All right, now that the signing day dust has settled and the most recent recruiting class has become an official part of Kansas football, let's take a quick look at what this all means for the Jayhawks in 2013.

I'll have plenty more reaction and analysis of this class and signing day itself throughout the day and in the coming days — including a probable podcast later this afternoon — but I wanted to get it all started with a fun and informal look at what I think this class can bring to KU.

So let's break it down into a handful of three-player categories and follow it up with a quick and crude look at what I think the first first-string might look this fall.

Here goes:

Three biggest impact players:
1. Marquel Combs, DT
2. Marcus Jenkins-Moore, LB
3. Isaiah Johnson, S

Three most needed players:
1. Andrew Bolton, DE
2. Chris Martin, DE
3. Cassius Sendish, CB

Three most electric players:
1. Ishmael Hyman, WR
2. Colin Spencer, RB
3. Kevin Short, DB

Three biggest dark horse contributors:
1. Mike Smithburg, OL
2. Dexter McDonald, DB
3. Ngalu Fusimalohi, OL

Three guys who need time:
1. Jordan Darling, QB
2. Montell Cozart, QB
3. Ben Johnson, TE

Three hardest hitters:
1. Samson Faifili, LB
2. Andrew Bolton, DE
3. Chris Martin, DE

Three fastest fliers:
1. Ishmael Hyman, WR
2. Rod Coleman, WR
3. Kellen Ash, LB

Three guys I liked more after Weis' presser
1. Mark Thomas, WR
2. Zach Fondal, OL
3. Tedarian Johnson, DL

Where this class ranks nationally:
25th – The Sporting News
45th – Rivals.com (7th in the Big 12)
50th – 24/7 Sports.com (8th in the Big 12)
55th – ESPN.com

My way-too-early look at 2013 first-stringers:

OFFENSE:
QB – Jake Heaps
RB – James Sims
RB – Tony Pierson
WR – Justin McCay
WR – Rod Coleman
TE – Jimmay Mundine
LT – Zach Fondal
LG – Damon Martin
C – Mike Smithburg
RG – Ngalu Fusimalohi
RT – Aslam Sterling

DEFENSE:
DE – Andrew Bolton
DT – Ty McKinney
DT – Marquel Combs
DE – Chris Martin
LB – Marcus Jenkins-Moore
LB – Ben Heeney
LB – Samson Faifili
CB – Cassius Sendish
CB – JaCorey Shepherd
SS – Isaiah Johnson
FS – Kevin Short

Stay tuned for much, much more throughout the day and the rest of the week and check back a little later for a podcast with our impressions and reactions from signing day.

This is what college football coaches across the country will be anxiously awaiting Wednesday morning as the Class of 2013 prepares to make it official. by Matt Tait

With national signing day now less than 24 hours away, all kinds of stories about signing days past make their way to the forefront of people's minds.

From famous tales about fax machine fiascos to power classes and last-minute shockers, the stories are always a favorite of mine, even if I've heard many of them before.

Although most (maybe all) of them had nothing to do with KU, they're still interesting reads for die-hard football fans who can't get enough gridiron action in the offseason.

With that in mind, here are a few quick links to some of the more entertaining flashbacks as well as a couple of interesting stories about the cost of recruiting and how rankings tend to pan out.

Enjoy, and make sure you're back here bright and early Wednesday for this year's edition of our live signing day blog. I'll be up and at 'em with the earliest signees and will be tracking the fun all morning as I wait to head up to KU coach Charlie Weis' signing day press conference at 1 p.m.

KU's current class, which includes 25 commitments — 10 of which already have signed — figures to be pretty straight forward. I've talked to most of the guys and they all seem to be planning to sign as early as possible on Wednesday. The coaching staff still has two spots remaining so there's always a chance that an additional name or two could pop up tomorrow, but I'm not expecting that.

I think they'll be smart and hang on to those spots in case something surprising pops up elsewhere in the next couple of weeks. Always a good idea. And a smart bet, considering Weis said when he first got here that he would not sign guys just for the sake of adding bodies.

Here we go...

• National Signing Day's craziest stories from Athlon Sports:
http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/recruiting-signing-days-craziest-stories

• Alabama, which has a fan base that follows signing day like storm chasers follow the weather, actually put a live camera on its fax machine and, at times, has even tossed in a little spice, super model style:
http://nesn.com/2011/02/university-of-alabama-football-fans-want-to-watch-the-tide-roll-on-the-fax-machine/

• Top 10 recruiting battles of all-time from ESPN Insider:
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8901133/recruitingnation-ranks-top-10-recruiting-battles-football-feb-1

• Here's another good read from SI.com, regarding the predictability of determining a team's success based on recruiting rankings:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130204/recruiting-rankings-predictive-accuracy/?eref=sircrc

• This is also pretty cool from ESPN, a look at how much each Div. I program spent on recruiting during the past two years. Kansas, which, according to the report, spent about $80,000 more on recruiting in 2011 than 2010 also was toward the top of the list nationally in terms of how much it spent:
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8041461/the-cost-recruiting