"Saturday's additions gave Florida the consensus No. 1 recruiting class..."

[Sportsbuck]

Texas will most likely overtake them come NLOID.

[Sportsbuck]

If I were Texas I would be all over Hicks right now. He should have already been committed to them by now. The longer he takes the worse it looks for the Longhorns.

Unless Muschamp leaves, by all indications he'll be a Longhorn. Hell, when he made a tackle in the Under Armour game last week he did the hook'em sign..

[Sportsbuck]

Just weird to me that he hasn't committed yet. Obviously he is having a tough time deciding, or Urban is having success with his jedi mind tricks once again.

He's focusing on basketball right now... but given how crazy recruiting is, I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign with Florida come NLOID, but I'd say its more likely he signs with Texas.

Hicks is saying Ohio State's still in the race but I think we all know thats not true...

[Sportsbuck]

http://blog.gamecockcentral.com/2010/01/only-recruiting-rule-that-truly-matters.html

Silly me, but I didn’t realize God was a Gator.

But apparently he is based on comments from Sharrif Floyd’s high school coaches about what went down in the final few days before Floyd announced his college choice on national TV last Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American game.

As we all know, Floyd picked Florida.

Now we’re starting to find out why.

According to Floyd’s coaches, he was set to pick Ohio State until he spoke with Meyer on the phone. That’s when Florida’s coach, desperate to rein in the nation’s top defensive tackle prospect, went “all in” with the religion card. Here’s what the coaches said:

“Sharrif was really confused and put a call into Coach Meyer. When they spoke Coach Meyer told him that he had a ‘dream’ the night before, and that Coach Meyer saw himself on the sideline coaching Sharrif. Told him that is was a "message from God that I should come back and coach, as I guess if it’s my time to die, I'd rather die on the sidelines coaching you than anywhere else in the world.

"Sharrif talked to us the next day and said Ohio State is great and all, but Coach Meyer said he would DIE for me. That's pretty intense. From that day on Sharrif mainly kept to himself. But that was the turning point in my eyes."
Either you have to applaud Meyer for a brilliant recruiting maneuver or mock him for preying on the emotions of a naïve high school kid.

You could also do both. Make no mistake, Meyer knew exactly what he was doing, just like the way he “resigned” as Florida’s head coach only to announce a day or two later he was taking an indefinite leave of absence. Contrived? You bet.

But, considering all the highly-touted prospects that have committed to the Gators in recent days, Meyer’s ploy has worked to perfection.

Really, though, the entire Meyer/Floyd proves yet again that while the NCAA Rulebook is as thick as a phone directory there is only one rule that truly matters when it comes to recruiting – caveat emptor.

Let the Buyer Beware.

It’s difficult to blame Floyd for believing such nonsense since players worship coaches like Meyer as father figures. They sincerely accept as true anything and everything that comes out of the mouths of coaches, especially one like Meyer who has won multiple national championships.

Titles bring credibility.

But Meyer’s master stroke in convincing Floyd that committing to Florida was a matter of divine intervention is yet another indication of how far some coaches are willing to go in recruiting to sign the top players. Did Meyer cross the line? Yes. Is it illegal to tell a kid you had a vision from God? No.

The way the NCAA works, it’s the player’s responsibility and his advisors to separate fact from the B.S.

Is this the first time a well known coach has played the religion card? Heck, no. And it won’t be the last either.

If you recall, former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden unapologetically played the religion card while recruiting RB C.J. Spiller. Unfortunately, God later determined the Tigers weren’t worthy of an ACC championship or a BCS bowl game during Spiller’s time in the Upstate, though he did accomplish a lot individually.

I’m sure there are countless other examples as well where coaches have exploited a player’s belief in the almighty to gain a recruiting advantage.

About 20 years ago, preacher Oral Roberts relied on the same tactics when he convinced thousands of his followers God would “call him home” unless he raised enough money ($8 million) to send out missionaries from a medical center he had built earlier.

In essence, it’s all about passing the snicker test. As long as the prospect doesn’t laugh when religion is invoked, the coach has a chance.

And that’s exactly what Meyer was counting on.

So, is God a Gator? Well, if that movie set for release this weekend is really true, his attention isn't focused on college football right now.

[Poundtherock]

"GATOR GOD"

[NAHSTE]

SMH at Urban Meyer telling such outlandish lies just to get one kid to sign with his football team. He is making a life decision about where he'll spend the next 4 years, and build his memories for life, and Urban tells him some nonsense about a dream and that if he dies at least he'll be coaching the kid while he does it?

That's borderline criminal to fill a kid's head with BS like that.

[ralaw]

lol, Firsttimer would love this.

[FirstTimer]

lol, Firsttimer would love this.

I would question God's logic. If he wanted Meyer to coach this kid....why give Meyer such a shitty heart?

[ralaw]

If Meyer falls out during a game Gator nation is going to hate this kid.

[FirstTimer]

If Meyer falls out during a game Gator nation is going to hate this kid.

If they hate the kid then they hate God's will. If they hate God's will then they hate God himself. Therefore if they hate this kid Florida fans hate Tim Tebow!

[mgoblue2290]

Well now we know Sharrif will definitely be majoring in General Studies.

[Poundtherock]

First of all, this is hearsay.

.........

Oh, I'd like to point out the writer appears to have an axe to grind, as in he's not all that objective to say the least.

You sounded quite polite with your remarks, Blitz!

Lest I say it, as in South Carolina objective, another loser Uni in the mix-talk of his choices and a "blogger" who names no "high school coach sources." Pitiful blog!

I can't find a single legitimate source that even mentions anything close to that blogger's dream and God rhetoric. I could be wrong.

And it's not over........Hicks next?


BTW, love your sig!!!!

[Poundtherock]

Thanks for the find.

[NAHSTE]

Ah ok, the story is bunk. Disregard my "Meyer is a POS for this" comments. Just take out the "for this" and all is restored.

[Hasselbeck]

Ah ok, the story is bunk. Disregard my "Meyer is a POS for this" comments. Just take out the "for this" and all is restored.

The story is indeed bunk.

Tim Tebow is the guy that had the dream.