The most common criticism of football recruiting rankings is that they are inherently ridiculous, that there's no way any writer or "guru" can forecast with any degree of accuracy the futures of high school prospects. Everyone who ever has studied this topic in a serious manner has come to a different conclusion — in fact, prep All-Americans turn out well (by various measures) in college at a significantly higher RATE than the "sleepers," etc. — but that's a subject best left for another day.

After 20 years of following this stuff closely, and in fact making it a small but significant part of my journalism career, I have a more legitimate criticism of football recruiting coverage: It's patently absurd to rank incoming classes when nobody is sure which February signees are actually going to show up at college in August. I understand WHY everyone ranks the classes early — gotta give the consumers what they want, when they want it — but it makes a lot more cents than sense.

Consider that, almost every year, one or more SEC school loses ONE-THIRD of its signees to academic (falling short of NCAA minimums for GPA/SAT, etc.) or other complications. That begs the question: What good are the high-fives and backflips in February if the kids never show up on campus? The ACC typically loses a much lower percentage of its signees — 10 percent is a pretty good estimate for the conference as a whole — but several schools (see below) were hit hard this year.

Virginia lost more signees than at any time in school history. N.C. State, which has become the ACC leader in non-qualifiers since coach Chuck Amato's arrival in 2000, lost six of the 20 signees it announced on signing day.

VIRGINIA (7 non-qualifiers/8 non-enrollees): Seven of the Cavaliers’ signees failed to meet NCAA minimum academic standards in time to enroll this summer, and an eighth player passed the NCAA Clearinghouse but was denied admission to Virginia.

Virginia offensive lineman Billy Cuffee, Virginia safety Ras-I Dowling and New Jersey linebacker Almondo Sewell recently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy. Virginia defensive tackle Asa Chapman enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy. Virginia defensive back DeAndre Filer also failed to qualify. All five players have said at various times that they plan to re-sign with UVa, but they are recruitable athletes right now, and (like high school seniors) they cannot make their decisions official until they either (a) enroll in January or (b) re-sign on national signing day in February. Three other Virginia signees joined other college football programs this fall. New Jersey linebacker George Johnson, who met NCAA minimums but was denied admission to UVa, switched to Rutgers and (as a qualifier) can play immediately for the Scarlet Knights. North Carolina quarterback O.C. Wardlow said he’ll play at North Carolina Central, a Division II program that’s in the process of jumping to Division I-AA. North Carolina defensive tackle Gavin Smith opted for N.C. State, after working this summer to upgrade his academic credentials.

N.C. STATE (6/6): North Carolina wide receiver LaMarcus Bond, Florida defensive back Jordan Delegal, Florida wide receiver Carlos Everett, Florida defensive back Everett Lewis and North Carolina wide receiver Owen Spencer failed to meet NCAA academic minimums. Delegal and Lewis plan to sit out the fall semester, improve their ACT scores, then enroll at NCSU in January. Everett enrolled at Hinds Community College in Mississippi. South Carolina tight end transfer Jonathan Hannah, who was listed with the other Wolfpack newcomers on national signing day, enrolled at Louisburg Junior College in North Carolina.

MARYLAND (4/5): Maryland defensive end Melvin Alaeze, one of the highest-ranked recruits in school history, was denied admission to Maryland for academic and disciplinary reasons. He was charged in March with marijuana possession and intent to distribute marijuana, as well as possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court documents. Alaeze, who attended Hargrave Military Academy last fall after originally signing with the Terps in 2005, also failed to meet NCAA minimum academic standards for the second year in a row. However, he reportedly applied to the NCAA for an academic waiver (based on special needs) and expects to be eligible for Illinois this fall. Connecticut offensive lineman Bruce Campbell, Maryland wide receiver Quintin McCree and South Carolina wide receiver Ronnie Tyler also failed to qualify. All three players recently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy. In addition, North Carolina quarterback Jamarr Robinson postponed his enrollment until January.

VIRGINIA TECH (4/5): Virginia receiver Todd Nolen, a two-time Tech signee, again failed to qualify academically and now will attend junior college. New Jersey defensive end Mike Gee also is destined for junior college. Maryland receiver Douglas McNeil plans to sit out the fall semester, improve his SAT score, then enroll at Tech in January. Georgia defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy. In addition, North Carolina wide receiver Jacob Sykes postponed his enrollment until January, as he had discussed with the Tech staff prior to signing day.

CLEMSON (2/2): Florida safety DeAndre McDaniel failed to qualify and enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy, with hopes to enroll at Clemson in January. Georgia tailback JoJo Cox enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy.

MIAMI (1/3): Tennessee tailback Graig Cooper failed to qualify and will attend Milford Academy in New York. California defensive end Chris Lewis attended summer-school classes at UM in July, then left for personal reasons and enrolled at Fresno State. Arkansas quarterback Daniel Stegall decided in June to pursue a professional baseball career, after being picked by the New York Mets this spring in the seventh round of the major league draft.

NORTH CAROLINA (1/3): D.C. cornerback LeCount Fantroy failed to qualify and will attend Milford Academy in New York. North Carolina athlete Bruce Carter and Virginia linebacker Jarrell Miller claimed to be academic qualifiers but will not attend UNC this fall for other reasons. Carter said he will take transferable classes at Craven Community College this fall, while sitting out the semester football-wise as he continues to recover from April knee surgery, then enroll at UNC in January. Miller, one of the Tar Heels' top-rated signees, cited “family concerns” when he announced his decision to delay enrollment until January. In addition, North Carolina defensive tackle Aleric Mullins lost an appeal to the NCAA for full-qualifier status but was approved to enroll under rules similar to the NCAA's old partial qualifier classification. Mullins can practice with the team during his first year on campus but cannot play in games.

FLORIDA STATE (1/2): Alabama linebacker Tim Rawlinson failed to qualify and is expected to enroll at a junior college. Georgia receiver Brent Brewer decided in June to pursue a professional baseball career, after being picked by the Milwaukee Brewers this spring in the second round of the major league draft.

DUKE (0/1): Georgia defensive back Matt Pridemore, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, postponed his enrollment until January. He discussed this option prior to signing day with the Blue Devils, who signed 26 players in February, one over the NCAA's annual enrollment limit.

WAKE FOREST (0/1): North Carolina tight end Dennis Godfrey will not enroll at Wake Forest this fall, in a development school officials described as a mutual decision. He was indicted in June on charges of raping and kidnapping a 16-year-old girl, according to court documents. Also accused of a second-degree sexual offense and sexual battery, Godfrey could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.

All members of the recruiting classes at BOSTON COLLEGE and GEORGIA TECH enrolled at their schools of choice. Along with Duke and Wake Forest, those schools are the only ACC programs that very, very rarely lose signees to academic shortcomings.

Obviously, three or four years after signing day is the best time to rank football recruiting classes. Even the college coaches will tell you that. In the shorter term, though, who shows up in August matters a heck of a lot more than who signed on the dotted line in February.