Recruiting: National Notebook

The state of Florida has been a hotbed for college football talent for decades. Miami, Florida State and Florida used the loaded Sunshine State to rise to prominence nearly 30 years ago. Since, they have stayed around the top of the college football world on a consistent basis.

Now, as college football recruiting grows into the modern era of technology and media coverage — as well as scholarship limitations — schools from every state dip into Florida for talent. It has become increasingly difficult to keep kids at home and the struggles of Miami and Florida State over the last five years, as well as the rise of programs like South Florida, have proven how difficult it can be to stay on top in the new era of recruiting.

So far in the 2010 cycle, the trend atop the Florida state recruiting rankings is ambiguity. Most of the elite prospects remain uncommitted and nearly all of them are playing the recruiting game very close to the vest. However, the two biggest pieces of news this week were commitments of Floridian prospects. One is an AC100 member.

The Miami Hurricanes are arguably the hottest team on the recruiting trail at the moment. It starts with Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington running back Eduardo Clements — the top-rated running back prospect in the South Florida region. The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder announced that he will be headed to Coral Gables.

Clements is an explosive playmaker who, with added lower body strength, could be an every down player for the Canes. He posted back-to-back 20 touchdown seasons on the ground and is rated as the No. 100 player in the Athlon Consensus 100. He picked the Canes over Florida State and Georgia and is Miami’s first AC100 commitment for the class of 2010.

The Clements verbal comes on the heels of two other solid pickups. Buford (Ga.) Loganville tailback Storm Johnson and Belle Glade (Fla.) Glades Central safety Greg Dent both committed to the Canes last week. Johnson is one of the top prospects in the state of Georgia and has led his team to back-to-back undefeated 15-0 AA state championship seasons. He is a stout 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. Dent hails from one of Florida’s dominant programs and checks in at 6-foot, 175 pounds.

Irish Eyes

The second biggest commitment of the week is just another example of how big-time programs from all over the nation come to Florida and poach some of the most talented kids in the state. Notre Dame got a verbal commitment from Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas running back Giovanni Bernard.

The tailback is just outside the AC100 and is a key cog for the offense of the No. 1 team in the nation. Yes, Bernard is a quality prospect with plenty of talent but his real value to Notre Dame might be his ability to sway teammates LaMarcus Joyner and Brandon Linder to also head north to South Bend. Joyner is the nation’s No. 1 cornerback (AC100 No. 9) and the Irish have moved into contention for his services with Florida State, Ohio State and Florida also heavily involved. Linder, like Bernard, is ranked nationally but outside of the AC100. He too has Notre Dame as a finalist along with Miami.

Charlie Weis still has plenty of targets on his recruiting board. Los Angeles-Loyola athlete Anthony Barr is a Notre Dame legacy. His father Tony Brooks and uncle Reggie Brooks both played running back for the Golden Domers. Barr is one of the most physically gifted players in the nation and is rated No. 17 in the AC100. Weis will have his work cut out for him seeing that UCLA seems to be his biggest threat and Rick Nuehiesel’s son plays quarterback for Loyola.

The Irish are making a strong push up the recruiting rankings with recent commitments from Tai-ler Jones (AC100 No. 86) and Toney Hurd, Jr.

The Beasts of the East

The Tennessee Vols fans have been riding a roller coaster of emotions this fall. Over the last few months the Vols have landed AC100 prospects Brandon Willis, Corey Miller, and DeMarco Cobbs as well as stealing fast-rising quarterback Tyler Bray from San Diego State. The Big Orange have also experienced a heart-breaking loss to Alabama as well as a commitment-less month of October.

This weekend featured one of Lane Kiffin’s biggest official visit lists as well as a dominating performance over South Carolina. The positive weekend was soured, however, by a decommitment from arguably the most talented member of the 2010 class. Cobbs, a dynamic athlete from Tulsa, Okla., switched his pledge from the Vols to the the Texas Longhorns.

To lighten the blow, though, the Vols did pick up a verbal from junior college tight end Ken Adams (6-5, 240). With a relatively manageable schedule left (Vandy, Kentucky, Memphis, Ole Miss), the Vols are looking at a winning record on the field and a top-10 recruiting class off of it.

How far into the top 10, however, could easily be determined by the state of Florida. The head-to-head battles that will be raging between Kiffin and Florida’s Urban Meyer should be as entertaining to watch as last cycle’s torrid race to National Signing Day. There is no love lost between these two and with some major recruiting chips left to fall, fans are sure to see more fireworks this season. The list of players these two will be duking it out for is incredibly impressive and should one dominate the other, he could find his team skyrocketing up the rankings come NSD.

Here are the names that could decide between the two SEC East powers:

AC100 No. 2: Jeff Luc, LB, Treasure Coast (Port St. Lucie Fla.)
Considered a longtime Florida-Florida State battle, Luc's interest has reportedly waned in the Seminoles (like many other prospects). Other rumors were swirling about Florida's interest in Luc but those have been proven wrong. The Vols have stepped up and filled the void left by the Noles and it appears that Florida and Tennessee will be the two finalists Luc picks from come NSD. Inappropriately early prediction: Tennessee

AC100 No. 8: Matt Elam, ATH, Dwyer (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Elam has been a long-time commit to the Gators. His older brother played for Meyer at Bowling Green and is likely to end up in Gainesville. However, he has been looking around. Teammates and coaches might actually be pushing him toward Morgantown, W.Va., but Tennessee also could figure in the mix. Should he decommitt, WVU and UT seem the two most likely destinations. Inappropriately early prediction: Florida

AC100 No. 32: Corey Lemonier, DE, Hialeah (Hialeah, Fla.)
Not much has changed for Lemonier. He has a firm top seven schools: LSU, Miami, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Auburn and Illinois. Different sources report different things at the moment so this one is still wide open. He has officially visited Illinois and Florida State and is slated to be in Knoxville, Tenn., later this month. Officials are huge indicators so those three have to be at the top of his list with the Gators and Miami likely rounding out the top-5. Inappropriately early prediction: Illinois

AC100 No. 49: Chris Dunkley, WR, Pahokee (Pahokee, Fla.)
Dunkley was in Knoxville, Tenn., this past weekend and said he was pleasantly surprised. Kiffin had a small skiff with the Pahokee head football coach last season in the recruitment of 2009 AC100 talent Nu'Keese Richardson. That relationship has since been patched up and Dunkley has moved the Vols into his finalists. That short list includes Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Miami, West Virginia and USC as well. Inappropriately early prediction: Florida

AC100 No. 64: Chaz Green, OL, Catholic (Tampa, Fla.)
Both of Green's parents went to Tennessee and a recent visit this weekend has pushed the Vols squarely into the mix for his services. Much like Dunkley, the trip to Knoxville surprised the recruit and the game day experienced really opened his eyes. Ohio State, USC and Florida are also in the mix but the Gators and Vols will be going head-to-head on this one. Inappropriately early prediction: Tennessee

AC100 No. 68: Christian Jones, LB, Lake Howell (Winter Park, Fla.)
The third AC100 talent to visit Knoxville for the South Carolina game was Jones. He has a much longer list of finalists at the moment but the Vols and Gators are near the top. This list has been tough to figure out but Florida State, Notre Dame, Miami, USC and Oklahoma join Tennessee and Florida as favorites. Jones has also visited Notre Dame and Florida State has been the longtime pick. Miami has re-entered the fray and could pull a late upset. Inappropriately early prediction: Miami

AC100 No. 69: Cody Riggs, DB, St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
Another STA product with loads of talent has been rumored to be a Florida Gator silent commit for some time now. Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Tennessee are all in the mix as well. He has visited the Bulldogs, Vols and Irish with a visit later this month to Florida. It would be an upset should he end up anywhere but Gainesville, but Bernard will certainly pull him north to South Bend. Georgia and Tennessee seem to be the biggest challengers to Florida. Inappropriately early prediction: Florida

Flying High

The Oregon Ducks' victory over USC was not only a huge moment in the Pac-10 regular season standings, it was a big-time recruiting coup. The visit list was the biggest of the season so far for Chip Kelly's squad. AC100 talents Trovon Reed, Gabe King and Owamagbe Odighizuwa — among many others — were on hand to witness the beatdown. King has been a longtime Duck lean but Odighizuwa and Reed apparently have moved the Ducks up their respective lists.

Note: Reed is set to announce on Friday, Nov. 13. His finalists are Auburn, LSU, Oregon and Tennessee with Auburn the current leader.

One disappointment was who didn't show up. Temple, Texas, superstar tailback Lache Seastrunk was not on hand for the big win. Seastrunk has taken officials to UCLA and Cal. It appears Auburn and USC will get two others. That leaves one more official for either Oregon or LSU. The Ducks seem to be the favorite for that last visit, though, because the talented runner has already unofficially visited the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

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