Although Florida didn’t realize their dream of becoming repeat BCS national champions, the Gators won the recruiting national championship on Wednesday according to Scout and ESPN.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the status of coach Urban Meyer, Florida reeled in 12 of the nation’s top 100 prep football players according to Scout and 17 of the ESPNU top 150.
Some recruiting experts are suggesting the Gators’ class is the best ever. Florida signed 11 players that were rated among the top 10 at their respective position, including Ronald Powell, the nation’s best defensive end, and Sharrif Floyd, the nation’s top rated defensive tackle.
Texas signed seven of Scout’s top 100 and 15 ESPNU top 150. The Longhorns received two late commitments from highly regarded prospects Jackson Jeffcoat and Jordan Hicks.
Coach Mack Brown didn’t have to travel far to sign a recruiting class of 25 players, with 23 of the prospects hailing from the state of Texas.
Southern California made a late surge and ended with seven of Scout’s top 100. The Trojans were crowned the best recruiting class by Rivals and came in 7th according to ESPN.
After bolting Tennessee to take the USC job, coach Lane Kiffin was able to attract Seantrel Henderson, considered to be the nation’s top-rated prospect. The Trojans signed 10 of the ESPNU top 150, including two the nation’s best wide receivers.
Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Tennessee and UCLA also landed impressive classes.
The SEC and Pac-10 lead the way in signing the most top 25 classes, with ESPN and Rivals ranking eight SEC teams among the nation’s top 25 and Scout listing seven.
ESPN and Rivals listed five SEC teams among their top 10 classes while Scout ranked four in their top 10.
The Pac-10 had their best recruiting effort in recent years, with ESPN listing six Pac-10 teams among their top 25. Scout ranked five Pac-10 teams among their top 25 while Rivals listed four.
[...] Florida, USC had pretty good recruiting classes — (MoonDog) [...]