This past Wednesday was Signing Day, and the Hokies signed a solid class that ranked in the middle of the pack of the ACC, depending on whom you ask. Tech's failure to close on certain recruits wasn't popular with Hokie fans, and VT did actually finish a bit lower in the ACC rankings than usual.

Here's a look at how recruiting has gone for the Hokies and the rest of the ACC over the last five years.

On the whole, Virginia Tech is the fifth-best recruiting school in the ACC, from a rankings perspective. Tech's average ACC ranking over the last five years is 4.8. Florida State is easily #1 after signing the top class in the league for the last three years, while Clemson and Miami are tied for second. Butch Davis has Miami in fourth place overall, while VT is in fourth.

There is a huge drop-off after Virginia Tech. None of the other seven schools in the ACC recruits particularly well, though Virginia does have potential to do a lot better under Mike London. London signed the #4 recruiting class in the ACC in 2011.

The interesting thing is that there is a big drop-off from Florida State to the next three schools. The Noles and Miami have the biggest national names of all the ACC schools, and Florida State has used that to sign many top notch classes. Miami also does well, though they slipped a bit in 2011. Overall though, Miami, Clemson and North Carolina are pretty even in the rankings, a good ways behind Florida State.

After North Carolina, Virginia Tech always seems to be between fourth and seventh in the ACC. They are the most consistent recruiting program in the league, with the exception of Florida State, Wake Forest and Duke (and the latter two are consistently bad).

Despite their relatively low recruiting rankings (low, considering the number of games they've won over the years), Virginia Tech has three more ACC Championships since expansion than anyone else on that list. Despite their high rankings in recruiting, none of the players at Florida State, Miami, Clemson or North Carolina have won the ACC.

The only players that have won the ACC reside in Blacksburg, VA and Atlanta, GA at Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech. Only the programs who recruit the fifth and sixth best, respectively, have won the ACC Championship.

As we hear all the time, from the Virginia Tech coaches, as well as from fans, recruiting isn't everything. It's about recruiting to your system, getting quality people, and getting quality coaching. Virginia Tech does all the above.

That said, how much better could Virginia Tech be if they did recruit a little better? So far the 2012 class is off to a good start, with cornerbacks Davion Tookes (Fairburn, GA) and Donaldven Manning (Miami, FL) committing last night. Manning in particularly will be highly-rated, with offers from Miami, Florida and Alabama.

The Hokies are in on some other highly-touted prospects in the 2012 recruiting class, and my gut feeling is that most of us will be much happier on Signing Day in 2012 than we were in 2011.

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