Powell. Elam. Floyd. Easley. Watkins. Green. Dowling. Dunkley. Shaw. These are the names that could go down in history as the best assortment ever assembled. And those are just the players ranked in the national top-50. Not bad for a guy who is supposed to be taking time off.
Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators have claimed the 2010 recruiting national championship.
All together, the Gators landed a record 13 Athlon Consensus 100 prospects. They claimed three of the top-10 and nine of the top-50 players in the nation. They added seven other nationally-recruited players (those who received AC100 votes) and eight more talented names for good measure. They finished the 2010 cycle with 28 total signees. Note: The previous record was 10 AC100 prospects held by Ohio State in 2008.
In what turned out to be a rather anti-climactic National Signing Day, the Gators needed little help to claim their title. They were the heavy favorites heading into Wednesday, and after adding AC100 wide receiver Adrian Coxson and AC100 offensive lineman Chaz Green, the Gators experienced little resistance en route to their No. 1 ranking.
This class is not just about the quality but the depth as well. There are zero holes in this group. Every position on the football field is represented. With the exception of running back, in fact, Meyer landed at least two players at every position. The defensive line, though, is really what makes this class special.
Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde athlete Ronald Powell is likely a defensive end and finished as the No. 2 player in the nation -- but only by way of tiebreaker with Seantrel Henderson. He is easily the best prospect in this class as well as the entire SEC. Philadelphia-George Washington lineman Sharrif Floyd (No. 10) and Staten Island (N.Y.) Curtis tackle Dominique Easley (No. 23) are the top two defensive tackles in the nation. Add two more ends -- Neiron Ball and Lynden Trail -- as well as another tackle in Leon Orr, and its easy to see why this is the best defensive line class in the nation.
The secondary is the second-most impressive area of this class. Should West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer athlete Matt Elam (No. 8) end up at defensive back, he would be considered the nation’s best at the position. Palmdale (Calif.) corner Josh Shaw (No. 47) saw his stock soar late in the cycle and rightly so. He has tremendous ability and size. Cape Coral (Fla.) corner Jaylen Watkins (No. 32) is also a remarkable talent as well as Bradenton (Fla.) Southeast safety Jonathan Dowling (No. 44). Add to it Ft. Washington (Md.) prospect Jordan Haden (Joe’s little brother) and former AC100 recruit Cody Riggs (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and this could be the nation’s best secondary class as well.
The skill players are elite, too. Three AC100 pass-catchers, Chris Dunkley (No. 45), Adrian Coxson (No. 74) and Gerald Christian (No. 59), are the headliners. Mobile (Ala.) Murphy receiver Solomon Patton, Miami-Washington wideout Quinton Dunbar and Tampa-Blake tight end Micheal McFarland round out the six-man conglomerate.
Meyer signed only two lineman but both Chaz Green (Tampa, Fla.) and Ian Silberman (Fleming Island, Fla.) are AC100 talents. They are two of the best blockers in the state of Florida this season. The only running back the Gators signed was also an AC100 talent. Lithonia (Ga.) MLK tailback Mack Brown (No. 52) might be the highest-rated runner Meyer has ever signed at Florida.
The only weaknesses in this class are at quarterback and linebacker. The two passers -- Trey Burton and Tyler Murphy -- are lower rated prospects but quarterback was not an area of focus. Both are tremendous athletes and could end up at a variety of positions.
The linebacker class is underrated if nothing else. Gideon Ajagbe (Coconut Grove, Fla.) and Darrin Kitchens (Homestead, Fla.) are also middle of the pack recruits. Atlanta-Westlake backer Michael Taylor, however, is a potential diamond in the rough. He had a fantastic Under Armour event and played on the same level as names like Jeff Luc and Jordon Hicks.
To land this extraordinary collection of talent, Meyer dipped into eight different states. California was very kind (Powell, Shaw) and the Northeast played a large role as well -- Maryland, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania contributed six total names.
In the end, however, the state of Florida was where the Gator staff made its money. Sixteen total players from the Sunshine State inked LOI’s with Florida. Georgia and Alabama added one player each.
Here is a breakdown of the 2010 Florida Gator recruiting class (Rank is the AC100 national rank):
| Rank | Player | Pos. | Hometown | Ht | Wt |
| 2. | Ronald Powell | ATH/DE | Moreno Valley, Calif. | 6'4" | 240 |
| 8. | Matt Elam | ATH/DB | West Palm Beach, Fla. | 6' | 205 |
| 10. | Sharrif Floyd | DT | Philadelphia, Pa. | 6'3" | 310 |
| 23. | Dominique Easley | DT | Staten Island, N.Y. | 6'3" | 270 |
| 32. | Jaylen Watkins | CB | Cape Coral, Fla. | 6' | 175 |
| 43. | Chaz Green | OL | Tampa, Fla. | 6'6" | 280 |
| 44. | Jonathan Dowling | S | Bradenton, Fla. | 6'1" | 180 |
| 45. | Chris Dunkley | WR | Pahokee, Fla. | 5'10" | 170 |
| 47. | Joshua Shaw | CB | Palmdale, Calif. | 6'2" | 185 |
| 52. | Mack Brown | RB | Lithonia, Ga. | 5'11" | 185 |
| 59. | Gerald Christian | TE | West Palm Beach, Fla. | 6'3" | 225 |
| 74. | Adrian Coxson | WR | Baltimore, Md. | 6'1" | 190 |
| 79. | Ian Silberman | OL | Fleming Island, Fla. | 6'5" | 270 |
| 109. | Leon Orr | DT | New Port Richey, Fla. | 6'4" | 300 |
| 121. | Lynden Trail | DE | Miami, Fla. | 6'7" | 225 |
| 125. | Cody Riggs | CB | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | 5'8" | 160 |
| 193. | Solomon Patton | WR | Mobile, Ala. | 5'10" | 175 |
| 245. | Michael Taylor | LB | Atlanta, Ga. | 6'1" | 220 |
| 253. | Jordan Haden | DB | Ft. Washington, Md. | 6' | 200 |
| 277. | Quinton Dunbar | WR | Miami, Fla. | 6'3" | 175 |

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