The big day is here for the nation's top football recruits, who get their first crack at officially inking their next three or four years into stone. Plenty -- and I mean plenty -- of hoopla will surround this one day, but National Signing Day would be nothing without the work that's been done by coaches and recruiters in the months or years before the first week in February.
For evidence, look no further than Beaufort High's Justin Parker. Most of you know, the state's top linebacker prospect allowed us to follow him through his weekly recruiting diary and get a peek into the whirlwind process. Now, some two years after receiving his first scholarship offer, some very reliable sources have told me that Parker's journey will end with a national letter of intent to Clemson.
Before Parker announces his decision at 3 p.m. today, Battery Creek's Ricardo Chaney is expected to make his prior verbal commitment to Clemson official in a 9 a.m. press conference. Other Dolphins expected to take their skills to the next level are Spencer Shine, the team's top linebacker who will receive a full scholarship from Johnson C. Smith College in Charlotte, and speedy cornerback Cleon Wright, who will attend Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.
We'll be all over the local rumblings of Signing Day, so stay tuned to the Full Court Press blog, the Beaufort Gazette/Island Packet website, our Twitter page (@IPBGsports), my Twitter page (@brandoncparker) and for those who still love fresh ink on their fingers, Thursday's edition of the paper for continuous breaking news and updates.