Signing Day approaching

College football coaches all across the country are climbing in and out of vehicles and airplanes this week in hopes of getting the last word in with recruits, especially with those talents that are going to be spending their weekend on official visits.

Players can sign their letters of intent on Wednesday. The coaches are sure to make certain that the fax machines are full of paper and their cell phones are charged up.

Some players have been recruited for several years and every year hearts are broken when the studs decide to jump ship for greener pastures elsewhere.

Having to play catch-up most of the last two months has been tough on new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin and his freshly-completed staff. Although the 2009 crop looks to be considerably more talented than 2008's, don't expect all the names rumored to head to Knoxville. More times than not, it's about building relationships and earning trust with recruits. Men that were blowing whistles in the NFL this time a year ago weren't visiting homes or talking to high school coaches.

Nevertheless, the Volunteers have a quite a roster of talent coming this weekend to at least see what all the noise is about. Look for it to grow in the next 48 hours.

Here's a preliminary list of some of the players coming:

Marlon Brown, WR-- At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, Brown looked like Uncle Mo playing with his sister's kids at Christmas in the Division II, Class A state championship. He's been Kiffin's No. 1 target since accepting the job, partially because Brown is an in-state prospect that will help in building a recruiting wall around the state.

Orson Charles, TE-- This athlete out of Tampa, Fla., has the ability to do some exceptional things from a position that is being looked at more often nowadays to move the chains on third downs and in the red zone. In other words, Charles is a kid who can keep your punter and field goal kicker off the field.

Marcus Hall, OL-- One of the more highly sought after blockers in the nation, this Cleveland, Ohio, product hails from a high school (Glenville) that's typically a feeder to Ohio State. They put out Division I football prospects like Shelbyville does pencils. Glenville teammate Mike Edwards recently committed to UT. We'll see if that's a factor.

Eddie Lacy, RB-- Most analysts have Lacy as the top running back left on the board that hasn't verbally committed. He's allegedly down to UT and Alabama. Few ball carriers tote the rock with as much aggression.

Sam Montgomery, DE-- Given how new to the sport of football Montgomery his and having seen how physical the Southeastern Conference is up close, it's hard to think that Montgomery is going to get the early playing time he seeks. At 230 pounds he's got a ways to go before being able to compete against SEC tackles.

Patrick Patterson, WR-- If I'm a quarterback prospect in the 2010 class and know that Patterson is already in uniform where I'm considering, that's a huge leg up. The Macon, Miss., product is a tremendous blend of hands and size, which make him tough to defend when the ball is in flight.

Trent Richardson, RB-- If the Pensacola, Fla., star actually makes it up to Knoxville this weekend I'll be surprised. As an Alabama pledge, coach Nick Saban has made it known he doesn't want his recruits sniffin' any orange anytime soon. His origins have some thinking of another talent from that area. You may have heard of him -- Emmitt Smith. I'm not even going to go there.