Is it time yet? Just checking if the blog is coming back to life.

Gators Sign Consensus Top Recruiting Class in Country (Chomp, Chomp)

Urban Meyer has enjoyed some major victories in his five years at Florida. This may be one of the biggest, certainly one of the most impressive, and probably the most unexpected, given the circumstances Meyer and his staff signed the nation's No. 1 football recruiting class Wednesday, maybe the best in school history. This comes a little more than a month after Meyer resigned as the Gators' head football coach, then changed his mind and decided to return with the plan to take a leave of absence after the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding Meyer and his health the Gators put together the consensus top recruiting class in America, according to the national experts and analysts. "Considering the situation, this class is amazing," said Scott Kennedy, the director of scouting for Scout.com/Fox. "It's the best recruiting job I've seen since Notre Dame went 3-9 in 2007 and finished with the No. 1 class. "It's a great class, the No. 1 class. It's one of the best defensive classes I've ever seen. Period." Even Meyer admitted Wednesday that he was a little surprised he and his staff were able to pull this off. "I am, a little bit," he said. When Meyer made his stunning retirement announcement on Dec. 26, the Gators had commitments from 20 top prospects. Even after he announced a day later that he was returning and would take an indefinite leave of absence, it appeared the 2010 recruiting class was in jeopardy of possibly falling apart. Instead, with an assist from the committed players, the Gators not only managed to hold onto the class, they were able to build on it and turn it into the best in the nation. It all culminated Wednesday, when 28 prospects signed national letter of intents with the Gators, led by the nation's consensus No. 1 player, defensive end Ronald Powell from Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, Calif. "This just shows you how far Florida has ascended in the world of college football under Urban Meyer," said Allen Wallace, the publisher of SuperPrep and the national recruiting editor for Scout.com. "Despite a tumultuous situation with Meyer and his health, to end up with the No. 1 class in the United States, it was a remarkable effort. He's a powerful man. "Florida had the No. 1 class four years ago and the No. 2 class five years ago. This certainly ranks with any class Florida has brought in. I would give it the edge (as the best in school history)." According to Rivals.com, the Gators signed three of the top seven players in the country and seven of the top 50. UF signed four five-star recruits and 17 of ESPN's top 150 prospects in the nation. The strength of the class appears to be on defense, and on the defensive line in particular, where the Gators signed Powell and two other elite prospects in tackles Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley. "It's the best defensive line class I've seen in the 10 years I've been doing this," said Mike Farrell, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "It's ridiculous." Meyer said this may be the best recruiting class he's put together. "As far as the defensive front, I don't think I've ever seen one like that," Meyer said. "You've got Ronald Powell, Floyd, Easley, and Lynden Trail and Leon Orr. That's a special group. "Then the back end (the secondary), with Joshua Shaw, Jaylen Watkins, Cody Riggs, Jordan Haden and Matt Elam. I just think in certain areas, this is the best we've ever done." Powell is the highest-rated prospect the Gators have signed since Percy Harvin in 2006. Harvin also was the nation's consensus No. 1 player coming out of high school. "Powell is one who came to camp this summer. We actually put our hands on him and worked with him," Meyer said. "He could be an All-American. He could be a tremendous tight end or defensive end. We'll try to use him as both, mostly on defense. But he'll catch some passes here." Another impact player in the class is one who is not highly rated by the analysts — three-star quarterback Trey Burton. Burton committed to Meyer more a year ago and never wavered. When Meyer's future at UF was in doubt in late December and early January, Burton and some of the other committed players, including Trail, helped hold the class together. Burton also stayed in contact with some non-committed players, including Powell. "I knew Burton was kind of the Pied Piper of the class. I watched him in summer camp (when he was recruiting prospects to UF)," Meyer said. "Trail is a guy I'm very personally close with. But I didn't realize (he was staying involved with the other prospects) until I read it the other day. "They were making calls and keeping this class together. This group was always talking. It's a very close-knit group of players." And now it makes up the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Few probably saw this coming back in the last week of December. "Urban Meyer loves football and is willing to risk his health coaching it," Farrell said. "I think the recruits were moved by his determination to stay at the University of Florida and continue coaching."

Kiffin comes back to So Cal

Hey, SEC bloggers and Kiffin haters: Lane is coming back. That is right. He could not take the heat of the SEC, so he decided to come back to SC. He was a long time assistant to Pete Carroll at SC. He was the wonder-child, along with Yoda Master Norm Chow, who guided the offense at SC that unleashed havoc on the world with Leinnart and Co. a few years ago. Now, I know what you are thinking: This guy ruffled a lot of feathers during his one year (can you believe it was only 1 year) at Tennessee. But, after his stint at SC, he went to the pros with the Oakland Raiders, becoming the youngest head coach (at 31) in the modern era of the NFL (whatever that means). He did poorly in the pros. Then, Rocky Top for one. Now, he comes back and he brings his dad with him (fantastic) and Ed Orgeron (super fantastic as he headed our recruiting under Pete Carroll, is a former Miami (the "U") assistant, and was defensive line coach under Carroll). So, we get back 2 of our former assistants plus one of their dads. Sounds good on paper...wait and see. As for us, we were either desperate to hire a coach, or we just ruined the Volunteers next few seasons! Consider it an early Christmas present to our fellow SEC bloggers. Rocky Top may have just been leveled by the Trojans. Out. Victor

Hey; Anybody out there?

First post in a long time on the "old" blog. Anybody out there? Very lonely out here in blog land. Pete Carroll is gone. Athletic Director Mike Garrett should retire (assuming he was ever working in the first place). We are, likely, facing NCAA sanctions for Reggie Bush/Joe McKnight matters. No coaches on the horizon to replace Carroll. And, we are losing blue-chip recruits faster than Usain Bolt runs the 100 meter dash. Yeah, that quickly. Other than that, things are great in the Trojan Nation. We need a life-line, lifeboat, life preserver, and life, itself. Help!! Victor

Are my gutty little Bruins back? I love our defense but suspect my offense still lags behind. We'll see what our season will truly be like after the Stanford game. Ay Dios mio... EL Feo Zarate

So the Trojans lost - the sky has not fallen

Did I actually just join the highly esteemed Coast to Coast Sports Chat? Did I log in without 20 emails to Joaquin asking for help, or having a personal 1-hour consultation with Vic and Nora? But I won't get too excited, because next week I will forget my login or password and you won't hear from me until next year.......So the Trojans lost, big deal. The Detroit Lions lose every week and I haven't shed a tear for them since Errol Mann missed a 23-yd field goal against the arch-enemy Minnesoata Vikings in 1971. The Trojans new win streak begins Saturday @ the Coliseum against Washington State, and we begin our climb back into the top 5. The Gators still rule the College Football landscape, for the moment............ Johnny Cueto

Are the Aggies back? Don't know, but I am!

Well sports fans, it has been a helluva summer in Texas. No hurricanes yet, but at least FSU felt one last night! But c'mon, does anyone really care about FL football? Well, anyone but Joaq?And what does Joaq say, "if you aint a Gator, you aint s**t!" Well, here in Aggieland we have a similar saying and it goes like this "We are the Aggies and the Aggies are we and we are damn tired hearing about Colt McCoy, his heisman dreams and tu being a possible #1!" Well, somewhat similar but y'all get the gist! So I attended the Aggie game last Saturday night with my family and it was good to see us not give up a TD! Whoop! We looked fast on both sides of the ball as we are starting four of our true freshman "athletes". Three on D alone! Now I realize it was only the Lobos of UNM, but still, it was see us get a big win and a good win over a Mountain West team (right OU?). But it was very good to see us cover the spread....and another team's receivers...finally! Whoop! We are off this week, but have Utah State and UAB (who beat the hell outta Rice) coming to town. Then, a big showdown with the Hogs of UA in Big D on October 3! Hopefully, we will be undefeated going into that game! So set your Tivo's, it will be one for your grandchildren to watch! I'm out until more Aggie info to report, but until then, it is good to be back in the blog and it will be even better to have the Ags back in the Top 25! Whoop! Gig 'em!

The Swamp is a Dangerous Place!

This is Rhonda and JoaqGator this Saturday in the tunnel on the way to our seats (Don's seats) @ The Swamp. We went with our dear friend and my old UF Law School professor, Don Peters, [picture at right] who just joined our mediation firm. We had an absolute blast. It was an evening game and the weather was terrific. OK, it was a little humid (about 185% humidity) but there was a nice breeze and the temp was in the high 70's. We got to see the Gator veterans briefly put on a heck of a scoring show and then we got to see a lot of young and extremely talented true freshmen show their stuff. Everyone played, including the scout team. The speed was blinding and with the exception of a minor injury to one of our offensive linemen nobody on either team was hurt. It was a very fun time. We got to enjoy our new HD super huge stadium jumbotron screens which featured a close up of my son John Fraxedas flanked by two beautiful young women, Jason's wife, Ashley Fraxedas, and her sister, Amanda Knaus. Jason was left out of the frame... maybe next game, Jason. I'll talk with the producer. The flyby was impressive but for some reason, after a gazillion years of doing flybys south to north, this one came from the north and caught everyone looking the wrong way. All in all a wonderful opening. I'll post more pictures on the right. I understand Johnny Cueto was at the Coliseum for the Trojans first scrimmage with "Do You Know the Way to San Jose State?" and he promised to publish a post here with his experiences soon. College football is here! Let's fire up this blog!!! P.S. If you click on the title to this post "The Swamp is..." there is a link to an article in the Gainesville Sun which includes a heartwarming story about Tebow spending time with a disabled kid in a wheelchair which he had invited to the opening game with his family and taking him around the locker room to have the team sign autographs for him just before game time. I don't care if some of you out there may be tired of hearing about Tebow, but he is a super-special kid in every way with a true heart of gold and we'll only have him for a few more weeks. I wish him a healthy and fabulous season, Heisman or no Heisman, Nt'l Title or no Nt'l Title!

College Footbal OMG

Here we are again and not a moment too soon what with Afghanistan, health care, and all the rest. I must confess that I did not watch the Florida game against Charleston Heston (as Victor calls it) but the USC game was loads of fun. Nice to see a Mater Dei alum (where Nicholas and Natalie went to H.S.) do so well. Hopefully his talent will take USC past the almost-lost-to-Navy Ohio State football team. Away we go!

A Call to Arms. All Hands on Deck. The Season is Here!

Joaq, A blog call out to Hoya Willie, Hawkeye Ted, Aggie Pete, and your Crimson Tide/Elephant people. The Season is upon us. We need full participation for the blog reach its true potential. Invite these people again and bring them into the fold of our little slice of blog heaven. The CFA season is here. Lets rock!! Victor