Gators Look to Finish Strong with 2010 Recruiting Class

As Coach Urban declared he would resign from the head coaching job at Florida on December 26th, many recruits were thinking about decommitting from the Gators.Without the Florida football program in the hands of the two time national championship winning coach, many recruits broke their allegiances with the Florida Gators.

Coach Meyer took this message seriously.

On the 27th of December, he changed his mind and decided to take a leave of absence to spare the loss of recruits. With no definite date when Meyer would return to the Gators along with the loss of assistant head coach, Charlie Strong, the near future of the Gators looked to not be on the bright side. This seemed as if it could be one of the worst recruiting classes for the Gators in recent years. Although, it turned out to be that the Gators would come out chomping strong with the number one recruiting class with less than a week from National Signing Day on February 3rd.

Many recruiting specialist doubted the success of Florida's 2010 recruiting class because of the loss of so many coaches and key players at Florida. Although, Meyer announced he would indeed be returning for the March spring football practices. Because of the return of Coach Meyer, early commits held on to their promises and prospects from around the country started to pour into Gainesville hoping to start one day as a Gator.

With new hope of another successful season in the SEC, Florida has brought in 25 recruits to be the current number one class in the nation. Barry Every of Rivals.com reported, "It is a bit surprising, especially considering the negative recruiting that takes place. But let's face it, all these kids lived a majority of this recruiting season with the Gators as reigning champs, and most kids want to play for a national championship."

Despite the negative recruiting taking place against the Gators by other coaches, Florida has reeled in six recruits in the Rival's Top 50, four 5-star recruits, and sixteen 4-star recruits. Obviously, the loss of the Gator defensive coordinator and two other assistants has had no substantial negative affect on the recruits interested in Florida. Urban Meyer can be credited with saving the recruits from decommitment and signing on with other schools because of his relationship building skills with the scouts. Come National Signing Day on February 3rd, expect the Florida Gators to have the number one recruiting class of 2010 despite numerous losses in the off-season.

(Information collected by the St. Petersburg Times and Rivals.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald