NCAA Recruiting Scoop

Let’s say that your college football team follows up a BCS bowl berth with a 3-9 record. Further, let’s say that your head football coach — call him Charlie — is widely criticized for his handling of the team’s quarterback situation. Finally, let’s pretend that the team the coach led to a 3-9 record had major trouble on the offensive line.

What to do to keep the fan base off of your back? How about lead the nation in recruiting?

In case you didn’t guess — and if you didn’t, you’re living in a bubble — we’re talking about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and head coach Charlie Weis. Yes, 2007 was a terrible season for the club. About the only good thing you could say about it is that plenty of youngsters got playing time. In fact, seven true freshmen — Ian Williams (NT), Jimmy Clausen (QB), Armando Allen (RB), Golden Tate (WR), Duval Kamara (WR), Kerry Neal (OLB), and Brian Smith (OLB) — started games for the Irish. In addition, Notre Dame played 11 true freshmen this season, which is bound to pay dividends in future years.

As far as the coming seasons are concerned, let’s take a look at Weis’ incoming recruits.

Notre Dame’s 2008 recruiting class to date:

To read the rest of this article, go to RealFootball365.com by clicking here.

Okay, so by talking about Adam Homan we’re already talking about 2009. Maybe we’re just a little too into this. Still, he sure does look like another nice pick up for Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and the gang.

Adam Homan, a 6-foot-2, 230 pound 2009 inside linebacker from Coldwater, Ohio (Coldwater High School) has verbally committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2009. Homan runs the 40 yard dash in 4.7 seconds, put up 16 repetitions on the bench, and reportedly possesses a 3.9 GPA. In other words, he’s smart and has some speed for a youngster that plays inside backer.

Remember, that at the time we’re writing about him he’s only just finished his junior season in high school on the gridiron.

For grins, let’s check out his sophomore statistics. Wow, glad we did. He managed a measly 137 tackles, two sacks, and an interception while playing defense last season. That’s right, his stats as a junior aren’t even in yet.

Know anyone who might like to have a guy capable of 137 tackles as a high school sophomore? Us too. It appears that beyond the Ohio State Buckeyes, of whom Adam Homan has already committed to, there was a plethora. For starters, the Pittsburgh Panthers and Dave Wannstedt, Virginia Cavaliers, Illinois Fighting Illini, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish were all also interested.

Go figure. By the way, just for a second imagine if you were Adam Homan. All of these big time schools with big time coaches breaking down the doors to get you on their team and you probably don’t even have a license.

Anyway, the kid looks like a fighter. Speaking of fighters, try out this blog if you’re into that kind of thing (by that thing we mean mixed martial arts). One humdinger of a fight went down last night between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva that was chronicled there recently. It’s worth hearing about.

We all know that Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden and the gang are liking the pass these days despite the fact that they have two stellar running backs. Well, if that offensive line of theirs improves some, imagine what the team could accomplish?

Enter Dalton Freeman.

Dalton Freeman, a 6-foot-6, 270 pound offensive guard from Pelion, South Carolina (Pelion High School) has verbally committed to play for the Clemson Tigers next season. Freeman runs the 40 yard dash in five seconds flat, is able to bench press 365 pounds, and possesses a 4.3 Grade Point Average. In other words, he’s quite fast for someone his size, is very strong, and has a brain to boot.

You’ve got to love that in your offensive linemen.

Altogether this has Rivals believing that he’s the 14th best offensive guard in the nation and the ninth best 2008 prospect in the entire state of South Carolina.

In the end, Freeman chose the Clemson Tigers over the Colorado Buffaloes, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, Tennessee Volunteers, and South Carolina Gamecocks- boy did Steve Spurrier and the gang miss out on one here.

Now onto the Chick-fil-A Bowl against the Auburn Tigers.

From Houston Nutt to Bobby Petrino, huh? Boy, those guys from Arkansas seem to really want to avoid the court of public opinion.

You’d think the Arkansas Razorbacks would want to distance themselves from controversy when hiring a head coach for their football team after what they just went through with Houston Nutt.

But then they hired Bobby Petrino, and that whole idea went out the window.

So here’s the question: Did the Arkansas Razorbacks just jump out of the frying pan and into the fire when it comes to recruiting? The answer?

Keep reading.

Current Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino possesses an overall college football head coaching record of 41-9. Quite impressive when you consider that he’s only put in time at the University of Louisville in this capacity. After all, the Cards history isn’t exactly one known for stellar football.

Before Louisville Petrino put in time as offensive coordinator and/ or quarterbacks coach at places like Idaho, Arizona State, Nevada, Utah State, Louisville (offensive coordinator), Auburn, and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. Thus, he certainly has an impressive resume.

But then you remember 2007 and the way he left the Atlanta Falcons before the season was even over. In fact, Petrino only notified his players via a piece of paper. Further, this isn’t the first time that Petrino’s actions could be considered somewhat suspect. Remember when he met secretly with Auburn brass several years earlier to talk about taking Tommy Tuberville’s job? That wouldn’t have been good in and of itself. But when you consider the fact that he actually coached under Tuberville at one point, at face value it looks downright terrible.

Then there’s Houston Nutt. The former Arkansas and current Ole Miss coach managed to achieve a 75-48 record while at the helm for the Hogs. In sum, anyone who believes that Nutt didn’t do anything positive while at Arkansas is living in a dream world.

Nutt’s the second winningest coach in Arkansas history. His teams won three SEC West titles. He also took home three SEC Coach of the Year trophies (the most recent in 2006) and was named Division I-A Coach of the Year by Sporting News in 1998.

Said another way, in the eight years prior to Nutt’s arrival, Arkansas was 38-51 with only two bowl bids. Need anything else be said?

But then a few Springdale kids decided to sign on with Nutt and the Razorbacks, one of which so happened to be the Parade Player of the Year in quarterback Mitch Mustain. In the end, Mustain and friends weren’t happy. They said that they were lied to on the recruiting trail where they claimed that they were told the offensive would change. Heck, their high school coach was even signed on as offensive coordinator furthering their he said she said argument.

But it was not to be. The offense didn’t change. And that sparked a heated controversy for Houston Nutt that just wouldn’t end. He was labeled a liar.

So let’s break this one down. The supposed lies to the Springdale Three- no one really knows whether Nutt lied or not beyond the people involved- is a bad transgression if true. In other words, if recruits believe that Nutt did lie then that wouldn’t have helped recruiting for sure. Then again, Arkansas did manage to gain commitments from 9 of the top 10 Arkansas state recruits this year, most of which were gained while Nutt was in charge. So did the problems really impact recruiting?

A little, but not terribly.

Then there’s what Petrino did. First, whereas what Nutt was accused of is debatable, the same cannot be said for the former Louisville coach. Fact: He walked out on the Atlanta Falcons in the middle of the season. Now we’re not privy to the conversations between Arthur Blank and he, but at face value that looks pretty bad. Then again, coaches get fired before the season is over all of the time. So how bad is it when it happens the other way around?

Debatable.

Here’s the part that isn’t debatable, though. He left letters in his players lockers announcing his decision. That’s right, he didn’t even talk to them about it. Now that can’t help recruiting at all, can it? Leaving your players with only a letter at your last job. That’s like dumping your girlfriend with a letter. Just not cool.

So when you look at the facts, and not just conjecture, what Petrino did looks worse. Further, Nutt was beginning to pick up some steam again on the recruiting trail and in the court of public opinion with the Hogs victory over LSU.

Guess what, though? None of this matters. Here’s why.

No one is going to remember any of this. Bobby Petrino has a great college track record. He’s a winner and runs a fun offense. The ninth rated prospect in Arkansas, quarterback Tyler Wilson, committed after he took over. Do you believe he was thinking about what Petrino did in Atlanta?

Nope. He was thinking about stats in a passer friendly offense and winning. In the end, despite all of the backlash regarding these two rather controversial coaches, it’s going to be about winning and the kind of club they have. Houston Nutt won with a stellar ground game at Arkansas, and running backs therefore liked to come play for him. Bobby Petrino is more of a pass happy guy. As long as he wins- and he will- all of these Atlanta shenanigans will disappear. Further, quarterbacks and receivers will want to play for this guy on reputation alone.

For now. Later, it will be about whether he wins or not.

So the answer regarding recruiting? It doesn’t matter. The past will disappear rather quickly. We live in a world of second chances (and third, and fourth, and fifth). In the end, Houston Nutt will continue to be a good recruiter at Arkansas. In the end, Bobby Petrino will do a very good job at Arkansas.

And the past will disappear. After all, it’s not like either of these guys were involved in dog fighting.

Wondering which college football teams are doing the best job recruiting for the 2008 college football season? Well, here’s NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s top five. Of course, this is going to change as the college football season comes to a close so keep checking back regularly.

Links will be added to all of the names so that you can check out the bios on players that don’t have a link yet. Also, many of these bios may be updated shortly.

1. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

Verbally Committed 5 stars (click on the name for more information)

Dayne Crist

Kyle Rudolph

Verbally Committed 4 stars

Braxston Cave

Lane Clelland

Sean Cwynar

Joseph Fauria

Steven Filer

Darius Fleming

Michael Floyd

John Goodman

Jonas Gray

Omar Hunter

Ethan Johnson

Dan McCarthy

Anthony McDonald

Trevor Robinson

Jamoris Slaughter

2. GEORGIA BULLDOGS

Committed 5 stars

A.J. Green

Richard Samuel

DeAngelo Tyson

Top 5 Welterweight MMA Ground and Pound Fighters

Committed 4 stars

Dwayne Allen

Xavier Avery

Brandon Boykin

Marcus Dowtin

Cordy Glenn

Akeem Hebron

Dontavius Jackson

Toby Jackson

Tavarres King

Christian Robinson

Cornelius Washington

Nick Williams

3. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Committed 5 stars

Tyler Love

Burton Scott

Committed 4 stars

Mark Barron

Devonta Bolton

John Michael Boswell

Terrence Cody

Robby Green

Don’ta Hightower

Destin Hood

Star Jackson

Barrett Jones

Chris Jordan

Brandon Lewis

Kerry Murphy

Melvin Ray

Courtney Upshaw

Michael Williams

4. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

Committed five stars

Michael Brewster

DeVier Posey

Committed four stars

Mike Adams

Garret Goebel

Willie Mobley

Etienne Sabino

J.B. Shugarts

Jake Stoneburner

Andrew Sweat

Lamaar Thomas

Devoe Torrence

Nathan Williams

5. MIAMI OF FLORIDA HURRICANES

Committed five stars

Arthur Brown

Marcus Forston

Patrick Johnson

Committed four stars

Travis Benjamin

Ramon Buchanan

Jordan Futch

Jacory Harris

C.J. Holton

Aldarius Johnson

Davon Johnson

Jeremy Lewis

Marcus Robinson

Sean Spence

Brandon Washington

Miami of Florida Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon has been through some amazingly difficult things in his life. In fact, if you want to hear more about this rather heart wrenching story check out this article at RealFootball365.com from before the season started.

That said, this article isn’t about Shannon’s past. But it would seem important to note it as the pretty tough season the Canes just came off of probably doesn’t seem all that difficult to him. After all, this is a guy that’s used to dealing with hardship, and he’s probably a very tough man because of it.

Coming in at number 5 on NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s top 5 team recruiting performances of 2008 are the Miami of Florida Hurricanes. Why? That’s simple: The numbers are looking good.

The Canes have attracted three 5 star prospects to verbally commit to them. The names include cornerback Patrick Johnson (Rivals number three rated player in the nation), linebacker Arthur Brown, and defensive tackle Marcus Forston. They’ve also compelled 10 four star prospects to verbally commit to coming to South Florida.

Unfortunately for them, the poor season has taken a toll. You see, some of their bigger commits are considering moving on to different pastures. The most well known of which- Patrick Johnson- is only thought of as a soft commit right now.

That means he could leave at any time. Further, he’s been considering loads of offers.

So Miami’s true status amongst schools is difficult to ascertain. Are they doing as well as it seems on the 2008 recruiting trail? Maybe. Then again, this team could fall off in a big way at any moment.

So stay tuned on that front. But for now, the Miami of Florida Hurricanes are putting in the fifth best team recruiting performance in the country.

Here are the facts. New head coach Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines have a long way to go if they’re going to begin to compete with their rivals from Ohio. What’s worse is the fact that Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel keeps bringing in stellar athletes into his program like candy.

Along with this, Ohio State is currently putting in the 4th best recruiting performance of the season to date. And that’s nothing to scoff at.

Everyone else seems to have the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes ahead of the Ohio State Buckeyes when it comes to 2008 team recruiting performances to date. Not NCAA Recruiting Scoop. Here’s why.

Yes, Ohio State has enough numbers to compare to the other big guns in terms of 2008 recruiting. Along with this, they’ve already secured verbal commitments from two 5 star commits and 10 four star commits. But it’s the quality of those prospects that has NCAA Recruiting Scoop stoked, as well as the likelihood that they’ll stay on.

How do you win college football? It all starts up front. And the Ohio State Buckeyes have three big time offensive linemen coming their way.

We’re talking 5 star prospect Michael Brewster, and four star maulers J.B. Shugarts and Mike Adams.

That’s not even counting 5 star wide receiver DeVier Posey and killer four star linebacker Etienne Sabino.

Now plenty of people will have a problem with NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s decision to rank the Buckeyes ahead of the Miami of Florida Hurricanes at this juncture. It was a tough decision for sure, and one that could change in the future. However, there are some key guys that are listed as commits to the Miami program that are considering changing. And when you have that, well, are they really commits at all?

We don’t think so. That said, the Canes nailing down a commitment from Travis Benjamin was good news for the Miami faithful and head coach Randy Shannon.

Well, the word was that a whole bunch of Hurricane recruits were considering jumping ship on the Randy Shannon bandwagon. Couldn’t be good for bringing in new big time recruits, now could it?

You know the saying. Don’t assume, because it could make blank out of you and me.

Travis Benjamin, a 5-foot-11, 141 pound wide receiver from Belle Glade, Florida (Glades Central High School) has verbally committed to play for the
Miami of Florida Hurricanes next season.

This four star wide receiver runs the 40 yard dash in 4.4 seconds. Some even report that he can move in the 4.3 range. Further, he ended up with 19 catches for 390 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior in high school. Though he isn’t a powerhouse as Benjamin benches 205 pounds, squats 305 pounds, and is somewhat small, he does possess a 34-inch vertical leap.

All of this was enough to get Benjamin ranked 41st nationally among 2008 wide receivers and 84th amongst all 2008 Florida recruits.

In the end, Benjamin chose the Canes over the Ohio State Buckeyes, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, and Georgia Bulldogs. Not a bad list to choose from, eh?

Let’s leave off on what he thinks of himself as a he relayed it to Scout. “My speed and leaping ability are my strengths. I’m also very agile and I like to think I’m like Santana Moss. I want to get more physical and be more aggressive with the ball.”

Being like Santana Moss wouldn’t be bad for the Canes. Got to think that head coach Randy Shannon agrees.

On a separate side note, I enjoyed this article over at BCSFrenzy.com. Check it out here.

http://www.bcsfrenzy.com/the-naughty-list/

Maybe he just likes Oranges too? Okay, this is beginning to look as if Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson really could change things around at the northern New York university. All he needs to do is continue to gain commitments from guys like Marcus Sales and Averin Collier. Then, of course, he will also need to win. And when we say win, we mean more than two games in a season.

Or three, or four, or five. . . You get the picture.

Marcus Sales, a 6-foot-1, 180 pound wide receiver from Syracuse, New York (Christian Brothers High School), has verbally committed to play for the Syracuse Orange in 2008. Sales runs the 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds and managed 58 catches for 1,225 yards and 16 touchdowns during his sophomore and junior seasons combined in high school.

So he’s got a lot of potential.

In the end, Sales chose the Orange over the Virginia Cavaliers, Boston College Eagles, Louisville Cardinals, Miami of Florida Hurricanes, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Pittsburgh Panthers.

With commitments from both four star receiver Marcus Sales and Averin Collier recently, the Orange and their program are looking up. Let’s face it, there hasn’t been a whole lot of that for Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson to consider since he took over the club. Could this be a glimpse of things to come?

Well, let’s just call it a nice streak of luck for now.

So some people call him Nick Satan. Really folks, Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban isn’t all that bad. Especially when you consider that he’s known for two things. First, being able to flat out coach. Second?

Such is the case in 2008 with Saban’s new Alabama team. Rivals has the Tide coming in at number two right now in terms of team recruiting performances. NCAA Recruiting Scoop has Bama coming in at number three. But could it all change soon?

Falling in at number three on NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s list of 2008 team recruiting performances thus far is the Alabama Crimson Tide (as of 12/21/07). Why? Here goes:

Thus far, the Tide have convinced two 5 star prospects to commit to the club. Further, they’ve managed to convince 15 four stars to jump on the Tide bandwagon. That’s right: We said 15.

Some of the bigger names to sign on- well, actually they haven’t signed on to anything yet- are offensive tackle Tyler Love and the athletic Burton Scott. However, there are certainly more big names in the mix like Mark Barron, Devonta Bolton, Robert Lester, and Melvin Ray.

Here’s the interesting thing on Bama, however. They’re widely considered one of the top two or three teams in the running for Foley High School wide receiver Julio Jones. In fact, they’re considered the odds on favorite. Jones is the kind of athlete that everybody wants, which is why Rivals currently has him falling in at number two on the 2008 Rivals 100. Would a commit from him move them up NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s list?

You bet it would. But for now we’re talking about number three.

Maybe he just likes Oranges? Seriously, it’s hard to know why anyone would commit to the Syracuse Orange at face value. Then again, 2-10 teams are hard to come by.

Maybe it was the stability at head coach. Yep, that’s right. . . Greg Robinson will return. And when you consider all of the coaching changes in college football this season- Lloyd Carr, Houston Nutt, Bill Callahan, Rich Rodriguez, etc.- that’s got to mean something, don’t you think?

Averin Collier is a 5-foot-11, 195 pound athlete from Churchville, New York (Churchville- Chili High School) that runs the 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds, benches 270 pounds, squats 425 pounds, and reportedly possesses a 3.2 GPA.

Not bad, eh? Then there’s the other stuff.

As a junior in high school last season Collier managed 1,547 yards rushing on only 193 carries. That’s a whopping 8 yards per. Further, he scored 20 touchdowns on the ground, caught three passes for 54 yards, and managed 144 kickoff return yards and 75 punt return yards.

Yup, this kid can do it all.

In the end, as was alluded to earlier, Collier has verbally committed to play for the Orange in 2008. He chose them over the Pittsburgh Panthers (another favorite), Virginia Cavaliers, Boston College Eagles, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Maryland Terrapins, UCF Golden Knights, and Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Hope it works out for him. By the way, check out this spot if you’re looking for something to buy that college football fan/ friend of yours.

Click right here for some ideas.

So the Georgia Bulldogs managed to gain a commitment from five star prospect, DeAngelo Tyson. What does that mean by itself?

Well, a lot actually. On top of it all, they’re also tied for the most committed five star prospects in the nation with three (Richard Samuel and A.J. Green are the others). Boy that Mark Richt can coach. . . and recruit.

DeAngelo Tyson is a 6-foot-2, 276 pound defensive tackle from Statesboro, Georgia (Statesboro High School) that runs the 40 yard dash in 5.1 seconds, put up 22 repetitions on the bench press, possesses a vertical leap of 27 inches, and managed to run the shuttle in 4.88 seconds.

That’s a lot to take in. Wouldn’t blame you if you decided to take a break. Still, we’re planning on keeping on. Chopping wood, you know?

On top of those measurables, Tyson has also been quite productive during his high school career. Along with this, as a junior he managed 72 tackles, including 12 for a loss and six sacks. And all of this together managed to net this five star prospect the number 27 ranking on the Rivals 100 of 2008. DeAngelo Tyson is also considered the second best defensive tackle in the land and best football prospect coming out of the entire state of Georgia this season.

As was indicated in the title of this piece, Tyson has already verbally committed to play for the Georgia Bulldogs and head coach Mark Richt next season. In fact, he’s one of the major reasons why the Bulldogs’ 2008 recruiting efforts are considered to be the second best in the nation by NCAA Recruiting Scoop (to date). The teams he turned down on the way to committing to the Bulldogs?

The Florida Gators, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn Tigers, and Clemson Tigers.

Good luck to Tyson. He’s just another reason why the Georgia Bulldogs are a team to be reckoned with in the future.

Terrelle Pryor is also a big time college basketball prospect, by the way. In other words, everybody is thinking he’s going to be an outstanding athlete. How outstanding?

That may depend on how he handles pressure.

Here’s the thing: Plenty of athletes come up against immense pressure to perform these days. Then there are those rare high school athletes like Terrelle Pryor.

You see, pressure to perform comes with playing sports. There’s simply no way to avoid it. But when it comes the nation’s number one rated 2008 high school football prospect, well, let’s just say the pressure to perform increases in a large way. The good thing? The dual threat quarterback is clearly dealing well with the mounting scrutiny at the high school level as evidenced by Jeannette High School’s 49-21 victory over Dunmore for the Pennsylvania Athletic Association Class AA State Title. In the end, Pryor managed to lead his team to an undefeated 16-0 record.

Doesn’t matter, though, because high school ain’t college. Know what we mean?

Even if you don’t, athletes like Ron Powlus (Notre Dame football) and Felipe Lopez (St. Johns basketball) do. Powlus, an unbelievably highly touted quarterback from Pennsylvania- so is Terrelle Pryor, by the way- was considered to be a Heisman Trophy candidate before he really even started playing college football. Interestingly, Beano Cook even predicted that he would win two Heismans. Lopez, on the other hand, actually made the front cover of Sports Illustrated before playing a collegiate basketball game for St. Johns.

But in the end, neither man made good on the promise of their potential. Along with this, there were no Player of the Year Awards, no national championships, and neither has had much of a pro career. Could we have been wrong regarding their potential? Sure. Even so, that’s just way too much pressure for an 18 year old to handle. It can have far reaching consequences.

Then again, it hasn’t hurt LeBron James much, has it?

So congratulations to Terrelle Pryor and his team for winning states. Next up: A pressure cooker in college.

Here’s to hoping he can live up to the scrutiny that a number one high school football prospect must endure.

Remember when Charles Barkley committed to the University of Auburn’s basketball team? Boy the fanfare following that was a pretty big deal. When Bo Jackson committed to the football team the same thing could be said.

When Chris Todd committed to the football team, the media was a little less stoked. Still, this kid could be a good one, especially in new coordinator Tony Franklin’s offense.

Chris Todd, a 6-foot-2, 220 pound three star pro style quarterback playing out of Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas has verbally committed to play for the Auburn Tigers next season. Todd is pretty quick for a pro style guy in that he runs the 40 yard dash in 4.7 seconds. But that’s hardly the story on him.

Rather, the story is this: Back in high school this kid was one of the most prolific passers in Kentucky history. So why would a guy with passing credentials like that choose the Auburn Tigers, a team known for running the ball and playing good defense?

Simply because of their new offensive coordinator- Tony Franklin- and his hope to bring the spread offense to the Tigers.

In the end, Todd chose the Tigers over the Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas State Wildcats, Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Arkansas Razorbacks, and Troy Trojans.

Can anyone say competition for Auburn’s Kodi Burns and others? I can. The old offense was totally suited to Burns, but it’s hard to know if the new one will be.

Should be fun.

You’ve got to like that Mark Richt. Well, if you’re a Bulldogs fan, anyway.

The 2008 recruiting battle is hardly over yet, people. Still, the Georgia Bulldogs and head coach Mark Richt continue to hold onto the second spot in NCAA Recruiting Scoop’s countdown of team recruiting performances. Why?

That’s simple. Right now the Georgia Bulldogs have three 5 star players that have already committed to play for them in 2008. That ties them with the Southern California Trojans for most in the nation. The difference between USC and Georgia right now, however, is obvious.

Only nine 4 star prospects have committed to USC and head coach Pete Carroll thus far, as opposed to 13 for the Bulldogs. There’s the difference. Of course, that could be interpreted as USC just getting started.

Other teams that are hot on Georgia’s trail include the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles. You’ve got to hand it to head coach Bobby Bowden and the gang. No matter what their record, no matter how dire things appear, they always end up getting their recruits.

But forget that. We’re talking about the unbelievable job that the Georgia Bulldogs are doing on the recruiting trail in 2008. The best in the best college football conference in the nation thus far.

In the coming days, expect to see a little something on their five star pickups. By that, we mean some information on wide receiver A.J. Green, supernatural athlete Richard Samuel, and defensive tackle DeAngelo Tyson.

In case you were wondering: We just wanted to call someone supernatural. It’s unique, don’t you think? And that’s what we aim to be here at NCAA Recruiting Scoop. Unique.