Florida recruits top class; USC lands top RB
Gators build off national title; McKnight disappoints LSU by picking Trojans
Alex Brandon / APRunning back Joe McKnight of River Ridge, La., considered the No. 2 recruit in the nation, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to attend Southern California.
updated 4:36 a.m. ET Feb. 8, 2007
Judging the results of national signing day used to take a few years as even top players struggled to get playing time as freshmen.
A look at the last few national champions shows times have changed. Whether it was Reggie Bush or Dwayne Jarrett at Southern California, or Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin at Florida last season, more and more freshmen are making an immediate impact on the field.
The Gators and Trojans both signed plenty more blue-chippers Wednesday who figure to play a big role next season.
“We have taken a new attitude toward recruiting this year that every freshman in my opinion will play next year,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “Obviously, that won’t happen but we are taking that approach. It used to be, ’Boy, I will be able to save this guy.’ But that’s over.”
Meyer will have lots of options to choose from as Florida brought in the top recruiting class in the country, according to recruiting analysts.
The Gators signed nine of the top 16 players in talent-rich Florida and the No. 1 players from South Carolina, Indiana, Maryland and New England, according to Rivals.com. SuperPrep, National Blue Chips and CSTV also picked Florida as Wednesday’s big winner.
“No one is even that close to them,” CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. “They got help everywhere. In the past 10 years, this has to rank right at the top in recruiting classes. Every position is absolutely loaded.”
Florida’s class includes Rivals’ third-best pro-style quarterback in John Brantley, the nation’s top guard in James Wilson, top weakside defensive end in Carlos Dunlap, second-best defensive tackle in Torrey Davis, and top two safeties in Jerimy Finch and Major Wright.
A coaching change at Miami and another down year for Florida State played a key part in the Gators’ success.
“They play an exciting brand of ball on offense and defense and a lot of kids want be in that situation,” said Allen Wallace, the national recruiting editor for Scout.com and publisher of SuperPrep magazine. “There’s no question they’ve moved into the catbird seat in Florida. They have taken advantage of tough times for both the Hurricanes and Seminoles.”
The Trojans closed strong, adding top running backs Joe McKnight, ranked as the No. 2 prospect by Rivals.com, from Louisiana and Broderick Green from Arkansas on Wednesday to a class that already included another top back in Marc Tyler; defensive end Everson Griffen, SuperPrep’s No. 1 overall player; the nation’s No. 1 receiver, Ronald Johnson from Michigan; and blue chip linebacker Chris Galippo from Anaheim, Calif.
McKnight, who also played wide receiver, kick returner and defensive back for John Curtis High School in suburban New Orleans, the reigning Class 2A state champion, said at a news conference that he was lured by USC’s strong public relations program, the field in which he plans to major.
“It was very close. Sometimes I was saying I was going to Ole Miss, sometimes I was saying I was going to LSU, then I’d say I was going to USC. But I sat down with my mom and said the pros and cons of it and we both decided it would be the best decision to go to USC,” he said.
In 14 games this season, including playoffs, he had 45 carries for 709 yards and 14 touchdowns, an average of 15.7 yards per carry. He also had 24 receptions for 735 yards and 13 scores, an average of 30.6 yards per reception.
On special teams, he returned 12 punts for 268 yards and three touchdowns, an average of 22.3 yards per return. He returned five kickoffs for a 34.6-yard average. McKnight also had one interception and 10 tackles on defense, although he is not expected to play on defense in college.
As a junior, because of Hurricane Katrina, McKnight started the 2005 season with Class 1A state champion Evangel Christian of Shreveport and completed it with Curtis.
Coaches, competition make conference clear No. 1 |  |
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Coach Pete Carroll’s willingness to play freshmen makes the Trojans an attractive destination for many of the nation’s top players.
“Our guys know they’re going to get a great chance when they come here. We’ve proven that,” Carroll said. “I think we had 16 freshmen who played last year. We’ve found that our guys grow up very fast when we put them in positions they excel at.
“The competition is on. The guys who are in our program know they got the same chance when they got here. There’s no telling who’s going to surface out of this group. We’re excited to find out.”
The Southeastern Conference was the big winner on signing day as Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama all received at least one top-10 ranking. Other top schools include Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon and Nebraska.
Jimmy Clausen, the top-ranked player by Rivals and CSTV, headlines Notre Dame’s class and could be ready to step in next season as Brady Quinn’s replacement at quarterback. Clausen is one of many players who already have started college, giving him a leg up because he can take part in spring practice.
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