Lamar Miller had a vision of what National Signing Day was going to be like.

Like many of the nation's top high school football recruits, Miller wanted his five minutes of fame to play out the traditional way: bright lights, TV cameras, a room full of onlookers waiting to see which of the three school caps he was going to wear.

Dramatic scenes will play out across the country Feb. 4, the first day recruits are allowed to sign national letters of intent with colleges. It just won't be as dramatic for recruits such as Miller, who is part of a growing number of high school football players who gave oral commitments months in advance and got caught up in a much faster-paced recruiting world.

''I thought I was going to be flipping through some hats, getting people nervous,'' said Miller, a 5-11, 205-pound running back at Miami Killian who is rated Miami-Dade's top recruit and the 80th-best player in the nation by Rivals.com.

``[The University of Miami] was going to be the place I picked anyway. But I wanted to take trips. I was planning on visiting other schools, see some new places. It's all good, though. I'm happy I'm going to be a Hurricane.''

A LITTLE PRESSURE

Miller committed to UM in October, but only after the Canes applied a little pressure.

''I committed because they told me they were only going to take two running backs,'' said Miller, who ran for a county-best 1,749 yards and 22 touchdowns on 217 carries. ``When they got two, I knew I had to do something because I knew where my heart was and I didn't want to lose my spot.''

Miller's predicament is what high school football coaches, players and the programs chasing them say recruiting has become. It has become a game in which recruits no longer have as much control, and opportunities and scholarship offers could pass them by if they don't act quick enough.

With only one recruiting weekend left before signing day, a glance at the lists of the nation's top recruits tells the story. On Rivals.com, only 18 of the country's top 100 players have yet to commit. It is the same locally. Of The Miami Herald's top 25 recruits, only six are undecided in Dade and eight in Broward.

''You think the drama is gone, but it isn't,'' said FIU coach Mario Cristobal, whose program has 23 commitments (including 12 locals).

``National Signing Day is for the masses. But for us, it's a year-round collection of gray hairs, clogged arteries and heart attacks. Yes, recruiting has changed. But signing day is still a day you spend your butt worrying as a coach, until you see those faxes come through.''

Although waiting for signatures to make it official might be tough, many coaches can't deny the process of getting to the finish line has changed dramatically.

At this time of the year, nearly every college football program in the country has completed most of its hard work and is looking ahead to future classes.

The University of Florida, Florida State and Miami had 35 commitments among them before their 2008 seasons began.

Florida State collected all 17 of its 2009 commitments before August. Florida has four commitments for its 2010 class. Miami has two, including blue-chip defensive tackle Louis Nix.

Comparing that with even a couple of years ago is eye-opening. Between 2002 and 2005, the Hurricanes, Seminoles and Gators went into September with a combined 30 early commitments.

''The goal is to get 80 to 90 percent of recruiting done for a class by the end of the spring,'' said Hurtt, who got 11 commitments from UM's No. 1-rated 2008 recruiting class before September 2007.

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