Wednesday, February 7, 2007

National Signing Day Recap

Florida takes recruiting title

The Florida Gators came into National Signing Day as the top dog and finished the day on top as expected. The Gators let a couple of top prospects get away in WR (ranked #1 WR in the country) Terrance Toliver and S Chad Jones (ranked number #1 S in the country) to LSU. But still managed to sign 10 five star players, 13 four star players, and 4 three star players, and 12 top 100 players overall. Some key prospects that the Gators signed that could make an impact from the get go could be: TE Aaron Hernandez, WR Deonte Thompson, LB Lorenzo Edwards, DT Torrey Davis, DE Justin Trattou, S Major Wright, and athlete Chris Rainey. All of these players could get valuable playing time early on, especially on the defensive side with only 2 starters returning.

The Gators got on a roll early and late. They got a huge recruiting boost early, especially with the 7 prospects from Lakeland (Fla.) High School and captured recruiting momentum late after winning the national championship. They signed many elite prospects at just about every position, especially on the defensive side. This has to be one of the top recruiting classes of this decade; at least on paper.

Meanwhile, the nations top prospect, Joe McKnight (inset) decided to go out of Louisiana and sign with USC. The highly touted RB was undecided coming into signing day and also heavily considered LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss. McKnight should see the field right away even with an already deep rushing attack at USC. McKnight is a superb back and can make a dazzling play at any point. His style of play is often compared to NFL star, Heisman Trophy winner, and USC Alum Reggie Bush.

My Top 5 Signing Day Team Rankings:
1. Florida- landed top prospects from just about every position
2. USC- signed top 3 prospects in the country
3. LSU- signed loads of talent on both sides of the ball and signed some of the bigger names on the d-line and secondary
4. Texas- reloaded on the defensive side and on the much needed 0-line
5. South Carolina- Spurrier has always been a great recruiter and he reloaded with talent all across the board

Scout.com Top 5 Team Rankings:
1. Florida
2. LSU
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Tennessee

9 comments:

field negro said...

Once again the Vols have a nice recruiting class; and once again the big belly one will be outcoached up and down the SEC!

twins15 said...

The guy I'm most excited about is Noel Devine at West Virginia... if he's eligible, he'll be a great fit in the Mountaineer's scheme... Pat White, Steve Slaton, and Noel Devine might just make for one of the fastest backfields ever.

Author said...

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THN said...

Both McKnight and Tyler will be starting to USC this year. I have to believe that the Trojans did the best.

SAMO said...

I heard Ron Zook did a great job recruiting this year, so good that people think he is cheating.

THN said...

McKnight and Tyler will both see significant playing time for USC this season. For that reason, they came out on top of the recruiting game. Maybe we'll get to see a Florida v. USC match up.

Stefan Ming said...

I think Florida signed better overall prospects. Even with USC's top signings.

Twins15 yes that was huge for WVA, (if he signs there) Devine fits perfectly in that offense. He should have a great career for the Mountaineers.

stephen a said...

I'm suprised Meyer got that good of a class, especially since he didn't recruit very well to Utah and Bowling Green, and he won a title with Ron Zook's kids

Stefan Ming said...

Urban Meyer is crazy about recruiting. He texts his recruits like every hour of every day. Plus winning the national title helps.