I blame LeBron and ESPN. College football is big. The programs that consistently have top recruiting classes are consistently good programs. ESPN started covering LeBron with he was 15-16. People watched. So, if they'll watch a teenage play hoops, wouldn't they want to know how their college football team, and their rivals, fare on signing day? Of course they would.
I've never seen it. I'm not sure it's even possible to do without several 72/35 DUR/STM so they throw 30 pitches every other day.