College FB Recruiting: The Mighty Gators Have a Mighty 2008 Class

With national signing day right around the corner, the Gators look to reload this off-season with another top three recruiting class.

Currently they sit atop the college football world with the number one recruiting class according to Rivals.com. With 22 players already committed, few scholarships remain for last minute recruits who want to wear the orange and blue.

With the offense loaded for next year and the years to come, defense was the more pressing need this off-season.

This group of defensive players coming in might be equally impressive as the 2006 offensive players (Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon James) in the years to come. Currently the Gators have 13-14 committed players to the program who figure to be on the defensive side of the ball. The most notable of the bunch are Will Hill, a defensive back (number one rated ATH on Rivals.com), and Omar Hunter, (number two rated DT on Rivals.com).

Some of the defense backs coming in also figure to be in the mix when the fall comes around. Given the lack of talent and depth in the defensive backfield, Janoris Jenkins, Ramon Buchanan, Dee Finley, and Jeremy Brown all could get an opportunity, much like Joe Haden had last year when he started as a true freshman. With most of the front seven returning next year, the freshman will have a harder time seeing the field than last year’s class.

Offensively, the Gators continue to pull in stud wide receivers.

Carl Moore, the number two overall, a junior college transfer, will have an immediate impact next season. He will be replacing Andre Caldwell who holds the all-time catch record at UF. Frankie Hammond Jr. and Omarius Hines will probably have to wait their turn in the coming years since the Gators are loaded at wide receiver. For the third straight year Urban Meyer was able to land a five-star offensive lineman with Matt Patchan choosing the Gators.

Urban Meyer continues to build a successful program.

The Gators are starting to join an elite club of teams such as Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio State who can say they aren’t rebuilding—they are reloading from year to year.

Defense was the emphasis for the 2008 class. In the previous two years the Gators have finished with the number two and number one recruiting classes, respectively. This year they hope to secure another number one class.

With the talent from the previous years as well as this year’s highly touted class, the Gator program should be competing for national titles in the years to come.