
I’m not a recruiting junkie. I do keep up with the big-time commitments and overall rankings, but in football I believe the difference between the top ranked class and the 10th-ranked class is slim enough to be essentially negligible.
That being said, Urban Meyer has raked in another outstanding class and the Gators currently hold the #1 overall ranking per Rivals.com.
Here’s a link to the full list of commits and LOIs. The 5-stars are Carl Moore (WR), Will Hill (listed as ATH but likely safety), Omar Hunter (DT), and Matt Patchan (OL).
It’s important to remember that these commits — other than Troy Epps and Carl Moore — are obviously as of yet unsigned so they’re not a sure bet to appear on campus, but Urban Meyer has been highly effective in his efforts to snag and keep recruits through signing day. I think you’ll see all of these guys show up.
Will Hill, Dee Finley, and Omar Hunter excite me the most. Florida is set offensively for the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but we obviously need big help on the defensive side of the ball. There’s a good chance these three will be prime candidates for a starting job next year.
Scout.com has Florida tied for 5th rather than first. They rank Florida’s overall star rating at 3.73 — which is better than Alabama, Georgia, and Miami, despite being ranked below them — but probably drop us because we have 22 total recruits to Bama’s 26, Georgia’s 24, and Miami’s 25. There’s a big disparity in evaluated 3-star vs. 4-star talent from Scout as well; Florida has 8 4-stars and 10 3-stars vs. Rivals’ 13 4-stars and 3 3-stars.
I remember nervous chatter in November about Florida’s small number of verbals. Since that time, Meyer and staff have been on a recruiting rampage. Signing day is around the corner… let’s finish strong. This is shaping up to be another Top 3 class.
(By the way, a little schadenfreude: try to find South Carolina on anyone’s Top 25. Steve Spurrier really didn’t know what he was getting into up there in Columbia, did he… ?)