ESPN College Football Recruiting

Election Day has come and gone. Barack Obama was elected the new president of the United States in a historic election. While the presidential voting grabbed the headlines, it was not the only voting going on. We also asked you, the fans, to cast your vote for whom you think is the No. 1 football recruit in the nation.

The presidential election saw a record number of voters turn out, and we were very pleased with the response our fan poll got. You, the recruiting fans, exercised your right to be heard and here are the results.

Just last week, we made changes to our ESPNU 150 and crowned a new No. 1 overall player, Russell Shepard (Houston, Texas / Cypress Ridge). It seems that SportsNation agrees with that decision; the LSU recruit grabbed 51.6 percent of the vote. The No. 1 athlete was the clear favorite, winning with a big margin over the second-highest vote getter. Although many Americans seem split between Republican and Democrat, we seem to stand united in thinking that Shepard is currently the best player in the nation.

The second-place finisher is an interesting one. Running back Trent Richardson (Pensacola, Fla. / Escambia) pulled in 27.3 percent of the vote and was clearly the fans' choice for that second spot -- he finished 19 percentage points ahead of the third-place vote getter.

At one time, the Alabama recruit was ahead in the polls, and he campaigned hard until the very last second by producing another outstanding performance this past weekend, rushing for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Initially there was some shock when our first rankings had Richardson so high -- he was just outside the top 10 -- but now it seems fans think that his jump up to No. 5 in the nation is not high enough. As the season wears on, Richardson seems to be gaining support, and it is likely we have not heard the last of him. This Under Armour All-American likely will be a major player for that No. 1 spot as we continue to work toward national signing day.

In another interesting turn, our former No. 1 player, quarterback Matt Barkley (Santa Ana, Calif. / Mater Dei), finished third, grabbing only 8.1 percent of the vote. Barkley has been widely considered one of the top prospects in the 2009 class for a while after his great junior campaign. After being on top and in the spotlight for so long, it's possible there was a bit of backlash from fans.

Barkley is experiencing some bumps in his senior season, but he is still an excellent quarterback with a wonderful mixture of ability and polish. We imagine Barkley will remain in the race for the No. 1 spot until the end. Also, remember that Barkley will get to compete with the top two vote getters at the Under Armour game in Orlando this year. So this is far from settled.

Lastly, there wasn't much love for defensive prospects in the top five. Linebacker Manti Te'o (Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou) got 6.4 percent of the vote and edged out cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Gadsden, Ala.), who garnered 6.3 percent. We thought both would do better, but it seems that you, the fans, are a more impressed at this point by the offensive skill guys. Remember what they say, though, folks: Defense wins championships.

Well, we really appreciate you exercising your democratic right and voting. We are very pleased with the current state of the ESPNU 150. As always, we are continuing to evaluate and update the rankings, and we appreciate seeing what you have to say. God bless America and college football recruiting.