Gators' recruiting class has Carolina-Georgia feel

Ah, there's that guy again.

The Florida Gators have the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation going into the final hours before Wednesday's National Signing Day for college football prospects, according to Rivals.com.

Alabama and Texas are 1-2.

Third? Ohio State, with new coach and former Gator coach Urban Meyer.

But Florida has something a lot of schools don't: empty scholarships. That means the Gators could close strong in the final hours and make a big push for the top spot.

Florida State and Miami were seventh and eighth, respectively, going into the final hours of courting top prep seniors.

The Gators' first 21 commitments include eight offensive and defensive linemen. Coach Will Muschamp has been saying since the start of his first season that winning the line of scrimmage is the most important thing in the Southeastern Conference.

The class has a distinct North Carolina and Georgia flavor, with just about half the recruits expected to come out of Florida.

For example, the commitment of defensive end Alex McCalister recently gave the Gators four of the top 13 high school prospects in North Carolina.

"Looking at Florida, there's really only one significant piece of the puzzle that I'm concerned about and that is maybe a lack of ideal playmakers at the wide receiver position,'' ESPN's Tom Luginbill said.

Stefon Diggs and Nelson Agholor are the two players on everybody's mind. They are the guys that could make a huge impact right away in helping UF climb back among the upper programs in the SEC.

Already, Lugbinbill feels the Gators have done "simply sensational'' with their linemen recruits.

"There's a lot to gain, given the SEC signing rules" - limiting league teams to signing just 25 players. "There are very few schools that have much wiggle room right now, Florida has got a little bit of wiggle room,'' Luginbill said.

One of the more bizarre commitments is Jeremi Powell, who announced his intentions to be a Gator long ago, but the Pinellas Park recruit visited Marshall recently, now says the Thundering Herd is a player, and plans to reveal his pick today. Powell is the No. 35 prospect in the Sunshine State on the Rivals list.

Among the visits he made was to see the Spring Hill Cemetery, where the victims of Marshall's 1970 plane crash are buried, and called it an emotional moment.

Other recruits who could have immediate impact are Jonathan Bullard and Dante Phillips, who could play right away on the defensive front.

The secondary is in dire need of more athletes with Brian Poole and Melbourne Holy Trinity's Marcus Maye as strong recruits. UF has had remarkable success with Brevard County players (tight end Aaron Walker, safety Reggie Nelson, defensive tackle Joe Cohen and linebacker Marcus Oquendo-Johnson).

Tracy Howard, the top cornerback in the nation, also remains a strong possible Florida signee. That's a major signing in an area with no real standout.

Offensive linemen D.J. Humphries and Jessamen Dunker could help at a position where Florida needs an upgrade and depth.

Tight ends Kent Taylor, who could play wide receiver, and Colin Thompson are also possible immediate impact guys.

Armwood's Matt Jones comes in with a lot of build-up and hope that he's the real deal, a big (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) running back who can pound the ball.

And in Gainesville, signing a quarterback always brings the microscope out. Philadelphia's Skyler Mornhinweg was grabbed by new UF offensive coordinator Brent Pease.

That could be intriguing because he was Pease's first QB signee for the future. Mornhinweg is the son of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and was a Penn State commitment since July but opened recruiting up after the sex-abuse scandal at the school lead to former coach Joe Paterno's firing.

A year ago, Muschamp had to scramble to put together his first class, and most were Meyer recruits. He lost several key prospects because of the coaching change. Now, it's Muschamp's class.

"It's the first stepping stone of his blueprint being laid down and a group of student-athletes that only know that blueprint,'' Luginbill said. "It's not an inherited group, it's not a group that established relationships with previous coaches on the previous staff, it's his guys, his staff's guys, guys they want for a variety of critical factors.

"You want to meet as many of those critical factors as you can because you are going to go to war with them. So I think it's the first stage of building your roster with your type of, not only player, but your type of person that you are trying to get within your program. So you bring this group in and all they know is you now. They don't know the previous regime, they don't know a previous set of coaches or administrators.''