For high school football athletes, Signing Day falls on the first Wednesday of February. There is a separate signing day for midseason transfers (junior college transfers) in December.

National Letter of Intent: (Sometimes abbreviated as NLI or LOI) A binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution in which the institution agrees to provide a prospective student-athlete who is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules athletics aid for one academic year in exchange for the prospect's agreement to attend the institution for one academic year. All colleges and universities that participate in the NLI program agree not to recruit a prospective student-athlete once he/she signs an NLI with another college or university. Therefore, a prospective student-athlete who signs an NLI should no longer receive recruiting contacts and calls and is ensured an athletic scholarship for one academic year. The NLI must be accompanied by an institutional financial aid agreement. College coaches are not permitted to comment publicly about prospects until they sign a letter of intent.
• Click here for more on the Letter of Intent.