The countdown is over for Mike Stoops and the rest of his Arizona football coaching staff.

National-letter-of-intent day is finally here, meaning the Wildcats will officially announce the first of their signees for the 2008 season today at 3 p.m.

There are currently 21 players on Arizona’s commitment list for the upcoming season, not all of which are expected to sign with the
Wildcats today, but as previous history has indicated, the higher-ranked recruits on Arizona’s list will likely sign their letters today.

Arizona’s recruiting class is currently ranked No. 34 in the nation by Rivals.com, three spots higher than it was before J’Marcus Webb, a 6-foot-8, 340 pound junior college offensive lineman committed Monday.

All players listed on the commitment list are supposed to sign letters-of-intent tomorrow, but some of the lower recruited players may still be wavering their options at other schools.

“”Everyone who is committed on signing day signs,”” said Josh Gershon, senior editor of Goazcats.com. “”Then they will sign their kids and they will continue to look who else is out there. They are always going to continue to recruit. There is not one day of the year that you are not recruiting, whether or not it is for kids that will help you in the future or ones that will help you right now. So they will sign their guys on signing day and the next day they will continue look at other 2008 prospects and then 2009 and beyond.””

There are also five players that were midseason transfers that have already signed their letters.

Rivals.com ranks the Wildcats’ class seventh in the Pacific 10 Conference, one lower than last year, when it was No. 43 overall.

Check the Wildcat tomorrow for a complete breakdown of the 2008 football class.

– Mike Ritter and Ari Wasserman