“At this point, we have a pretty good idea how the class is going to shape up,” he says. “We have a number of solid commitments and there are some others that we are still working on.”

For the fourth consecutive year, Ambrose and his staff will introduce their new recruiting class at a Football National Signing Day Celebration at Bill Bateman's Bistro at 7800 York Road in Towson tonight at 6 p.m.

At that time, the coaches will announce their 2012 recruiting class. The Tiger coaches will talk about each new player and a highlight video will be shown.

The Tigers are coming off an amazing 2011 season in which they were the most improved team in the nation. Ranked ninth in the nation in the final NCAA FCS poll, they won their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association championship and they made their first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs. The Tigers finished the season with a 9-3 record, a dramatic improvement over the 1-10 mark they compiled in 2010.

Although the Tigers' success this season has gotten the program more notoriety, Ambrose isn't sure that it had much of an effect on the quality of this year's recruiting class.

“Our success hasn't made as much of a difference as you might think,” says Ambrose, the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS National Coach of the Year. “We've been telling our story regionally and nationally for the last three years. The 2011 season was a statement of validation for the story we've been telling. Our level of recognition on a national level has never been this high.

“The thing that has been interesting has been the reactions of players who didn't buy in to our vision and went elsewhere,” added the coach. “Nearly every one of them wishes they had come here.”

One thing that distinguishes the Tigers' new recruiting class from previous ones is the presence of FBS transfer students. On Wednesday, the Tigers could welcome as many as six transfer students from NCAA FBS institutions. These transfer students would be eligible to play immediately.

“All of these transfers are 'good fits,'” according to Ambrose. “Many of them are local products and had a relationship with someone on the staff. For one reason or another, they didn't get an opportunity to play at the school they were attending. Now, they have the chance to come here and make a difference.”

Ambrose adds, “This is the best recruiting class we've ever had and that's the natural progression of building a program. Each recruiting class needs to be better than the one before it. These incoming players are the biggest, fastest recruits we've ever signed.”

The official web site for Tiger athletics, www.TowsonTigers.com, will serve as the official National Signing Day headquarters on February 1. Interviews with all fall coaches and others will be posted every half-hour starting at 9 a.m.

– TowsonTigers.com –