On this annual day when the supposed futures of many talented young men and multi-million dollar college football programs are largely determined, much of the nation's eyes will be focused on the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall's Pikake Room.

Mainly, they will be focused on one especially talented young man — Punahou School senior Manti Te'o — who finally will align himself with one of three mega-rich football programs: Notre Dame, Southern California or UCLA.

Te'o, widely regarded as the country's No. 1-ranked linebacker prospect and the most heralded recruit yet to make a verbal commitment, is expected to sign a National Letter of Intent at about 7:05 a.m. at the Pikake Room.

He is one of 48 Hawai'i athletes — including 29 NCAA Division I-bound football players — invited to Blaisdell to put their commitments in writing to accept scholarship offers from colleges all over the country.

Te'o's signing is so highly anticipated, ESPN is expected to broadcast it live on SportsCenter and www.CBSsports.com will be showing a video clip at about 10 a.m., according to Doris Sullivan, who is helping to coordinate today's Signing Day Event.

(www.honoluluadvertiser.com will begin its livestream coverage at around 6:20 a.m.)

Sullivan, director of the non-profit scholarship-seeking service Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance, said about 40 news outlets have requested press credentials to attend today's event.

That includes Irish Illustrated, a fan-generated Web site dedicated to Notre Dame athletics that has hired a free-lance photographer to shoot pictures of Te'o signing his letter.

"Manti is bringing more national attention than ever before, by far," said Sullivan, who has coordinated the signing day event for the past six years. "I'm glad we're getting the national attention, because our kids are deserving, and it's about time they got recognized. And hopefully, it will bring more attention to what we do to get more scholarships."

Te'o is not the only one whose decision will be watched closely from the Mainland. Sullivan said Kapolei offensive lineman Stan Hasiak made his highly anticipated decision between UCLA and California yesterday, but will not announce it publicly until he signs his letter this morning.

Hasiak had made a verbal commitment to UCLA after a recruiting visit in September, but later took a visit to Cal and changed his commitment to the Golden Bears. But on Monday, Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said Hasiak's final decision "will go down to the wire."

Cal reportedly has already secured two other highly recruited offensive linemen, so landing Hasiak would elevate the Bears' recruiting class even higher among the country's elite. But UCLA, which has offensive coordinator and former Punahou standout Norm Chow leading its recruiting effort in Hawai'i, already has received verbal commitments from two of Te'o's teammates — receiver Robby Toma and running back Dalton Hilliard — as well as being a strong finalist for Te'o himself.

In other recent recruiting news, 'Iolani defensive back Kela Marciel made a verbal commitment Monday to play for Weber State, which also expects Saint Louis linemen Tytan Timoteo and Adam Sagapolutele-White to sign letters of intent today.

Five soccer players also are expected to attend today's event.