2007 Recruiting class No. 1: Florida

The Gators come off a season where they played for and won a national championship. The success on the gridiron crossed over to recruiting where the Gators dominated recruiting in the state of Florida.

Among that Gators' many fine recruits, they signed the top wide receiver (Deonte Thompson), top offensive tackle (James Wilson), top offensive guard (Leshawn Pouncey), top defensive tackle (John Brown), top linebacker (Lorenzo Edwards) and the top safety prospect (Major Wright) in Florida.

After taking over the state of Florida in recruiting, they went into Indiana and signed the top prospect (Jeremy Finch), the top prospect in South Carolina (Carlos Dunlap) and took the top player in Connecticut (Aaron Hernandez).

It is hard to argue that this is not the top recruiting class in the nation. The Gators filled pretty much every need in their recruiting class. The entire class top to bottom is one of the most balanced ever signed at UF.

Players that stand out….

QB — John Brantley (Trinity Catholic) — Top Rated Quarterback in Florida. He also is one of the top five rated signal callers in the country.

WR — Deonte Thompson (Glades Central) — Thompson joins the Gators a year after they landed the fastest receiver in the nation a year ago in Percy Harvin. The Gators won the battle for Thompson over rivals FSU and Miami.

OL — James Wilson (Nease) — Top rated OL in Florida. Wilson was a prospect that committed to USC early on who then decommitted and ended up in Gainesville.

DE — Carlos Dunlap (S.C.) — Dunlap is one of the top rated defensive ends in the country. He also was South Carolina’s top rated prospect.

Sleeper: Joe Haden

The Gators really did not have any sleeper prospects in their class. If there was one that flew a bit under the radar it would be Haden. He is in a class that has a ton of headliners. Don’t be surprised to see Haden end up one of the best prospects in this class.

Complete list of signees:
1.    Ahmad Black         CB
2.    John Brantley         QB
3.    John Brown         DT
4.    Torrey Davis         DL
5.    Carlos Dunlap     DE
6.    Lorenzo Edwards     S
7.    Jerimy Finch         S
8.    Joe Haden         ATH
9.    Chas Henry         P
10.    Aaron Hernandez     TE
11.    Brandon Hicks     LB
12.    Jerry “Jay” Howard     DE
13.    Moses Jenkins     CB
14.    John Jones         LB
15.    Duke Lemmens     DE
16.    Cameron Newton     QB
17.    James Pouncey     OL
18.    LaShawn Pouncey     OL
19.    Chris Rainey         RB
20.    Deonte Thompson     WR
21.    Justin Trattou         DE
22.    Bryan Waggener     QB
23.    Johnny “Bo” Williams     RB
24.    Steven Wilks         LB
25.    James Wilson         OL
26.    Mark “Paul” Wilson     WR
27.    Major Wright         S

MSL Sports is a nationally recognized scouting and recruiting organization serving universities, athletes and media organizations. MSL is the only company to provide, through our 13 combines, the Video on Demand technology that allows coaches to view individual combine workouts online. In addition, MSL is the creators of the East Meets West High School All-American Game football game as well as many other sports media properties. To learn more or to register for an event, please visit www.mslcombines.com