Second-year classes (cont.)

Michigan

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Coach Rich Rodriguez needed to sign at least two quarterbacks to fit his spread offense and avoid another 3-8 debacle. He got them in San Diego's Tate Forcier, who enrolled in January, and Deerfield Beach (Fla.), speedster Denard Robinson. Forcier and Robinson will compete with veterans Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan for the starting job. A good, old-fashioned position battle should force improvement in a unit that finished last in the Big Ten in total offense and scoring offense in 2008.

"At quarterback, we need to create some competition," Rodriguez said. "With Tate and Denard coming in, competing against Steve and Nick and the rest of the guys, we're going to have quality competition."

Nebraska

As you learned from reading SI.com's State of Recruiting project, geography might be the toughest recruiting challenge facing Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini and his staff. The state of Nebraska doesn't produce a ton of players, and that's why 14 of Nebraska's 20 signees come from Texas and California. One of those, Plano, Texas, back Rex Burkhead, chose the Huskers over Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Fellow Texan Cody Green -- a quarterback from Dayton -- had offers from those schools and from Oklahoma State, but committed to Nebraska in September and enrolled in January.

Ole Miss

With 37 signees, some of them have to be good, right? Houston Nutt's second class in Oxford has as much quality as it does quantity. The Rebels signed Fort Meade, Md., quarterback Raymond Cotton, who had originally planned on becoming Tony Franklin's quarterback of the future at Auburn before that program fell into disarray. Ole Miss also grabbed Macon, Miss., receiver Patrick Patterson and Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.) offensive lineman Bobby Massie in a Signing Day sweep. Expect a fair amount of controversy if safety signee Jamar Hornsby emerges as a starter. Hornsby, a transfer from East Mississippi Community College, was kicked off Florida's team in May 2008 when he was caught using a credit card that had belonged to teammate Joe Haden's recently deceased girlfriend. Hornsby cut a plea deal in December and was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay almost $10,000 in restitution and court costs.

Texas A&M

Mike Sherman's first season in College Station didn't exactly inspire confidence. The Aggies finished 4-8 and at the bottom of the Big 12 South, the toughest division in college football. Fortunately for Sherman, Aggies fans should be buzzing about the signing of Christine Michael, the Beaumont, Texas, tailback who turned down offers from LSU and Oklahoma. Michael should have a chance to play immediately. The Aggies return second-leading rusher Cyrus Gray, but they must replace leading rusher Mike Goodson, who declared for the NFL draft.

UCLA

Coach Rick Neuheisel finally made good on his pledge, made in an August Los Angeles Times ad, to begin dismantling USC's football monopoly in Los Angeles. The Bruins beat the Trojans head-to-head for several recruits, including Provo, Utah, offensive tackle Xavier Su'a Filo and L.A. receiver Randall Carroll. Add Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., quarterback Richard Brehaut, and UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow should have some weapons at his disposal in the coming years. Now, the Bruins just have to beat the Trojans on the field.

West Virginia

Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart said something on Signing Day that pretty much sums up West Virginia's recruiting efforts since current Michigan coach Rodriguez took over the program in 2001. While the Mountaineers rarely score high in the recruiting rankings, they perform on the field. "We as a staff do not care if they are one-star or 10-star," Stewart said. "All we know is that they are our stars. They have not hit one person, they have not broken up one pass, they haven't carried one yard, they have not thrown one pass, and they have not caught any balls. I don't know if they are worth a pile of beans, and we won't know that for three years. We don't have any crystal balls, but on paper they look pretty good."

The signees that look best on paper -- and pretty good in person -- are receiver Logan Heastie, a Chesapeake, Va., native who already has enrolled, and Miramar (Fla.) teammates Eugene Smith (6-3, 182-pound quarterback) and Stedman Bailey (5-10, 186-pound receiver). Also look out for defensive end Tevita Finau, a 6-5, 275-pound community college transfer who also considered Cal.

Washington State

Cougars coach Paul Wulff has the toughest sales job in college football. While conference rivals can sell visions of spending four years in Los Angeles, Tempe, Seattle or Berkeley, Wulff must explain why they should come to Pullman. To recruits in the 2009 class, Wulff also had to explain why the NCAA was investigating his tenure at Eastern Washington.

For Wulff to succeed, he'll have to strike gold with sleepers like receiver Johnny Forzani. Forzani, from Calgary, Alberta, didn't play high school football. As a freshman at Douglas College in 2006-07, he helped his team to the Canadian national title. In 2007 and 2008, Forzani, the son of CFL hall-of-famer Tom Forzani, played for the Calgary Stampeders' junior team, the Colts. Forzani, who has already enrolled at Washington State, also drew interest from Buffalo, Nevada and Utah.