News

Florida Gains Top Honors In Recruiting
Feb. 2, 2006

Urban Meyer, in his first full season to hit the road and recruit as the head coach at the University of Florida, has secured the nation's top recruiting class according to Scout.com. Florida held off a hard charging USC, Texas and other national powers to claim Scout.com's recruiting national title.

The Gators claimed the top spot about a month ago when they passed the national champion Texas Longhorns for the top spot and have held the No. 1 position since. The rest of the top five were USC (No. 2), Texas (No. 3), Georgia (No. 4) and Notre Dame (No. 5).
Florida filled all its needs in a class built with balance, athletes and speed. The Gator headliners are quarterback Tim Tebow (St. Augustine, Fla.), wide receivers Percy Harvin (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jarred Fayson (Tampa, Fla.), offensive lineman Carl Johnson (Durham, N.C.), linebackers Brandon Spikes (Shelby, N.C.) and A.J. Jones (Tampa, Fla.) and safety/ wide receiver Jamar Hornsby (Jacksonville, Fla.). These magnificent seven were all members of the Scout.com National 100.

"What Urban Meyer and his staff did this season was so impressive," said Jamie Newberg, National Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com. "They have filled all their needs and that's the most important factor. But they did this with some great players. This class is also so well balanced from top to bottom."

Speaking of the National 100, the Trojans have an incredible haul, getting a dozen top 100 prospects — running backs Stafon Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Emmanuel Moody (Coppell, Texas), wide receivers Vidal Hazelton (Chatham, Va.) and David Ausberry, lineman Butch Lewis (Aurora, Co.), defensive tackle Derrick Simmons (Fairfield, Calif.), linebackers Allen Bradford (Colton, Calif.) and Josh Tatum (Oakland, Calif.), cornerback Shareece Wright (Colton, Calif.) and safeties Antwine Perez (Camden, N.J.), C.J. Gable (Sylmar, Calif.) and Taylor Mays (Seattle, Wa.). Southern Cal finished a close No. 2 behind the Gators.

"USC signed 12 of Scout.com's top 100 players, more than any other program," said Allen Wallace, National Recruiting Analyst for Scout.com. "This effort is highlighted by superior skill position signees and also includes notable, as well as defensive linemen. The Trojans aimed high for offensive linemen and lost hard fought battles for the best they were after to Alabama (Andre Smith), Michigan (Steve Schilling) and Sam Young (Notre Dame)."

At No. 3 is Texas and what's amazing about the Longhorns' recruiting class is when they secured most of their commitments, which was before the 2005 regular season even started. Texas Head Coach Mack Brown and his staff are bringing in some outstanding talent like quarterback Jevan Snead (Stephenvile, Texas), wide receiver/cornerback Ken Beasley (Orange, Texas), linebacker Sergio Kindle (Dallas, Texas), defensive end Eddie Jones (Kilgore, Texas), and offensive tackle J'Marcus Webb (Mesquite, Texas).

"I think the impressive thing about this Texas class is the manner in which they got these kids," said Newberg. "Most of them were committed prior to the season even starting and a good many of those were committed to coach Brown before the summer. Amazing. Things should get even better now that they are the national champs as they move forward."

Checking in at No. 4 are the Georgia Bulldogs. Coach Mark Richt and the Dawgs have been a very consistent recruiting power and they once again put together a stellar class. Quarterback Matthew Stafford (Dallas, Texas) is one of the nation's top signal callers and he's already in Athens. Today, the Bulldogs landed super safety Reshad Jones (Atlanta, Ga.) and running back Knowshon Moreno (Middleton, Ga.). Other headliners are defensive ends Brandon Wood (Tallapoosa, Ga.) and Demarcus Dobbs (Savannah, Ga.), wide receiver Tony Wilson (Daytona Beach, Fla.), tight end Na Derris Ward (Oakland, Calif.), linebacker Akeem Hebron (Wheaton, Md.) and offensive linemen Justin Anderson (Ocilla, Ga.) and Kiante Tripp (Atlanta, Ga.).

"Georgia is bringing in a well balanced class," said Scott Kennedy of Scout.com. "The Dawgs filled their needs, especially at quarterback and the offensive line. They are also bringing in at least one star prospect at every position."

Notre Dame is back as head coach Charlie Weis leads the Irish change. They have perhaps the top offensive line class in the country led by Sam Young (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Dan Wenger (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Matt Carufel (St. Paul, Minn.). Running back James Aldridge (Merrillville, In.) is one of the nation's best and they are getting some great help in the secondary with cornerbacks Darrin Walls (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Raeshon McNeil (Mocksville, N.C.) and safety Sergio Brown (Maywood, Ill.).

"Notre Dame rebounded strongly after a poor signing effort in '05," said Wallace. "Charlie Weis signed the nation's finest group of offensive linemen and he also managed to significantly fortify his running game.