Joey Johnston

In the Southeastern Conference, there are attractive products to sell — stadiums built to accommodate small cities, unmatched fan mania and a conference that offers week-to-week competitive fury. Any — or all — of those factors could sway big-name recruits away from other regions. That’s why the league cleaned up on college football’s national signing day.

Florida, Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina, Auburn and Georgia were each listed in the top 10 of Wednesday’s national recruiting rankings by Rivals.com, an unheard-of murderer’s row for a single league.

Why?

Don’t overlook the salesmen.

The coaches themselves.

Florida is hot, of course, but Urban Meyer has stoked the flames. He targeted the best of the best, then set out to build relationships, establishing North American text-messaging records along the way.

“If I was a recruit, I know where I’d want to go,” said Meyer, and no doubt every coach can make the same claim. But Meyer’s claim has clout. He’s young and telegenic, an old-school soul with new-wave philosophies. And that national-championship ring has a way of closing deals.

At South Carolina, home to large dreams and a broom-closet trophy case, it’s all about Steve Spurrier. Single-handedly, he has brought relevance to the Gamecocks program. Now the players are following in droves.

Nick Saban made LSU into a powerhouse by keeping home the key Louisiana players, a trend that has continued under Les Miles (and once Saban distances himself from his tail-between-the-legs NFL departure and has a full recruiting season, look for him to work the same formula at Alabama).

Phil Fulmer has made the art of recruiting into a science at Tennessee, where he speaks the language, knows the culture and bleeds orange. Tommy Tuberville’s down-home sincerity works well at Auburn, while Mark Richt looks to be settling in for a long, prosperous stay at Georgia.

“Football is a big, big thing in the South,” Meyer said days before his Gators toppled top-ranked Ohio State in the BCS championship game. “It’s huge. It can seem a bit overwhelming at times. But once you experience it, you know it’s unlike any other place.

“We have a lot to sell at Florida — a lot.”

Signing Day Rivals.com: Top classes | Top players | A-Z Florida leads the way | Did Bush call McKnight? Opinion: Florida, SEC rule |   Discuss | Big deal? Rivals.com updates: ACC | Big East | Big Ten Rivals.com updates: Big 12 | Pac-10 | SEC Rivals.com: More recruiting news | Storylines ND concerned | SN: Uh, the 'D'? | ND Central Illini recruiting raises eyebrows, report says Notebook: Dad wins Bowden recruiting battle Rivals.com: Top '08 recruit looks lot like Young

And the Gators often need to plan ahead.

Case in point: A dozen or so recruits made unofficial visits to Florida’s campus last weekend, the critical final push before national signing day, and were among the ravenous crowd at the Florida-Tennessee men’s basketball game. It was a perfect setting to close some deals.

At Florida, there was no need.

The recruits were all juniors. Every one of them. The class of 2008.

The no-sweat Gators already were done and looking to next year.

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