By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
It's great to be a Florida Gator. University of Florida fans have been saying it for years, but these days, they really mean it.
The Gators captured the NCAA Division I men's basketball title last April, and the BCS National Championship in football last month. Wednesday, Urban Meyer may have guaranteed future success on the gridiron by locking up one of the nation's top recruiting classes on college football's annual National Letter of Intent signing day.
Florida signed 27 high school seniors, including 18 from the Sunshine State, finishing No. 2 in ESPN.com's final recruiting rankings.
Winning a national title 30 days before signing day certainly boosted the Gators' recruiting efforts down the stretch, but Meyer's massive talent haul may be credited in part to a philosophy that looks to be borrowed from his colleagues on the hardwood.
"We have taken a new attitude toward recruiting this year that every freshman in my opinion will play next year," Meyer said. "Obviously, that won't happen but we are taking that approach. If it's in the best interest of the player, then maybe we will redshirt them, but we want to play them."
True freshmen Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow played a major role in 2006, and there appears to be plenty of candidates to be the next Harvin or Tebow in 2007.
Wide receiver Deonte Thompson from football factory Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Fla., is among them. Thompson's signature put an exclamation mark on a big day for the Gators.
"The guy that kind of knocked it out of the park for us was Deonte Thompson.and that was a must have," Meyer said. "We got him out of South Florida, which is a tough place to get guys."
The Gators also raised eyebrows by signing seven players from the same school - three-time defending Florida 5A champion Lakeland.
Cornerback Ahmad Black, defensive tackle John Brown, twin linemen James and LaShawn Pouncey, running back Chris Rainey, linebacker Steven Wilks, and receiver Paul Wilson are all headed to Gainesville after helping the Dreadnaughts reel of 45-consecutive victories to finish their career.
McKnight Gives USC Impressive Trio
Louisiana's Joe McKnight and California's Chris Galippo and Marc Tyler held down the top three spots in ESPN's final Class of 2007 Top 150, respectively.
All three will be wearing USC's Cardinal and Gold in 2007, signing with Pete Carroll's Trojans as part of the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, according to ESPN.com.
"This class is weighted heavily to the offensive side of the football, with lots of touchdown makers and some big guys up front," Carroll said. "On defense, we signed some very impressive impact-type players."
Galippo, a linebacker from Anaheim's Servite High, and Tyler, a running back from Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, were on their way to USC long before signing day. Galippo committed over a year ago, while Tyler made his pledge last June.
But McKnight's announcement Wednesday that he was headed to Los Angeles was a bit of a shocker, and a big blow to LSU and its fans, who were undoubtedly expecting the John Curtis Christian star to make the trip up Interstate 10 from River Ridge to Baton Rouge.
USC getting McKnight out of Louisiana is just the latest in a recent string of impressive out-of-state grabs since Carroll took command of the program in 2001.
A year ago, the Trojans went outside of California for safety Taylor Mays (Seattle, Wash.), wide receiver Vidal Hazelton (Hargrave Military Academy), and New Jersey safety Antwine Perez, who has since transferred.
In 2005, defensive tackles Walker Ashley (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Kyle Moore (Warner Robins, Ga.), linebacker Brian Cushing (Oradell, N.J.), and wide receiver Patrick Turner (Madison, Tenn.) all signed with USC.
Quarterback John David Booty (Shreveport, La.), offensive lineman Jeff Byers (Loveland, Colo.), tight end Fred Davis (Toledo, Ohio), wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett (New Brunswick, N.J.), linebacker Keith Rivers (Lake Mary, Fla.), and running back LenDale White (Littleton, Colo.) were among Carroll's out-of-state standouts from his first three seasons at USC.