Picking a college football All-American team is no easy task. Some positions are deeper than others, while it's also difficult to project how a player will perform with the losses or additions around them.

With that in mind, it's time to unveil Athlon's 2012 All-American Team.

Recruiting is the life blood of college football. And the rankings of the these prospects elicit responses both positive and negative fitting of a nickname like, say, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Fans either live and die by star rankings or totally disregard Top 100 lists altogether.

In March 11, 2011, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch columnist Bob Hunter dropped the news — Kirk Herbstreit was leaving Ohio and relocating his family to Nashville. The guy who any serious college football fan knew played quarterback at Ohio State and still contained much love for his Buckeyes found that living in Columbus was no longer bearable.

There’s more money than ever in college football, and assistant coaches are reaping the rewards, with compensation levels rising at a rapid pace

It has been another busy year in college football realignment. The SEC and Big 12 made significant moves, while the Big East was one of the biggest losers in the latest round of realignment.

Which teams and conferences were the big winner or loser from the last year of realignment?

College Football 2012 Realignment Winners and Losers

Winners

Notre Dame remains committed to Independence, but will that ever change? The BCS will be eliminated when a four-team playoff begins in 2014 and more realignment could happen in several BCS conferences. The Irish are the main target of expansion for the Big 12, ACC and Big Ten, but they do not appear interested in joining a conference - at least for now.

Will Notre Dame Football Ever Join a Conference?

BYU is coming off a solid 10-3 season in its first year as an Independent. The Cougars played a soft schedule in the second half of 2011, which helped the team to rebound after a 1-2 start. Although BYU is a solid program, choosing the Independence route over a conference is an interesting debate for the next 15-20 years. 

Is Independence a Mistake for BYU?

Goodbye BCS, hello college football playoff. After months of debate and years of fans clamoring for it, college football will finally have a playoff. University presidents, conference commissioners and athletic directors gathered in Washington, D.C.

Welcome to the 2012 NCAA (National Conglomerate of Athlon Authorities) conference realignment draft.

Our esteemed conference commissioners -- Mitch Light, Braden Gall, Steven Lassan and David Fox -- will put an end to the conference realignment madness, which stretched into yet another summer this year, with the first (and hopefully, only) conference alignment draft.

Whether a college football coach is entering his first season or coming off a national championship, all are under heavy scrutinty. And just like the best coaches in the NCAA, the record isn't always a true indicator of success or bad coaching. As the 2012 season inches closer, Athlon continues its spring preview with a look at the 10 worst coaches in college football. Although some of these coaches are unproven, their resume is unproven and on paper, a bad hire for the program.