College football

Big rebound

After disappointing seasons, Florida, FSU and Miami bring in acclaimed classes.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published February 3, 2005

It was a down year for Florida, Florida State and Miami on the field, but the big three made up for it with strong recruiting seasons.

Miami was strong throughout, and Florida and FSU closed quickly on national signing day, the first day high school seniors could sign letters of intent.

Southern California, Tennessee, FSU and Oklahoma were the big winners, and Texas lost a couple of prized recruits.

Receiver Fred Rouse of Tallahassee Lincoln, the Times Blue Chip Prospect of the Year, nixed a visit to Texas this weekend to sign with FSU. He joined running back Antone Smith of Pahokee, linebacker Geno Hayes of Madison County and Callahan Bright, the No. 2-rated defensive tackle in the nation by rivals100.com in catapulting the Seminoles from No.22 to No.4, according to scout.com. Rivals100.com had them ranked second.

Many believed Smith, one of the nation's top prospects, would sign with Miami or Florida.

"To me, the biggest surprise nationally was FSU getting Antone Smith," said Jamie Newberg of scout.com. "That was, hands down, the biggest surprise."

Miami produced a consensus top-10 class, and Florida wasn't far behind despite a coaching change.

Urban Meyer's first class as Florida coach is well-rounded. The Gators signed 18 players, and though they lost out on several top prospects down the stretch, they landed an important one in Pensacola linebacker Jon Demps, who waited until the last minute to pick Florida over FSU. Demps could be a factor in the fall because the Gators are low in numbers at linebacker. Rivals100.com rates him as the country's No.8 linebacker. "Jon Demps was gigantic," Meyer said. "It was one of those late-night phone calls."

Still, the Gators' top recruit might be Josh Portis, a heralded quarterback from Woodland Hills, Calif.

Another interesting pickup was linebacker Darryl Gresham, who heads to Gainesville from Roanoke, Va. His father, Darryl Gresham Sr., played basketball for the Gators alongside future NBA player Vernon Maxwell during the mid 1980s.

For Miami, it wasn't about quantity, but quality. The Hurricanes signed 17 players, including Kenneth Phillips, the country's top safety, according to rivals100.com, and Houston offensive lineman Reginald Youngblood.

Coming off a 4-7 season and preparing to enter the Big East, South Florida appeared to make a solid run. Its class is ranked 50th overall by rivals100.com and fourth among the eight schools in the Big East.

Bulls coach Jim Leavitt said the move to the Big East and the school's $18-million athletic facility helped them contend for recruits they couldn't have competed for in the past.

Leading the 23-player class are two all-state quarterbacks, Carlton Hill from Monticello Jefferson County and Lakeland Lake Gibson's Matt Grothe.

Hill chose the Bulls over Miami, and Grothe, the state's top Class 4A passer, led Lake Gibson to the state championship game the past two seasons. Two of the nation's top offensive players snubbed Texas. Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, scout.com's national player of the year and the nation's top high school player, according to ESPN.com's Tom Lemming, signed with LSU after orally committing to Texas in July.

Rouse hadn't committed to Texas, but he had a visit scheduled this weekend and maintained for many months that he was leaning toward the Longhorns because Perrilloux had committed there.

"They are all great schools, and LSU is the one I am going to," Perrilloux, of Reserve, La., told scout.com.

"It is close to home. It's a great quarterback situation, great school, and my family can come watch me play every Saturday."

National champion Southern California continues to lure big-name prospects to Los Angeles. Coach Pete Carroll's Trojans landed four players ranked No.1 in the country at their positions by rivals100.com.

Patrick Turner, a 6-foot-5 receiver from Nashville, inside linebacker Rey Maualuga of Eureka, Calif., and quarterback Mark Sanchez of Mission Viejo, Calif., are the headliners.

Tennessee, ranked first by scout.com, and Oklahoma landed huge prospects of their own. The Vols signed Miami Killian safety Demetrice Morley, and the Sooners inked four-star defensive backs Reggie Smith and Nic Harris.

Nebraska, which struggled to a 5-6 finish in Bill Callahan's first season, introduced a class of 31 signees. The group, which includes heralded Countryside quarterback Harrison Beck, is drawing praise from most major recruiting services.

Surprises were produced by California and Arizona, Pac-10 schools not known for being among the elites on signing day.

Cal, which went 10-2 last fall and came close to earning a BCS bid, produced a strong group many will rank among the top 10. Arizona, led by second-year coach Mike Stoops, brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, showed no lingering effects from last season's 3-8 record.

Times staff writers Keith Niebuhr and Scott Purks contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 3, 2005, 01:08:13]