LORMAN &045; It’s the big unknown up until now, and coaches at Alcorn won’t really know until about 4 p.m. today.

It’s National Signing Day across the country, and Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas is hoping efforts by him and his staff will pay off today. The Braves had an outstanding recruiting class last year with freshmen who earned starting roles by the end of the season, and the challenge this recruiting season was much like what they ask of their players.

No letdown.

&uot;I don’t know what we’re expecting (today) until we sign our guys,&uot; Thomas said late last week. &uot;We just don’t know right now. It’s been very busy &045; very busy. We hope we can duplicate that (recruiting class) this year. Right now we’re just working hard.&uot;

The Braves reeled in 30 recruits last year, the largest number of signees by any school in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Last year’s recruiting class may have also been the biggest in sheer size for the school with a number of 300-pounders agreeing to play at Alcorn.

At least four players in that class wound up starting for the Braves at some point in 2004. Now there are areas to be addressed this spring, and that’s been the primary focus.

&uot;We’ve got to look at our tight end situation, our quarterback situation, our safety situation at free safety and strong safety and our kicker situation,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We’ve been able to find (kickers). You can recruit them if you can find them.&uot;

The Braves need to find a kicker after David McConnell played his final season in 2004. Special teams is a concern for not only a kicker but a punter with Shane Phillips playing as a senior this fall and Lonnie Teagle completing his eligibility last season as kick returner.

Then there’s the quarterback situation, although it’s more about depth than the starter with Oliver Bozeman scheduled to step in this fall following Donald Carrie’s senior season. The Braves signed a quarterback last year in Tomya Robinson out of Thomastown, and he was one of four quarterbacks on the roster last season.

Milton Green played sparingly last season as the third quarterback as a sophomore, and there’s also 6-2, 268-pound Charles Harrington who didn’t play as a freshman.

&uot;Every year it’s very critical,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;You can’t go wrong with recruiting quarterbacks. That’s something we’re trying to address this year.&uot;

The secondary is always an objective for coaches since it may be the hardest area to recruit. The Braves have to restock the position following the departure of senior starters Jeffrey Hobbs and Victor Alexandrea.

&uot;We’re not where we want to be,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;That’s for sure. We’re trying to shore up that area.&uot;