After spending more than a year hearing how fast they are, how muscular they look and how perfectly they would fit in a program, football recruits signed National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, securing their place in the class of 2010.

Northwestern coach Randy Walker announced the signing of 17 high schoolers during a news conference yesterday. He smirked when he talked about the transformation that will ensue when NU recruits arrive in Evanston in the fall.

“As I tell these young guys when they get here in August, ‘I only recruit you once,'” Walker said with a giggle. “My approach is slightly different once you get here.”

Members of the Wildcats’ 2006 recruiting class hail from nine states, three of whom come from Illinois. This year’s crop includes eight offensive players, seven defensive players, a kicker and an “athlete.”

NU was ranked the 68th-best recruiting class in the nation by Scout.com, and 80th according to Rivals.com, two websites that specialize in college recruiting.

“Let’s let them come in here and work a little while and get them where they need to be,” Walker said. “I always say we’ll know a good recruiting class in about three years.”