• The suspense wears neon socks. The culmination of years of hard sells late nights by coaches – not to mention overheated message board obsession by fans – dawns with lingering question marks over the destinations of a dozen or so high-profile prospects, and even most of their choices are considered foregone conclusions by the recruitniks. Even among the half-dozen five-star prospects in Rivals' top 100 that remain uncommitted, five of them – Curtis Grant (Ohio State), Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama), Tony Steward (Florida State), Isaiah Crowell (Georgia) and Stephone Anthony (Clemson) – have an undisputed leader for their signature on a letter of intent by the end of the day. [Rivals]
The one glaring exception is massively hyped cornerback/tailback De'Anthony "Black Mamba"Thomas, a Los Angeles native and longstanding USC commit who seems to be on the verge of signing with Oregon instead after a surprise visit to Eugene over the weekend. Thomas is expected to announce his decision tonight at his high school, just a few miles from the USC campus. Judging from the picture that's been floating around of Thomas decked to head-to-toe in Oregon gear alongside Snoop Dogg's son, it could be shaping up as a long day for the Trojans. [Rivals, Eugene Register-Guard, 247Sports]
• Get on the bus. Randy Edsall's first major act as Maryland's head coach: A team-wide on motor scooters, in response to separate accidents that ended the seasons of two Terrapin players, offensive lineman Pete DeSouza and cornerback Dexter McDougle, last year. Edsall's predecessor, Ralph Friedgen, wrote letters to parents urging against scooters on campus after McDougle's accident, but said he didn't feel he had the authority to issue a ban. [The Diamondback]
• The rap sheet. Outgoing Purdue receiver Aqurinas "Cortez" Smith was arrested last week and faces possible charges for allegedly punching a student from Wabash College in the face on Jan. 21. Police said the victim was apparently attempting to intervene in an early-morning argument involving Smith outside a bar, and suffered "facial fractures" of unknown severity for his trouble: "According to everyone else, (the victim) was not aggressive and never touched Cortez," said West Lafayette police Lt. Troy Harris. "We're not sure of the exact exchange of words or what was said. ... We do know that Cortez punched him in the face once. The facial fractures were the result of that one punch." No charges have been filed pending further review of the case and the extent of the injuries. [West Lafayette Journal and Courier]
In other legal news, Penn State offensive lineman Johnnie Troutman, a regular starter at left guard last season as a fourth-year junior, was charged Tuesday with DUI, failure to observe traffic-control devices and driving without a license following a drunk driving arrest on Saturday. Troutman was charged with criminal mischief on a recruiting visit to State College in 2006, before he ever enrolled, but hasn't been in trouble since hitting campus full time. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Allentown Morning Call]
Quickly… Georgia receiver Logan Gray is finally transferring. … Michigan State promotes its offensive line coach to offensive coordinator. … The Tuscaloosa News probably spent all year on this. … And actual statisticians come to the conclusion that "recruiting is indeed a long-term process that leads to success in the long term, not the short term."
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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