And on the 32nd day, Shawn Elliott finally rested.
Some of you may remember Elliott as the former Appalachian State offensive line coach who shared an NCAA Award of Valor with two other Mountaineer assistants after the trio rescued two people from a burning car in 2000.
Others may recognize him as the husband of the former Summer Scruggs, the GPS tennis star who went on to earn MVP honors at ASU in 1998.
But from Jan. 4 until Wednesday night, Summer pretty much saw her husband as Nowhere Man thanks to his monthlong recruiting trek as South Carolina's new offensive line coach.
"I got the call I'd been hired on Jan. 3," said the 36-year-old Elliott on Thursday, the day after national signing day. "I was at work on the 4th. I've barely seen my family since then."
Said Summer on Friday night, "Yes, I'm happy recruiting's over, but I'm still living in Boone (N.C.) by myself with our 3-year-old (Maddyn) and 20-month-old (Max). But at least I'll get to see Shawn on weekends now, so he can help us move."
Summer isn't complaining. For starters, she expects to be moved to Columbia, S.C., within the month. Second, she's spending this weekend in Charleston, S.C., where Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier annually entertains his staff for three days after recruiting ends.
"Oh, this is wonderful," she said. "Obviously Shawn and I loved Appalachian State; we could have stayed there forever. But he has so much passion and drive and coaching in the SEC is such a great opportunity."
Indeed, it isn't every day that a Division I-AA assistant (excuse me, Football Championship Subdivision assistant) gets the call to coach that same position at the Southeastern Conference level. Especially for a legend such as Spurrier.
But as the Ol' Ball Coach noted on the day he hired Elliott, pointing to the three national championships Shawn's O-lines helped win between 2005 and 2007: "Those guys at App State know how to win, know how to do it the right way. We're bringing Shawn in and hopefully rubbing some of that App State stuff on us."
Elliott's mission his first month on the job was simple. Don't lose any O-line verbal commitments obtained under former position coach Eric Wolford, who took the head coaching job at Youngstown State.
"We got every offensive linemen that we wanted," said Elliott. "We also got Marcus Lattimore, the No. 1 running back in the country."
Elliot admits that recruiting for a mid-level SEC school such as South Carolina isn't quite like signing talent for SoCon kingpin App State.
"Just dealing with the high-profile athletes," he said. "The Southeastern Conference is a hotbed of talent and you're going against schools like Alabama, Tennessee and Florida for every player. It's a little different than recruiting against UT-Chattanooga or Western Carolina."
Yet Elliott could also sell the Gamecock program in a way others from the FCS level could not. He had grown up in Camden, S.C., roughly 20 miles from campus. As a youngster he attended games with his father, a state trooper who worked the SC home contests.
"I saw George Rogers, Todd Ellis, Sterling Sharpe," Elliott said. "It's always been one of the most special environments in all of college football."
That doesn't mean leaving App State was easy.
"I spent 18 years of my life under Coach (Jerry) Moore as both a player and coach," Elliott said. "It was tough for me (to leave) and probably tough for him. A part of me will always be on that sideline in Boone, but working in the SEC is a dream job for anyone."
A sports writer couldn't help but ask Elliott his impressions of UT-Chattanooga under first-year coach Russ Huesman, whose dream job it was to coach the Mocs.
"First of all, they were so well-coached this year," said Elliott. "They looked like two totally different teams. His system is a sound system and their players played with a lot of heart and confidence. They never quit, which had sometimes seemed a problem in the past."
At long last the entire college football coaching community can quit staying up night after night on the recruiting trail, their work done for another year.
"I was in bed by 10 Wednesday night," Elliott said. "But if we hadn't had a signing party I would have been asleep by 6."
Just a hunch, but with a 3-year-old and a 20-month-old to care for by herself, Summer could probably use a little more sleep, too.
E-mail Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com